Hello HOB. Good Monday evening to y’all. I’ll be following along with the Coach Cal Show tonight and sharing some of the main talking points here in this thread. Show starts at 6 ET. Stay tuned…
* Starts out by wishing everyone a happy new year and saying he hopes it’s a better one than 2022. Acknowledged that he’s blessed to be coaching here, even when it’s tough and he knows he’s not getting the team to play how it needs to play yet.
* Praised the fans for the boost they gave the team against Louisville. "We need that."
* Says all games from this point forward will be “a war.” Team has to be mentally prepared for what they’re going to see in the league. Arkansas just lost to LSU in an absolute rock fight. A lot of games will be like that. You have to be mentally tough enough to know it’s OK, and there’s a certain way to win those games.
* Likes where Jacob Toppin is mentally right now. Had to get over some stuff to get to this point. Hoping he can keep it here. (Reminds me a bit of WCS back in the day.) Had sports psychologist Bob Rotella in to speak with the team, as he does from time to time. Helped with Jacob and the rest of the guys. Had everyone stand up and say what they need to do better/different to contribute to the team getting better.
* Gotta get Antonio Reeves going now. “He’s the next project.”
* Cal talks again about needing to play more "deliberately." Doesn't mean he wants to go slow. They want to run when it's there. But when it's not there, they have to have something to fall back on instead of just rushing something. "Transition baskets are just hard to get the further you go along in the season."
* Has a coach friend telling him one of his problems is trying to play too many people. Thinks they may need a smaller rotation, and that might not sit well with everyone. Guys have to be ready to perform when they get that chance.
* Starts out by wishing everyone a happy new year and saying he hopes it’s a better one than 2022. Acknowledged that he’s blessed to be coaching here, even when it’s tough and he knows he’s not getting the team to play how it needs to play yet.
* Praised the fans for the boost they gave the team against Louisville. "We need that."
* Says all games from this point forward will be “a war.” Team has to be mentally prepared for what they’re going to see in the league. Arkansas just lost to LSU in an absolute rock fight. A lot of games will be like that. You have to be mentally tough enough to know it’s OK, and there’s a certain way to win those games.
* Likes where Jacob Toppin is mentally right now. Had to get over some stuff to get to this point. Hoping he can keep it here. (Reminds me a bit of WCS back in the day.) Had sports psychologist Bob Rotella in to speak with the team, as he does from time to time. Helped with Jacob and the rest of the guys. Had everyone stand up and say what they need to do better/different to contribute to the team getting better.
* Gotta get Antonio Reeves going now. “He’s the next project.”
* Cal talks again about needing to play more "deliberately." Doesn't mean he wants to go slow. They want to run when it's there. But when it's not there, they have to have something to fall back on instead of just rushing something. "Transition baskets are just hard to get the further you go along in the season."
* Has a coach friend telling him one of his problems is trying to play too many people. Thinks they may need a smaller rotation, and that might not sit well with everyone. Guys have to be ready to perform when they get that chance.
