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“This team was special”

This was a group that almost galvanized the fanbase. Almost. We may not have another team like it for quite a while.

I cannot believe it ended the way it did
He didn’t almost anything. The fans were rooting for this group of players to win but if you think all was forgiven even with a FF run you are sorely mistaken. The fan base was rooting for UK inspite of Cowl.
 
I agree with what you’re saying but to be fair the coach also mismanaged those two top 10 players .

Cal never adjusted to Reed and Rob being the best freshman on this team . He truly didn’t adjust to Wagner and Edwards not being the alpha production wise .
Well said. You are 100% right on the coaching malpractice. Calipari has to answer some legit questions about lineups--how about having Reeves on the bench from around 12 min mark to under 10 for what damn reason? This is the season. Then Edwards finally does something positive and he gets taken out immediately for Round of 64 Tre Mitchell. WTF??

Cal sucks. Barnhart is equally awful. We're doomed
 
Well said. You are 100% right on the coaching malpractice. Calipari has to answer some legit questions about lineups--how about having Reeves on the bench from around 12 min mark to under 10 for what damn reason? This is the season. Then Edwards finally does something positive and he gets taken out immediately for Round of 64 Tre Mitchell. WTF??

Cal sucks. Barnhart is equally awful. We're doomed
Yeah Cal definitely will go down as one of the most overrated coaches of all time . I don’t even get the Wagner and Edwards situations . Neither kid seemed like divas or ever sulked so why was Cal afraid to have them come off of the bench ? Who knows maybe that could have helped them . One thing it did was definitely hurt them with the fans .
 
Tons of individual guys I really like.

Feel bad for Reeves honestly. Carried us last year and then took a ton of heat for a single bad game. Came back this year and quietly put up 20-30 a night while all the glory went tk the Freshmen.

Derailed by an incompetent coach with zero in game adjustments 2 seasons in a row and unfortunately one of the best statistical seasons by an individual player in UK history will never be remembered bc we had a piece of lobotomy leftover lard coaching on the sideline
 
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Yeah Cal definitely will go down as one of the most overrated coaches of all time . I don’t even get the Wagner and Edwards situations . Neither kid seemed like divas or ever sulked so why was Cal afraid to have them come off of the bench ? Who knows maybe that could have helped them . One thing it did was definitely hurt them with the fans .
Don't understand it and never will. You can't tell everyone the truth which again I think it's one thing that everyone will agree with Cal regarding the NBA and mentally being fragile is not the time to go--but he coddled and protected these 2 and the starting no matter performance is just moronic and contradicting what you say. I'd have rather watched Stink Watkins play then DJ tonight.

It's killing his legitimacy as a coach and holding back the program and players.

You play Edwards and he misses more gimme layups/dunks then a point shaver--he finally gets an "And 1" and you yank him out for Tre Mitchell who has game of a 50 yr old at a Rec Center. Why? WTF? Then giggle and smile as you take him out. Just stupid.
 
He didn’t almost anything. The fans were rooting for this group of players to win but if you think all was forgiven even with a FF run you are sorely mistaken. The fan base was rooting for UK inspite of Cowl.
I never said “he”. I was referring to this group of kids. Go read it again
 
This group accomplished zero this year that mattered. When we look back at this team all we will remember is a loss to Oakland and a few moments from Rob, Reed, and Reeves.
When some of them are still playing Pro Ball, they'll be brought up with "How did this guy not start ahead of......." and it's just going to make us cringe even more.
 
There were a lot of specials on this team, including the coaching staff. Bad passes. ZERO perimeter defense. STANDING AROUND regardless of what the defense gave you. Wide-open misses on layups and dunks throughout the season. Almost zero defense under the rim. Everyone afraid of the cooties. Dumb players playing hero ball, driving into traffic with guys wide open on the perimeter and refusing to pass. The WORST screens I've ever seen set by a UK team that I can recall. This team was not special by any means, but its bone-heades mistakes sure were.
 
Don't understand it and never will. You can't tell everyone the truth which again I think it's one thing that everyone will agree with Cal regarding the NBA and mentally being fragile is not the time to go--but he coddled and protected these 2 and the starting no matter performance is just moronic and contradicting what you say. I'd have rather watched Stink Watkins play then DJ tonight.

It's killing his legitimacy as a coach and holding back the program and players.

