Cal knows more than I do

[DerekMcPwn]

Six words that are pretty much a mantra to me. Cal knows more than I do.

Right now, Wildcat spirits are low. And they should be. Unless you’re primarily a soccer or volleyball fan, it’s been a rough couple weeks, and I don’t need to catalogue the reasons.

But if you indulge a brief moment of rationality, you’ll realize we have a lot to look forward to this season. And Coach Cal is the reason why. I don’t need to write the man’s resumé, but it’s worth remembering that he’s been a head coach for 30 years, and he is really good at it.

He inherited a UMASS team that hadn’t even made the NIT in twelve years, let alone the NCAA tournament. In his fourth year they made the NCAA Sweet Sixteen. In his seventh year, the Minutemen reached the Elite Eight; in his eighth year, the Final Four. Try to fathom the level of transformation this was. This was his first head coaching job, before the invention of the dribble drive offense. His Sweet Sixteen team had one barely Top 100 guy in Tony Barbee and they took a good Kentucky team to the wire in the tournament.

Ditto Memphis. Calipari inherited a Johnny Jones team with a losing record that couldn’t even qualify for the NIT. In Cal’s second year, the Tigers won the NIT. In his sixth and seventh years, they made the NCAA tournament Elite Eight. In his eighth year, they reached the title game and nearly won the damn thing.

This stuff doesn’t happen by accident. You don’t win by accident or by luck. Not in college basketball. It’s too competitive; there’s too much parity.

Some folks don’t want to talk about all that. It’s ancient history and they want to know: what is John Calipari doing for Kentucky right now? Because other than a national championship, three Final Fours, a win-loss record identical to Adolph Rupp, and resurrecting a program in the death throes of a drunken philanderer’s mismanagement, what has Coach Cal really accomplished? Now that he’s disastrously missing on top recruits (except for the two Top 10 players just this year who have already committed), it’s time for Cal to answer to the exacting justice of BBN.

Well here’s their answer, and it has two parts. First, stuff hasn’t changed as much as people think. Our seasons have ebbed and flowed even under Cal. We have up years when the roster accumulates more talent than it loses (2010, 2012, 2014, 2015, 2017) and down years when it loses more than it gains (2011, 2013, 2016, 2018). Cal has turned even a down year into a Final Four, and no up year has been worse than an Elite Eight. As down as 2013 felt, it was succeeded by back to back Final Fours. And we’re nowhere near that down. Indeed, 2019 is an up year.

Second, John Calipari is the best NCAA tournament coach I have ever seen. By that I mean I have seen his teams transform on their journey from November to March more than the teams of any other coach. It blows my mind just how predictably excellent he is at this. Remember how terrible the 2013-14 regular season felt? That team looked utterly transformed when it mattered, and reached the championship game through a veritable gauntlet of competition. 2011 was a similar story of transformation. The 2017 team got obliterated by Florida in February - not in November - in a 22-point rout, and yet, I had no doubt that if we could survive UNC in the Elite Eight, we were going to the national championship. The team was Top 5 in both adjusted offense and defense. Even last year’s squad, down, injured, and dysfunctional as it was, had transformed into a winning team playing beautiful basketball in just the nick of time. But Cal can’t guarantee even his best shooters will hit open threes, or that forwards with broken digits will hit every free throw.

What I have learned to guarantee is that Cal will wring every drop of potential out of the roster we have to make a run in March. And this team has tools and competencies last year’s team didn’t. Just be patient. Relax, and keep enjoying every second of the Cal era. Love the process, and don’t be surprised when it pays off with a team that looks unrecognizably good in March. It’s what Coach Cal does. He knows more than we do.

 

[BBUK]

Six words that are pretty much a mantra to me. Cal knows more than I do.

Right now, Wildcat spirits are low. And they should be. Unless you’re primarily a soccer or volleyball fan, it’s been a rough couple weeks, and I don’t need to catalogue the reasons.

But if you indulge a brief moment of rationality, you’ll realize we have a lot to look forward to this season. And Coach Cal is the reason why. I don’t need to write the man’s resumé, but it’s worth remembering that he’s been a head coach for 30 years, and he is really good at it.

