Cal: “a wake-up call for our front line. It’s not about anybody else.”

[Mojocat]

Other post game Calipari quotes, per Eric Crawford:

“Our fours and fives, we got killed,” Calipari said. “Alex and Marcus Lee and Skal and Derek Willis, , absolutely murdered. And we’re not good enough when that happens. (Poythress and Lee) basically fouled out giving you nothing.”

“I was happy that a couple of the guards said some stuff after the game,” Calipari said. “It’s better not coming from me. You’ve got to have courage and go play. . . . You’ve either got to play or let somebody else play, and that’s how it is. I told Isaac and Tai (Wynyard) afterward, earn minutes in practice and I’ll play you. You’ve got to be able to rebound. If you can’t come up with a rebound and you played 12 minutes, and you’re next to the basket, think about it. Come on now.”

"We played awful, let’s get better. It’s pretty simple. We had some guys that didn’t compete, didn’t want to fight, didn’t want to battle, just want to play. Well, you picked the wrong school for that, because every team we play, they’re coming out fighting and battling, and you’ve got to be that guy. And we didn’t. And it’s a shame for some of the guys because this was a big game where people were going to evaluate what they were and what we were, and not a good result. But it’s early enough in the season, we can do some stuff. We’ll get better. We’ve got no choice.”

 

[JerseyCat84]

Unfortunately, none of our front court players are really all that talented. It's not a championship front line. I cringe to think about what UNC's post players would do to us. Let's face it not one of our front line would start on last year's team besides Poy, and none of them would start next year. With last year's mass exodus, Cal was forced to patch together this year's line.

 

[KWilt43atbuzz]

I like the "well you picked the wrong school for that" quote from Cal.
Hes talking about Poythress and Skal.
I say play the guys that will give 110% and sit the pre modonnas.

 

[UKCATSFREAK]

Skal is just useless right now. He looks like a scared pup when he gets the ball down low. I recall one play where he got the ball and simply had to go up immediately for an easy bucket, instead he hesitated, the defense collapsed on him and he got the ball knocked out of his hands. It was pretty sad to watch. His slightly bent over body language with a look of fright on his face is worrisome. If he was struggling but yet still fighting and clawing for everything, I would feel a lot better but it looks as though he is just so scared of everything. He literally gets pushed around by guards. I just don't get it. The only way he gets a board is if the guy in front of him misses it. I can't recall ever seeing anything like this with any player since Cal, much less a player this highly touted. It's very frustrating to watch. I hope there is still time for him to turn it around but I think Cal is realizing that he just isn't who he thought he was, at least not yet.

 

[JonathanW]

Skal does look useless. Not that he would ever see the (NBA) court next year, but could you imagine him going up against grown-ass men. Wouldn't be pretty.

 

[BoulderCat]

I'm glad to see Cal saying essentially the same things a lot of us were saying last night. I can accept losing when we play hard. We did not play hard last night. Ah yea Cal, when a 6"11 guy projected as a 1st 5 pick can't get a rebound I'd tell Issac and Tai the same thing. I was hoping that benching him in favor of Lee would light a fire in him. It appears it hasn't.

 

[JasonS.]

Well, we have our 2016 version of "you're a selfish emmereffer"!!!

That's the kind of epic throw-the-players-under-the-bus quote Cal can get away with that not a lot of other coaches cannot. College coaches, at least.

Not that I disagree with him at all substantively.

 

[ZZBlueComet]

“Our fours and fives, we got killed,” Calipari said. “Alex and Marcus Lee and Skal and Derek Willis, , absolutely murdered. And we’re not good enough when that happens. (Poythress and Lee) basically fouled out giving you nothing.”

There it is folks, from the leader himself - many of us have been saying this since the year began, but get killed when we express it. This is going to be an on-going theme, especially on the road.

 

[qwesley]

Willis as a 4 needs to shelved. Overall our bigs all play too upright and both ends. There were times they were sloughing off and still got beat off the bounce.

 

[WeWant9]

I'm curious as to what guards said something, because none of them played exceptionally well. Last night was a disaster on all ends of the floor, while Ulis was out best player he too didn't play all that well. I'm guessing Briscoe is looking at a career in construction because he has been throwing up enough bricks to build a mansion with a guest house. Murray might be one of the most frustrating players, for me, to watch. He is just a turnover machine and LSU exploited that with their quick double teams. He is by far our best shooter, when he wants to be. Perhaps the three point guard experiment should come to an end. Teams know that Briscoe won't hit a jumper and if he drives just foul him. I wouldn't be surprised to see Murray get double teamed more now, after what happened last night.