You play Edwards and he misses more gimme layups/dunks then a point shaver--he finally gets an "And 1" and you yank him out for Tre Mitchell who has game of a 50 yr old at a Rec Center. Why? WTF? Then giggle and smile as you take him out. Just stupid.
He explained it a little on John Wall pod . He said DJ was struggling but anytime the coaches ask him to do something he immediately does it without talking back .
As for Edwards he just says he worked hard .

But I’m sure Rob and Reed works hard too . Cal completely ****ed everything up with this team .
 
Tons of individual guys I really like.

Feel bad for Reeves honestly. Carried us last year and then took a ton of heat for a single bad game. Came back this year and quietly put up 20-30 a night while all the glory went tk the Freshmen.

Derailed by an competent coach with zero in game adjustments 2 seasons in a row and unfortunately one of the best statistical seasons by an individual player in UK history will never be remembered bc we had a piece of lobotomy leftover lard coaching on the sideline
Derailed by an incompetent coach.
 
I agree with what you’re saying but to be fair the coach also mismanaged those two top 10 players .

Cal never adjusted to Reed and Rob being the best freshman on this team . He truly didn’t adjust to Wagner and Edwards not being the alpha production wise .
Yep! STILL started DJ/JE all the way until last night! Just an unbelievable shit show. Can’t believe we still had fans saying who starts doesn’t matter. Ummmmm of course it does!
 
Yep! STILL started DJ/JE all the way until last night! Just an unbelievable shit show. Can’t believe we still had fans saying who starts doesn’t matter. Ummmmm of course it does!
Yup I never agreed with that logic . Hell it’s not like we were undefeated or close to it with that strategy.

I still want someone to name a time where two of the top 3 players came off the bench for a team? I believe this is the first time it’s happened . I’d like a legit answer from Cal on why he thought it made sense
 
seen this several places tonight and just want to point out this team accomplished exactly nothing.

This was a terrible season. 10 losses, didn’t win the SEC regular season or even a game in the SECT. Several humiliating home losses and then knocked out in the first round of the NCAAT.

Only thing special about this team was the level to which they underachieved.
This is the most over rated team In Kentucky history. The next time they stop anybody from scoring will be the first time all year.
 
Yup I never agreed with that logic . Hell it’s not like we were undefeated or close to it with that strategy.

I still want someone to name a time where two of the top 3 players came off the bench for a team? I believe this is the first time it’s happened . I’d like a legit answer from Cal on why he thought it made sense
The answer is Cal decided it a while ago and any criticism or suggestion there's a better way makes him double down because he's a narcissist. We've seen it over and over with lineups, zone, offensive philosophy, etc. Cal loves to win because he loves the attention, but he'd rather lose his way than admit someone might be smarter than him and try it their way.
 
No this team actually was special. Talent wise one of the most talented in our history and probably the most talent in the country. The things they could do, nobody else can. Problem is the 260lbs anchor around their neck that ruined the season just like it has so many others.

We will NEVER see the level of shooting and scoring at UK like we saw this year.

This was an alltime fail job.

Literally had to try to mess it up this bad. Literally started a terrible lineup every half for some unknown reason. Who else would be so stupid or arrogant?
 
Literally had to try to mess it up this bad. Literally started a terrible lineup every half for some unknown reason. Who else would be so stupid or arrogant?
It’s not so stupid and arrogant. If you understand recruiting promises, to klutch and other agencies, and to promises to old friends. This program is being rented out like a airbnb for Cal’s goal of getting players drafted.
 
No question in my mind Cal’s ridiculous notion to put our fate in Mitchell’s hand will haunt me for some time.
He obviously was keeping promises made to players like DJ, Edwards, and Bradshaw. Those players certainly didn't earn their playing time. Tre hasn't done anything in weeks but with that being the case, he still started him. For the first 6 or 7 minutes, we played with only one consistent scorer on the court. Oakland didn't break out of their shooting slump until the possession when they must have gotten 4 consecutive offensive rebounds before the final scored. After that, they got their confidence that they could play with us and shots started falling.
 
He obviously was keeping promises made to players like DJ, Edwards, and Bradshaw. Those players certainly didn't earn their playing time. Tre hasn't done anything in weeks but with that being the case, he still started him. For the first 6 or 7 minutes, we played with only one consistent scorer on the court. Oakland didn't break out of their shooting slump until the possession when they must have gotten 4 consecutive offensive rebounds before the final scored. After that, they got their confidence that they could play with us and shots started falling.

And the tone for the entire game was set in that time period.
 
