Cal: "I don't want us to be great right now anyway." hmmmm

[Mojocat]

This was among the comments of Coach Cal after the game Saturday - I wonder if it's not getting the attention it deserves:

I don't want us to be great right now anyway. We need to be great at the end of February and March.

I don't want us to be great right now. That is a mouthful. I wonder if Cal thinks it's not likely or even possible to play at an extremely high level all the way from November through March, and March is of course when you want to peak - so he's OK with the level of play dipping prior to March. IOW, he isn't really concerned about correcting a slump as it happens, or perhaps even encourages it somehow. I'm not saying he'd lose on purpose. I'm just wondering if he sees all of this and doesn't necessarily feel it's urgently important to get it figure out right now.

He's 18-3 in the NCAAT at UK. I trust his instincts.....

**just noticed the typo in the transcript, a missing word between "don't" and "us". Presumably he said "I don't want us to be great right now anyway" or "I don't need us to be great now anyway." According to KSR, he said "want." Point remains, either way......




http://www.ukathletics.com/blog/2015/01/transcript-and-a-tweet-coach-cal-on-uks-double-ot-win-at-am.html

 

[UKWildcats#8]

He's just saying you should be at your best come post-season time. You should build towards greatness as the season goes on, that there will be peaks and valleys. Everyone thought it was going to be sunshine and rainbows until the @FL and @LSU road stretch in SEC play...well, now we know that won't be the case.

 

[4UK]

Originally posted by Mojocat:
This was among the comments of Coach Cal after the game Saturday - I wonder if it's not getting the attention it deserves:

I don't want us to be great right now anyway. We need to be great at the end of February and March.

I don't want us to be great right now. That is a mouthful. I wonder if Cal thinks it's not likely or even possible to play at an extremely high level all the way from November through March, and March is of course when you want to peak - so he's OK with the level of play dipping prior to March. IOW, he isn't really concerned about correcting a slump as it happens, or perhaps even encourages it somehow. I'm not saying he'd lose on purpose. I'm just wondering if he sees all of this and doesn't necessarily feel it's urgently important to get it figure out right now.

He's 18-3 in the NCAAT at UK. I trust his instincts.....

**just noticed the typo in the transcript, a missing word between "don't" and "us". Presumably he said "I don't want us to be great right now anyway" or "I don't need us to be great now anyway." According to KSR, he said "want." Point remains, either way......

People need to get the undefeated nonsense out of their head right now. They'll never admit it, because of the ridicule they received last year, but there's still a segment of fans who expect us to go undefeated. All that does is make it impossible to enjoy the season, because expectations are at an unrealistic level.

We should be happy that we pulled out two tough games, especially the one on the road Saturday. Anybody paying any attention to college basketball should know that wins on the road are just hard to come by, regardless the opponent. But because people have their mind set on undefeated, and the last two games showed what most sane fans already know - that we aren't going undefeated - they are upset.

Cal is exactly right. Be happy that we have as good, if not better chance than any team in the country of winning it all. Understand that we are going to lose a game at some point, probably more than one. And understand that it's a process; no trophies are awarded in January; and winning the last game of the season will feel exactly the same whether we are undefeated or not.

 

[docholiday51]

Originally posted by Mojocat:
This was among the comments of Coach Cal after the game Saturday - I wonder if it's not getting the attention it deserves:

I don't want us to be great right now anyway. We need to be great at the end of February and March.

I don't want us to be great right now. That is a mouthful. I wonder if Cal thinks it's not likely or even possible to play at an extremely high level all the way from November through March, and March is of course when you want to peak - so he's OK with the level of play dipping prior to March. IOW, he isn't really concerned about correcting a slump as it happens, or perhaps even encourages it somehow. I'm not saying he'd lose on purpose. I'm just wondering if he sees all of this and doesn't necessarily feel it's urgently important to get it figure out right now.

He's 18-3 in the NCAAT at UK. I trust his instincts.....

**just noticed the typo in the transcript, a missing word between "don't" and "us". Presumably he said "I don't want us to be great right now anyway" or "I don't need us to be great now anyway." According to KSR, he said "want." Point remains, either way......

OK Cal,I don't want us to be great right now either.......but could we just be..... like 5% better.Would that be all right.

 

[maverick1]

Originally posted by docholiday51:

...but could we just be..... like 5% better.Would that be all right.

Hell, I'd settle for a Gillispian 5% tougher at this point.

 

[CatOfDaVille]

I love Cal, but that almost sounds like something a UofL fan would say.
Posted from Rivals Mobile

 

[UKWildcats#8]

Originally posted by CatOfDaVille:
I love Cal, but that almost sounds like something a UofL fan would say.
Posted from Rivals Mobile


Yeah, we don't want to be best in March where it matters. Stupid Cal Farr Cal.