He inherited a UMASS team that hadn’t even made the NIT in twelve years, let alone the NCAA tournament. In his fourth year they made the NCAA Sweet Sixteen. In his seventh year, the Minutemen reached the Elite Eight; in his eight year, the Final Four. Try to fathom the level of transformation this was. This was his first head coaching job, before the invention of the dribble drive offense. His Sweet Sixteen team had one barely Top 100 guy in Tony Barbee and they took a good Kentucky team to the wire in the tournament.

Ditto Memphis. Calipari inherited a Johnny Jones team with a losing record that couldn’t even qualify for the NIT. In Cal’s second year, the Tigers won the NIT. In his sixth and seventh years, they made the NCAA tournament Elite Eight. In his eighth year, they reached the title game and nearly won the damn thing.

This stuff doesn’t happen by accident. You don’t win by accident or by luck. Not in college basketball. It’s too competitive; there’s too much parity.

Some folks don’t want to talk about all that. It’s ancient history and they want to know: what is John Calipari doing for Kentucky right now? Because other than a national championship, three Final Fours, a win-loss record identical to Adolph Rupp, and resurrecting a program in the death throes of a drunken philanderer’s mismanagement, what has Coach Cal really accomplished? Now that he’s disastrously missing on top recruits (except for the two Top 10 players just this year who have already committed), it’s time for Cal to answer to the exacting justice of BBN.

Well here’s their answer, and it has two parts. First, stuff hasn’t changed as much as people think. Our seasons have ebbed and flowed even under Cal. We have up years when the roster accumulates more talent than it loses (2010, 2012, 2014, 2015, 2017) and down years when it loses more than it gains (2011, 2013, 2016, 2018). Cal has turned even a down year into a Final Four, and no up year has been worse than an Elite Eight. As down as 2013 felt, it was succeeded by back to back Final Fours. And we’re nowhere near that down. Indeed, 2019 is an up year.

Second, John Calipari is the best NCAA tournament coach I have ever seen. By that I mean I have seen his teams transform on their journey from November to March more than the teams of any other coach. It blows my mind just how predictably excellent he is at this. Remember how terrible the 2013-14 regular season felt? That team looked utterly transformed when it mattered, and reached the championship game through a veritable gauntlet of competition. 2011 was a similar story of transformation. The 2017 team got obliterated by Florida in February - not in November - in a 22-point rout, and yet, I had no doubt that if we could survive UNC in the Elite Eight, we were going to the national championship. The team was Top 5 in both adjusted offense and defense. Even last year’s squad, down, injured, and dysfunctional as it was, had transformed into a winning team playing beautiful basketball in just the nick of time. But Cal can’t guarantee even his best shooters will hit open threes, or that forwards with broken digits will hit every free throw.

What I have learned to guarantee is that Cal will wring every drop of potential out of the roster we have to make a run in March. And this team has tools and competencies last year’s team didn’t. Just be patient. Relax, and keep enjoying every second of the Cal era. Love the process, and don’t be surprised when it pays off with a team that looks unrecognizably good in March. It’s what Coach Cal does. He knows more than we do.

DMcP,
That was nearly inspirational. Other than that, it was a great post.

 

[Cardsstink]

Six words that are pretty much a mantra to me. Cal knows more than I do.

Right now, Wildcat spirits are low. And they should be. Unless you’re primarily a soccer or volleyball fan, it’s been a rough couple weeks, and I don’t need to catalogue the reasons.

But if you indulge a brief moment of rationality, you’ll realize we have a lot to look forward to this season. And Coach Cal is the reason why. I don’t need to write the man’s resumé, but it’s worth remembering that he’s been a head coach for 30 years, and he is really good at it.

He inherited a UMASS team that hadn’t even made the NIT in twelve years, let alone the NCAA tournament. In his fourth year they made the NCAA Sweet Sixteen. In his seventh year, the Minutemen reached the Elite Eight; in his eight year, the Final Four. Try to fathom the level of transformation this was. This was his first head coaching job, before the invention of the dribble drive offense. His Sweet Sixteen team had one barely Top 100 guy in Tony Barbee and they took a good Kentucky team to the wire in the tournament.

Ditto Memphis. Calipari inherited a Johnny Jones team with a losing record that couldn’t even qualify for the NIT. In Cal’s second year, the Tigers won the NIT. In his sixth and seventh years, they made the NCAA tournament Elite Eight. In his eighth year, they reached the title game and nearly won the damn thing.

This stuff doesn’t happen by accident. You don’t win by accident or by luck. Not in college basketball. It’s too competitive; there’s too much parity.