I've never thought our frontcourt was all that great, but last night was just sad. To be honest I'm just giving Skal a pass. Ever since he got manhandled by Duke I knew he wasn't going give us much. He's just too physically weak and he has no timing. He's a project player, and I know some people get bent out if shape here when using that word to describe Skal. If he stays another year, with a great summer workout, he'd no doubt be a different player. If he goes into the draft, well good luck to the kid. I was super disappointed with the fact Lee fouled out with so much time left. We barely have any rim protection as it is, you take him out and we have nothing. They were ticky tacky fouls as well, the 5th one he picked up was so blatant I couldn't believe it. I was sad to watch Poy get taken to the woodshed, on defense. I've come to accept that Poy will give you two games where he looks awesome and then turn around and give you a big stinker.

I said it at the start of the year and I'll say it agin, if this team wants to win games Cal is going have to be creative. We are not a traditional team, and it's going be hard for us to play teams straight up. We need schemes and plays to run. What plays does our offense run? It seems we just pass/dribble the ball around the perimeter and with 10 seconds left we just back off and let one of the guards go at it. We really don't have any flow with the ball.

Well see which direction this team heads. In all honesty I don't like that our guards were calling out the frontcourt, not after a game like this. Last night was a disaster on all ends frontcourt, backcourt, and coaching all can take blame. Stuff like that can ruin a team. My rant for last night is over. Move on to the next one and see how we react

 

[jrpross]

Willis as a 4 needs to shelved. Overall our bigs all play too upright and both ends. There were times they were sloughing off and still got beat off the bounce.

Problem is with him, he's to weak to guard a 4 and too slow to guard a 3. Which sucks because he does provide an offensive spark when he's in.

 

[the nail at the foul line]

This team must score. Our front line is bad but if our guards could score it would be less of a problem. The lack of shot makers is the problem above all others.

 

[kyjeff1]

Skal is just useless right now. He looks like a scared pup when he gets the ball down low. I recall one play where he got the ball and simply had to go up immediately for an easy bucket, instead he hesitated, the defense collapsed on him and he got the ball knocked out of his hands. It was pretty sad to watch. His slightly bent over body language with a look of fright on his face is worrisome. If he was struggling but yet still fighting and clawing for everything, I would feel a lot better but it looks as though he is just so scared of everything. He literally gets pushed around by guards. I just don't get it. The only way he gets a board is if the guy in front of him misses it. I can't recall ever seeing anything like this with any player since Cal, much less a player this highly touted. It's very frustrating to watch. I hope there is still time for him to turn it around but I think Cal is realizing that he just isn't who he thought he was, at least not yet.

The weird part is Skal was trying to get in Ben's head last night like he actually thought he was better than Ben. I know Ben got caught in that slapping exchange with Skal but Skal had done some things up to that point to provoke it. Does Skal think he's on the same level as Ben? Maybe he was before the season started but he's been exposed early and often. I think Skal needs to be honest with himself first then get in there and play like there's millions of dollars at stake because there actually is Millions of dollars at stake and with every game he plays more and more of that money is going bye bye.
He can't possibly continue to be this bad, all he has to do is give just a little bit of effort and he would see he could be a star but he's STILL playing like he's scared to death.

 

[Aike]

Ulis and Murray played fine for the most part. Couple of defensive breakdowns, but they fought all night.

Played 40 and 36 minutes, respectively. Only had 2 turnovers each. Shot the ball pretty well. Ulis had 6 assists.

If Lee and Poythress play as well as Ulis and Murray, we probably win. Without those 2 guards, we lose by 40. I'm not sure what game some people are watching.

 

[the nail at the foul line]

Ulis and Murray played fine for the most part. Couple of defensive breakdowns, but they fought all night.

Played 40 and 36 minutes, respectively. Only had 2 turnovers each. Shot the ball pretty well. Ulis had 6 assists.

If Lee and Poythress play as well as Ulis and Murray, we probably win. Without those 2 guards, we lose by 40. I'm not sure what game some people are watching.

Ulis and Murray are not the problem. One for eight from the foul line and not hitting a jump shot since Thanksgiving is.

 

[Aike]

Ulis and Murray are not the problem. One for eight from the foul line and not hitting a jump shot since Thanksgiving is.

Briscoe's free throws are horrible but they've been horrible all season and we've won a lot of games.

We lost because we got nothing from our inside guys. If Lee and Poythress had come to play and we had lost by 2, maybe you could pin it on Briscoe.

 

[the nail at the foul line]

It is both. I am not sure who got on to who but no one beside Ulis should say a word.

 

[qwesley]

Problem is with him, he's to weak to guard a 4 and too slow to guard a 3. Which sucks because he does provide an offensive spark when he's in.

I think he could be adequate guarding 3s if he could ever get in a real guarding position. He plays more upright than anyone else on the team.