 

[catmanC15]

Originally posted by maverick1:

Originally posted by docholiday51:

...but could we just be..... like 5% better.Would that be all right.

Hell, I'd settle for a Gillispian 5% tougher at this point.

First thing that came to my mind. Every time I see one of our guys get outmuscled or outworked for a loose ball, rebound ect. the first that always comes out of my mouth is "We need to be 5% tougher." Or reference that we "should be making violent cuts."

 

[FiveStarCat]

He also said "...enough is enough. We've had enough of these games now. Let's get some games that are a little bit easier for us, but I don't think we'll have any."


On if he thought UK was affected by outside talk of trying to go undefeated: "No,
but one of the things we're addressing today - and I just got done with
individual meetings, and we're gonna have a great team meeting here in a
little bit after I'm done and show a little tape and come back this
afternoon and practice - have we lost our edge? Have we lost our
swagger? Have we lost a little bit of our focus? And then if we had,
what was it? What was our swag about? What was our focus about? What was
our edge? What gave us an edge? And then the question becomes, how do
we get it back? If we lost it, what were reasons we could have lost it?
And it's not like we're totally - we're still winning tough games and
we're fighting like crazy.

 

[Fitch44]

Jesus Christ you guys...every coach says this every year. And guess what...they mean it!
Cal has said this every year. If anyone thought we were going to play every game like we did against Kansas and Ucla then you were kidding yourself. Love that we overcame 3 starters fouling out, missed double digit free throws and STILL WON! zona, duke and wisky all lost on the road to unranked teams. We should be happy they are figuring out different ways to win. This will only help them peaking in March.
We have the best fans and the dumbest as well. Oh well, should have figured that as it is a numbers game.
Enjoy the ride!

 

[Hoskins91]

I think some people need to stop taking things he says seriously. The guy just likes to talk.

 

[spotter34]

Who is great right now? Anybody have an answer?

Nobody.

Cal likes to see how his players respond to adversity and which ones respond favorably. I think he also likes to see if they can figure out how they need to respond. Now he's not just sitting idley by without doing anything but he's asking the questions to players and expecting an answer on the floor. If they continue to answer wrong on the floor that's when we start hearing about a tweak here or there.

I think this is part of Cal's preparation for each player who enters the NBA. You have to figure out a lot of stuff on your own. You can't be told what to do everytime you get in a slump or make bad decisions. You need to have the ability to hold yourself accountable and make necessary adjustments. That's another reason why we hear Cal say he wants this to be their team, not his. When the players take ownership of their performances on the floor and holds themselves and each other accountable then his teams generally take off. It takes some teams longer than others if they do it at all. I think he is frustrated more with this team though because it is a pretty experienced team as far as his other teams are concerned. Hopefully that aids in them righting the ship quicker than most of his teams. But it's not like we're coming off a couple of losses and are looking at a 3-4 seed in the tourney. We're unbeaten but we're not stomping the crap out of teams. I like the position we're in and believe the team will start to operate more efficiently with each game they play. Cal probably realizes that dragging them to where he wants them will hurt in the long run.

 

[docholiday51]

Originally posted by catmanC15:

Originally posted by maverick1:

Originally posted by docholiday51:

...but could we just be..... like 5% better.Would that be all right.

Hell, I'd settle for a Gillispian 5% tougher at this point.

First thing that came to my mind. Every time I see one of our guys get outmuscled or outworked for a loose ball, rebound ect. the first that always comes out of my mouth is "We need to be 5% tougher." Or reference that we "should be making violent cuts."

That's kinda where I got the idea for the post,if we get the kid from New Zealand(woodcutter's son) we will have the violent cuts covered as well. If you don't have a little fun with the stuff Cal says then you are missing out on part of the joy of being a Cat fan

 

[Desperado_1955]

The rest of his talk doesn't matter so much to me, as much as wanting to get the swagger back. That's what I want to see this team get back again. Walk out on the floor ready to destroy their opposition.

 

[Mojocat]

To calrify the OP, if necessary - I don't find this at all surprising or troubling (if, as others question, it really does accurately reflect Cal's thinking). I tend to agree, in this day and time, I have serious doubts a team can play at a high level for 4.5 months, and it's obviously much more important to build towards a strong finish. In other words, assuming this is just a lull or slump, then I'm really not concerned by the Ole Miss and A&M games. I trust we'll resort to earlier form - if not better - in March....

 

[cats2010]

Originally posted by 4UK:

People need to get the undefeated nonsense out of their head right now. They'll never admit it, because of the ridicule they received last year, but there's still a segment of fans who expect us to go undefeated. All that does is make it impossible to enjoy the season, because expectations are at an unrealistic level.

We should be happy that we pulled out two tough games, especially the one on the road Saturday. Anybody paying any attention to college basketball should know that wins on the road are just hard to come by, regardless the opponent. But because people have their mind set on undefeated, and the last two games showed what most sane fans already know - that we aren't going undefeated - they are upset.