Some folks don’t want to talk about all that. It’s ancient history and they want to know: what is John Calipari doing for Kentucky right now? Because other than a national championship, three Final Fours, a win-loss record identical to Adolph Rupp, and resurrecting a program in the death throes of a drunken philanderer’s mismanagement, what has Coach Cal really accomplished? Now that he’s disastrously missing on top recruits (except for the two Top 10 players just this year who have already committed), it’s time for Cal to answer to the exacting justice of BBN.

Well here’s their answer, and it has two parts. First, stuff hasn’t changed as much as people think. Our seasons have ebbed and flowed even under Cal. We have up years when the roster accumulates more talent than it loses (2010, 2012, 2014, 2015, 2017) and down years when it loses more than it gains (2011, 2013, 2016, 2018). Cal has turned even a down year into a Final Four, and no up year has been worse than an Elite Eight. As down as 2013 felt, it was succeeded by back to back Final Fours. And we’re nowhere near that down. Indeed, 2019 is an up year.

Second, John Calipari is the best NCAA tournament coach I have ever seen. By that I mean I have seen his teams transform on their journey from November to March more than the teams of any other coach. It blows my mind just how predictably excellent he is at this. Remember how terrible the 2013-14 regular season felt? That team looked utterly transformed when it mattered, and reached the championship game through a veritable gauntlet of competition. 2011 was a similar story of transformation. The 2017 team got obliterated by Florida in February - not in November - in a 22-point rout, and yet, I had no doubt that if we could survive UNC in the Elite Eight, we were going to the national championship. The team was Top 5 in both adjusted offense and defense. Even last year’s squad, down, injured, and dysfunctional as it was, had transformed into a winning team playing beautiful basketball in just the nick of time. But Cal can’t guarantee even his best shooters will hit open threes, or that forwards with broken digits will hit every free throw.

What I have learned to guarantee is that Cal will wring every drop of potential out of the roster we have to make a run in March. And this team has tools and competencies last year’s team didn’t. Just be patient. Relax, and keep enjoying every second of the Cal era. Love the process, and don’t be surprised when it pays off with a team that looks unrecognizably good in March. It’s what Coach Cal does. He knows more than we do.

The trolls here know it. They haven’t had much to cheer about since Cal has been here so they are out in full force lately. Most are Louisville fans who barely have a pulse these days.

 

[jrollins24]

Six words that are pretty much a mantra to me. Cal knows more than I do.

Right now, Wildcat spirits are low. And they should be. Unless you’re primarily a soccer or volleyball fan, it’s been a rough couple weeks, and I don’t need to catalogue the reasons.

But if you indulge a brief moment of rationality, you’ll realize we have a lot to look forward to this season. And Coach Cal is the reason why. I don’t need to write the man’s resumé, but it’s worth remembering that he’s been a head coach for 30 years, and he is really good at it.

He inherited a UMASS team that hadn’t even made the NIT in twelve years, let alone the NCAA tournament. In his fourth year they made the NCAA Sweet Sixteen. In his seventh year, the Minutemen reached the Elite Eight; in his eighth year, the Final Four. Try to fathom the level of transformation this was. This was his first head coaching job, before the invention of the dribble drive offense. His Sweet Sixteen team had one barely Top 100 guy in Tony Barbee and they took a good Kentucky team to the wire in the tournament.

Ditto Memphis. Calipari inherited a Johnny Jones team with a losing record that couldn’t even qualify for the NIT. In Cal’s second year, the Tigers won the NIT. In his sixth and seventh years, they made the NCAA tournament Elite Eight. In his eighth year, they reached the title game and nearly won the damn thing.

This stuff doesn’t happen by accident. You don’t win by accident or by luck. Not in college basketball. It’s too competitive; there’s too much parity.

Some folks don’t want to talk about all that. It’s ancient history and they want to know: what is John Calipari doing for Kentucky right now? Because other than a national championship, three Final Fours, a win-loss record identical to Adolph Rupp, and resurrecting a program in the death throes of a drunken philanderer’s mismanagement, what has Coach Cal really accomplished? Now that he’s disastrously missing on top recruits (except for the two Top 10 players just this year who have already committed), it’s time for Cal to answer to the exacting justice of BBN.