 

[westerncat]

We are just going to have accept that this team is what it is.
Skal is just not ready to play collage ball. HE IS NOT a 1ST ROUND PICK
Poythress looks like a monster but plays soft.
Briscoe could not hit a f/t if he was on a ladder & 2 feet from the rim.
Lee just had a bad game last night but has been playing well for us.

Some posters on here at the start of the season said we would lose 5,6 or maybe 7 games. I did not believe that but now they may be right.

 

[wildcatsboston1984]

HE IS NOT a 1ST ROUND PICK

THE NBA DRAFTS ON POTENTIAL

How do you and so many others not understand this yet?

 

[MakinMusic]

Skal will get picked in the first round. The question will be if he's encouraged to come back. Encouraged by Cal, outside influences, etc. he's definitely a first rounder. He has all the tools. Just doesn't know how to use them or have the right competitive attitude.

 

[westerncat]

If he IS a 1st rounder I am putting my name in the draft because it must be a very weak draft this year. There are a lot of players in collage that are better than he is.

 

[Smashcat]

The weird part is Skal was trying to get in Ben's head last night like he actually thought he was better than Ben.

Yeah. I wasn't rolling my eyes but wanted to.

 

[Longtrip]

Any NBA team that takes Skal in the first round will have to be willing to accept a very long development period - like several years, and even then I have my doubts he can overcome his deficiencies. Players who play scared and timid do not suddenly play aggressively - at least I have not seen it.

 

[wildcatsboston1984]

If he IS a 1st rounder I am putting my name in the draft because it must be a very weak draft this year. There are a lot of players in collage that are better than he is.

THE NBA DRAFTS ON POTENTIAL

Being a better player now doesn't mean a player has more potential. Why is it so hard for you to comprehend?

 

[wildcatwelder]

So glad now that I didn't post during, or after the game.

This team is simply not talented enough to overcome guys not giving it their all.

I understand why coach is playing Skal, but IMHO, he needs to admit he's not what we all thought he was and only have him spell another big for a few minutes at a time. He gives us nothing, nada, zilch, zero. Continuing to be manhandled, outplayed, playing scared & soft, etc., will not help him; he is in fact a project. If he still goes in the 1st round, wish him the best and move on.

I honestly don't know if there IS a "fix" for this team, given all of our weaknesses, but there is no excuse for not playing hard; with heart. As Cal said himself, some guys are not giving it their all, and those guys should not be getting major minutes. If that means playing guys deeper on the bench, then so be it; I'd rather lose with my team fighting for every possession,than to lose and have them not give much effort.

Could say more but just going to continue to root for my Cats and HOPE the guys we have coming in next year lived up to their hype.

 

[Mojocat]

I'm curious as to what guards said something, because none of them played exceptionally well. Last night was a disaster on all ends of the floor, while Ulis was out best player he too didn't play all that well. I'm guessing Briscoe is looking at a career in construction because he has been throwing up enough bricks to build a mansion with a guest house. Murray might be one of the most frustrating players, for me, to watch. He is just a turnover machine and LSU exploited that with their quick double teams. He is by far our best shooter, when he wants to be. Perhaps the three point guard experiment should come to an end. Teams know that Briscoe won't hit a jumper and if he drives just foul him. I wouldn't be surprised to see Murray get double teamed more now, after what happened last night.

I've never thought our frontcourt was all that great, but last night was just sad. To be honest I'm just giving Skal a pass. Ever since he got manhandled by Duke I knew he wasn't going give us much. He's just too physically weak and he has no timing. He's a project player, and I know some people get bent out if shape here when using that word to describe Skal. If he stays another year, with a great summer workout, he'd no doubt be a different player. If he goes into the draft, well good luck to the kid. I was super disappointed with the fact Lee fouled out with so much time left. We barely have any rim protection as it is, you take him out and we have nothing. They were ticky tacky fouls as well, the 5th one he picked up was so blatant I couldn't believe it. I was sad to watch Poy get taken to the woodshed, on defense. I've come to accept that Poy will give you two games where he looks awesome and then turn around and give you a big stinker.

I said it at the start of the year and I'll say it agin, if this team wants to win games Cal is going have to be creative. We are not a traditional team, and it's going be hard for us to play teams straight up. We need schemes and plays to run. What plays does our offense run? It seems we just pass/dribble the ball around the perimeter and with 10 seconds left we just back off and let one of the guards go at it. We really don't have any flow with the ball.

Well see which direction this team heads. In all honesty I don't like that our guards were calling out the frontcourt, not after a game like this. Last night was a disaster on all ends frontcourt, backcourt, and coaching all can take blame. Stuff like that can ruin a team. My rant for last night is over. Move on to the next one and see how we react

It was Ulis and Murray. They did fine, certainly had standing to get all over the bigs. See Aike's post.