Cal is exactly right. Be happy that we have as good, if not better chance than any team in the country of winning it all. Understand that we are going to lose a game at some point, probably more than one. And understand that it's a process; no trophies are awarded in January; and winning the last game of the season will feel exactly the same whether we are undefeated or not.

The only reason 40-0 is ever talked about is because Cal himself said that he would like to coach a team to a 40-0 record. Has no one to blame but himself for fanning that flame. I don't think any rationale fan expects this team to go undefeated but if any UK team of recent memory could meet such an expectation it is this one. Obviously in hindsight the 2012 team came extremely close but no one expected that from them or that AD would become the beast he turned out to be.

If Cal does want to coach a team to a 40-0 record, he cannot allow the team to do it on their own. He himself was a no show at A&M. Cant have that poorly of a coached game and expect your players to win on their sheer talent alone. For once I would like us to set the tempo of the game instead of adapting to the pace of the game our opponent wants to play. Impose our will on the other team. I don't have many complaints on Cal as a coach but this is a big one.

 

[IL Wildcat]

I think he's just trying to be honest, preparing the fans for the possibility that a loss could happen, and trying to shut up a reporter.

We all want 40-0, of course, but it's not the end of the world if our Cats lose one of these games. Only UK fans could have a meltdown over a loss or two in the middle of an excellent season. Lest we forget, that Davis, Kidd-Gilchrist, Jones, Lamb, Miller title team lost 3. Right? It's not the end of the world if it does happen.

And he's right about the fact that we don't want the team to peak too soon and then lose when it matters most. But that's a difficult thing to manage. How would you go about trying to keep a team from peaking too soon?

I can tell you this for sure- nobody wants this team to win every game more than John Calipari. He's telling these guys what they need to hear right now. It's clear the team came out flat against TX A&M and anyone who could look at Calipari's reaction and say, "Well, it's clear he doesn't even care if they lose this game," is just not paying attention. And really, that's the only other conclusion you could draw from this statement. You're either thinking Calipari doesn't care if they lose or you're thinking he's just trying to calm the fans and shut up the reporters, who are dying to find a story here and digging with all their might to see trouble in paradise. He's just shutting them up.

So, that's my 2 cents.

 

[caneintally]

I seriously cant believe this a thread . NO one wants us to peak right now . He is saying he wants to peak when it matters which is how all great coaches think. Nothing to see here.

 

[docholiday51]

Originally posted by 4UK:

Originally posted by Mojocat:
This was among the comments of Coach Cal after the game Saturday - I wonder if it's not getting the attention it deserves:

I don't want us to be great right now anyway. We need to be great at the end of February and March.

I don't want us to be great right now. That is a mouthful. I wonder if Cal thinks it's not likely or even possible to play at an extremely high level all the way from November through March, and March is of course when you want to peak - so he's OK with the level of play dipping prior to March. IOW, he isn't really concerned about correcting a slump as it happens, or perhaps even encourages it somehow. I'm not saying he'd lose on purpose. I'm just wondering if he sees all of this and doesn't necessarily feel it's urgently important to get it figure out right now.

He's 18-3 in the NCAAT at UK. I trust his instincts.....

**just noticed the typo in the transcript, a missing word between "don't" and "us". Presumably he said "I don't want us to be great right now anyway" or "I don't need us to be great now anyway." According to KSR, he said "want." Point remains, either way......

People need to get the undefeated nonsense out of their head right now. They'll never admit it, because of the ridicule they received last year, but there's still a segment of fans who expect us to go undefeated. All that does is make it impossible to enjoy the season, because expectations are at an unrealistic level.

We should be happy that we pulled out two tough games, especially the one on the road Saturday. Anybody paying any attention to college basketball should know that wins on the road are just hard to come by, regardless the opponent. But because people have their mind set on undefeated, and the last two games showed what most sane fans already know - that we aren't going undefeated - they are upset.

Cal is exactly right. Be happy that we have as good, if not better chance than any team in the country of winning it all. Understand that we are going to lose a game at some point, probably more than one. And understand that it's a process; no trophies are awarded in January; and winning the last game of the season will feel exactly the same whether we are undefeated or not.

I disagree,when we take the court I expect us to win.Who left on our regular season schedule do you think we can't beat?Sure we may lose a game or two but until we do 40-0 is on the table.

 

[Poetax]

Originally posted by Desperado_1955:
The rest of his talk doesn't matter so much to me, as much as wanting to get the swagger back. That's what I want to see this team get back again. Walk out on the floor ready to destroy their opposition.

The downside to that is swagger may always be tough to maintain without having juniors and seniors. No one mentioned that A&M started like 3 seniors and 2 juniors against us. Cal knows that a team of mainly freshmen and sophomores cannot maintain momentum for over 3 months so why get upset with the inconsistencies right now. It will get done.