Well here’s their answer, and it has two parts. First, stuff hasn’t changed as much as people think. Our seasons have ebbed and flowed even under Cal. We have up years when the roster accumulates more talent than it loses (2010, 2012, 2014, 2015, 2017) and down years when it loses more than it gains (2011, 2013, 2016, 2018). Cal has turned even a down year into a Final Four, and no up year has been worse than an Elite Eight. As down as 2013 felt, it was succeeded by back to back Final Fours. And we’re nowhere near that down. Indeed, 2019 is an up year.

Second, John Calipari is the best NCAA tournament coach I have ever seen. By that I mean I have seen his teams transform on their journey from November to March more than the teams of any other coach. It blows my mind just how predictably excellent he is at this. Remember how terrible the 2013-14 regular season felt? That team looked utterly transformed when it mattered, and reached the championship game through a veritable gauntlet of competition. 2011 was a similar story of transformation. The 2017 team got obliterated by Florida in February - not in November - in a 22-point rout, and yet, I had no doubt that if we could survive UNC in the Elite Eight, we were going to the national championship. The team was Top 5 in both adjusted offense and defense. Even last year’s squad, down, injured, and dysfunctional as it was, had transformed into a winning team playing beautiful basketball in just the nick of time. But Cal can’t guarantee even his best shooters will hit open threes, or that forwards with broken digits will hit every free throw.

What I have learned to guarantee is that Cal will wring every drop of potential out of the roster we have to make a run in March. And this team has tools and competencies last year’s team didn’t. Just be patient. Relax, and keep enjoying every second of the Cal era. Love the process, and don’t be surprised when it pays off with a team that looks unrecognizably good in March. It’s what Coach Cal does. He knows more than we do.

____________________________________


and then...#7 seed UCONN happened.

https://www.sbnation.com/2014/4/7/5592454/kentucky-uconn-2014-ncaa-basketball-championship-results

 

[warrior-cat]

"Cal knows more than I do about basketball"

Fixed it for you.

Oh, and by the way, good post.

 

[jrollins24]

The trolls here know it. They haven’t had much to cheer about since Cal has been here so they are out in full force lately. Most are Louisville fans who barely have a pulse these days.

You seriously need to wake up. Most of us can't stand louisville or Puke but it's people like you that just think you can simply speak for everyone else and delete things you don't like...pretty much like the government. Get a grip on reality.

 

[FishersBlue]

Six words that are pretty much a mantra to me. Cal knows more than I do.

Right now, Wildcat spirits are low. And they should be. Unless you’re primarily a soccer or volleyball fan, it’s been a rough couple weeks, and I don’t need to catalogue the reasons.

But if you indulge a brief moment of rationality, you’ll realize we have a lot to look forward to this season. And Coach Cal is the reason why. I don’t need to write the man’s resumé, but it’s worth remembering that he’s been a head coach for 30 years, and he is really good at it.

He inherited a UMASS team that hadn’t even made the NIT in twelve years, let alone the NCAA tournament. In his fourth year they made the NCAA Sweet Sixteen. In his seventh year, the Minutemen reached the Elite Eight; in his eighth year, the Final Four. Try to fathom the level of transformation this was. This was his first head coaching job, before the invention of the dribble drive offense. His Sweet Sixteen team had one barely Top 100 guy in Tony Barbee and they took a good Kentucky team to the wire in the tournament.

Ditto Memphis. Calipari inherited a Johnny Jones team with a losing record that couldn’t even qualify for the NIT. In Cal’s second year, the Tigers won the NIT. In his sixth and seventh years, they made the NCAA tournament Elite Eight. In his eighth year, they reached the title game and nearly won the damn thing.

This stuff doesn’t happen by accident. You don’t win by accident or by luck. Not in college basketball. It’s too competitive; there’s too much parity.

Some folks don’t want to talk about all that. It’s ancient history and they want to know: what is John Calipari doing for Kentucky right now? Because other than a national championship, three Final Fours, a win-loss record identical to Adolph Rupp, and resurrecting a program in the death throes of a drunken philanderer’s mismanagement, what has Coach Cal really accomplished? Now that he’s disastrously missing on top recruits (except for the two Top 10 players just this year who have already committed), it’s time for Cal to answer to the exacting justice of BBN.

Well here’s their answer, and it has two parts. First, stuff hasn’t changed as much as people think. Our seasons have ebbed and flowed even under Cal. We have up years when the roster accumulates more talent than it loses (2010, 2012, 2014, 2015, 2017) and down years when it loses more than it gains (2011, 2013, 2016, 2018). Cal has turned even a down year into a Final Four, and no up year has been worse than an Elite Eight. As down as 2013 felt, it was succeeded by back to back Final Fours. And we’re nowhere near that down. Indeed, 2019 is an up year.