Special? No. They were freshmen and played like you'd expect. Like freshmen. 5star ratings are BS and meaningless. Cal is too stubborn and a crappy coach to change. Its pointless for him to remain
He is a bad coach, but that had nothing to do with Reed not looking for shots. Bad coaching is starting Tre. Bad player is knowing how much the team needed his scoring and he didn't even really look for opportunities to score.
 
He sure didn’t help, he looked as scared as Cal did.
Reed has no one to blame but himself. Great family, seems like a good kid. But can he honestly say he gave it all out there? I know the answer to that one. He continues to bite on pumpfakes instead of just bodying up. He did not work to get open, by running the floor or setting screens. He did not make the effort to drive IN A ZONE DEFENSE to generate fouls. The effort just wasn't there. But, he wasn't the only one who at least partially mailed it in.
 
Not entirely no, but he flubbed plays he made 90%+ of the time throughout the year. You expect one of your best players to be able to make those kind of routine passes.
I saw Edwards miss two wide open at the rim. Not giving Reed a pass.

Plenty of blame to go around. Team came out flat which is typical of Cal as a big favorite. Only Reeves played up to snuff and Cal was willing to let him transfer. If players hadn’t convinced him to return Cats would not have made the tourney.
 
Don't understand it and never will. You can't tell everyone the truth which again I think it's one thing that everyone will agree with Cal regarding the NBA and mentally being fragile is not the time to go--but he coddled and protected these 2 and the starting no matter performance is just moronic and contradicting what you say. I'd have rather watched Stink Watkins play then DJ tonight.

It's killing his legitimacy as a coach and holding back the program and players.

You play Edwards and he misses more gimme layups/dunks then a point shaver--he finally gets an "And 1" and you yank him out for Tre Mitchell who has game of a 50 yr old at a Rec Center. Why? WTF? Then giggle and smile as you take him out. Just stupid.
I agree but I imagine Tre was already waiting to come in for Justin when the good play happened and Cal just let it happen.
 
Reed has no one to blame but himself. Great family, seems like a good kid. But can he honestly say he gave it all out there? I know the answer to that one. He continues to bite on pumpfakes instead of just bodying up. He did not work to get open, by running the floor or setting screens. He did not make the effort to drive IN A ZONE DEFENSE to generate fouls. The effort just wasn't there. But, he wasn't the only one who at least partially mailed it in.
I agree, plenty of times this year he drove and scored when needed on great teams. He was 100% scared and going thru the motions.
 
He explained it a little on John Wall pod . He said DJ was struggling but anytime the coaches ask him to do something he immediately does it without talking back .
As for Edwards he just says he worked hard .

But I’m sure Rob and Reed works hard too . Cal completely ****ed everything up with this team .
lol any excuse in better than none, I reckon. 🙄
 
No, they aren't special. A special team brings home hardware of some kind and has players for the ages. At the end of the day, I'm not gonna remember who Dillingham was, who Edwards was, or who Shep was in the shadow of his father. Hell, I couldn't tell you anything about Carson Washington (or whatever his name was who hurt his ankle at Auburn a couple years ago) or the kid with long dreads on last year's team. Just another forgettable team with double-digit losses.
 
Reed has no one to blame but himself. Great family, seems like a good kid. But can he honestly say he gave it all out there? I know the answer to that one. He continues to bite on pumpfakes instead of just bodying up. He did not work to get open, by running the floor or setting screens. He did not make the effort to drive IN A ZONE DEFENSE to generate fouls. The effort just wasn't there. But, he wasn't the only one who at least partially mailed it in.
Reed has regressed in his decision making. His D never has been good- and he just flat out gets afraid to shoot at times. Cant see him as a lottery pick this year, but I could be wrong I guess.
 
I agree, plenty of times this year he drove and scored when needed on great teams. He was 100% scared and going thru the motions.
I don’t think you guys know much about Bb sometimes. Cal’s plan was to throw it inside. Reed was just following the plan the whole first half.

Did he play flat. Yes. The whole team was flat other than Reeves. Cal completely changed the way the played all year. The plan worked early with getting it inside but shots were missed and the advantage was not realized.

It was just plainly a pedestrian effort so typical of Cal as a big favorite. He had his little plan but the team didn’t execute and their lack of urgency bit them in the ass.
 
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I always hear kentucky fans saying this team had so much talent. I’m asking “how do you know?” The results? That certainly didn’t show anyone they had talent.

Their draft status? What? Please help me. What has shown people they have talent?
 
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