 

[UKWINS]

Isnt Kenny Payne in charge of developing our bigs?

 

[UK90]

THE NBA DRAFTS ON POTENTIAL

How do you and so many others not understand this yet?

Fine, we do know that, but WHERE is all this potential? Just saying Skal has great potential doesn't make it true, you've got to show something . What is it based on?

Have you watched any of the other 5 star freshmen bigs this year like Swanigan at Purdue, Stone at Maryland, Bryant at Indiana, Rabb at Cal, Ellenson at Marquette, etc.? Skal does not look remotely close to any of them, not in terms of actual play, not in terms of potential shown this year, not in terms of ANYTHING. Him still being listed ahead of those guys on mock draft boards is ludicrous, and I don't believe for a second it'll remain that way come June.

 

[uk_fan_in_tn]

It's amazing just what energy and effort can do for you. I look at Skal compared to a guy like Nerlens, and it just stuns me. Roughly same measurables and athletic ability. Skal far more talented offensively from a skill set perspective and Nerlens clearly a better shot blocker. If Skal played with the kind of energy and toughness that Nerlens did, he could be unstoppable. He lacks heart, and frankly, the majority of the team does also.

 

[ukfan03]

THE NBA DRAFTS ON POTENTIAL

How do you and so many others not understand this yet?

I agree NBA drafts on potential but you have to show some potential to be drafted. I haven't saw anything from Skal that suggest he will be a NBA player. It's his 1st year and he might start making strides but at this point of the season he's not going to be a 1st rounder.

 

[YaySports]

Guys can dominate the college game and have a terrible NBA career. Look at a guy like Anthony Bennett. As a freshman he earned his status as a top 5 pick, looked like he belonged in basketball. Would you take a guy like Skal against Bennett? I sure wouldnt. Im not sure Skal could hold his jock strap in a game of 1 v 1. And thats against a guy who can hardly last a season with 1 NBA team.

I guess my point is would you really take him in the lottery? A guy who cant even compete regularly at the college level? A guy like Harrelson could even take Skal to the woodshed....

 

[YaySports]

I hate the 'Potential' argument. He has potential to become good, but he also has the potential to never figure it out and be a bust. That can be said about almost any guy drafted, its just more scrutinized when drafted in the lottery. Skal is not a lotto pick. Its pretty cut and dry.

 

[capnmonkey]

I like the "well you picked the wrong school for that" quote from Cal.
Hes talking about Poythress and Skal.
I say play the guys that will give 110% and sit the pre modonnas.

Totally agree. Hopefully these guys can become post modonnas before March.

 

[ZZBlueComet]

I'm worried about Skal's "potential" as a Wildcat - I couldn't give a frog's ass about his "potential" after he's drafted.

 

[JonathanW]

If we had just rebounded (equal to LSU), the game would have been close and could have gone either way.
Add in making some FTs (53% won't cut it!!!), and we get the win.

The only negative I saw from Murray and Ulis was they kept getting trapped on the pick at the top of the key. That shouldn't happen.

 

[UKWildcatT]

THE NBA DRAFTS ON POTENTIAL

Being a better player now doesn't mean a player has more potential. Why is it so hard for you to comprehend?

Good Lord, we all know they draft on potential....it's said 50000000 times a day on the board. Like others have said, you can see potential in some that may be inexperienced, but with Skal...no one sees one good thing he does

 

[Cawood86]

It's amazing just what energy and effort can do for you. I look at Skal compared to a guy like Nerlens, and it just stuns me. Roughly same measurables and athletic ability. Skal far more talented offensively from a skill set perspective and Nerlens clearly a better shot blocker. If Skal played with the kind of energy and toughness that Nerlens did, he could be unstoppable. He lacks heart, and frankly, the majority of the team does also.

Yep. Skal is a great kid, but this ain't youth league. Lee and Poythress the same, but neither is a defensive focus of the other team because they are not a threat unless it's a fast break. Nerlens played hard all the time.

 

[UK till Death]

It's amazing just what energy and effort can do for you. I look at Skal compared to a guy like Nerlens, and it just stuns me. Roughly same measurables and athletic ability. Skal far more talented offensively from a skill set perspective and Nerlens clearly a better shot blocker. If Skal played with the kind of energy and toughness that Nerlens did, he could be unstoppable. He lacks heart, and frankly, the majority of the team does also.

Aside from Ulis, I don't get the impression that any of them hate losing. You need a desperate hate of losing to be a great, competitive player.

 

[westerncat]

Skal is so far behind because he did not get to play against good players last year before coming to UK. Playing against weak players made him look better than what he is.