Second, John Calipari is the best NCAA tournament coach I have ever seen. By that I mean I have seen his teams transform on their journey from November to March more than the teams of any other coach. It blows my mind just how predictably excellent he is at this. Remember how terrible the 2013-14 regular season felt? That team looked utterly transformed when it mattered, and reached the championship game through a veritable gauntlet of competition. 2011 was a similar story of transformation. The 2017 team got obliterated by Florida in February - not in November - in a 22-point rout, and yet, I had no doubt that if we could survive UNC in the Elite Eight, we were going to the national championship. The team was Top 5 in both adjusted offense and defense. Even last year’s squad, down, injured, and dysfunctional as it was, had transformed into a winning team playing beautiful basketball in just the nick of time. But Cal can’t guarantee even his best shooters will hit open threes, or that forwards with broken digits will hit every free throw.

What I have learned to guarantee is that Cal will wring every drop of potential out of the roster we have to make a run in March. And this team has tools and competencies last year’s team didn’t. Just be patient. Relax, and keep enjoying every second of the Cal era. Love the process, and don’t be surprised when it pays off with a team that looks unrecognizably good in March. It’s what Coach Cal does. He knows more than we do.

Coach idolatry is a scary thing that afflicts way too many fans.

 

[DerekMcPwn]

Coach idolatry is a scary thing that afflicts way too many fans.

Not idolatry. A reasonable inference built on past performance, as the post established.

 

[BBUK]

Coach idolatry is a scary thing that afflicts way too many fans.

Idolatry? Seriously? "Shirley" you jest. I'd like to know another coach coaching today that you'd rather have then Cal? (That may answer a lot.) (Oh the current flavor of the two years J Wright. (Billy D did that too and some would take that dude after he jilted UK twice or three times. It is beyond me why.) Nothing against him but no to both J and Billy...Cal got this...

 

[CatfanMike47]

Six words that are pretty much a mantra to me. Cal knows more than I do.

Right now, Wildcat spirits are low. And they should be. Unless you’re primarily a soccer or volleyball fan, it’s been a rough couple weeks, and I don’t need to catalogue the reasons.

But if you indulge a brief moment of rationality, you’ll realize we have a lot to look forward to this season. And Coach Cal is the reason why. I don’t need to write the man’s resumé, but it’s worth remembering that he’s been a head coach for 30 years, and he is really good at it.

He inherited a UMASS team that hadn’t even made the NIT in twelve years, let alone the NCAA tournament. In his fourth year they made the NCAA Sweet Sixteen. In his seventh year, the Minutemen reached the Elite Eight; in his eighth year, the Final Four. Try to fathom the level of transformation this was. This was his first head coaching job, before the invention of the dribble drive offense. His Sweet Sixteen team had one barely Top 100 guy in Tony Barbee and they took a good Kentucky team to the wire in the tournament.

Ditto Memphis. Calipari inherited a Johnny Jones team with a losing record that couldn’t even qualify for the NIT. In Cal’s second year, the Tigers won the NIT. In his sixth and seventh years, they made the NCAA tournament Elite Eight. In his eighth year, they reached the title game and nearly won the damn thing.

This stuff doesn’t happen by accident. You don’t win by accident or by luck. Not in college basketball. It’s too competitive; there’s too much parity.

Some folks don’t want to talk about all that. It’s ancient history and they want to know: what is John Calipari doing for Kentucky right now? Because other than a national championship, three Final Fours, a win-loss record identical to Adolph Rupp, and resurrecting a program in the death throes of a drunken philanderer’s mismanagement, what has Coach Cal really accomplished? Now that he’s disastrously missing on top recruits (except for the two Top 10 players just this year who have already committed), it’s time for Cal to answer to the exacting justice of BBN.

Well here’s their answer, and it has two parts. First, stuff hasn’t changed as much as people think. Our seasons have ebbed and flowed even under Cal. We have up years when the roster accumulates more talent than it loses (2010, 2012, 2014, 2015, 2017) and down years when it loses more than it gains (2011, 2013, 2016, 2018). Cal has turned even a down year into a Final Four, and no up year has been worse than an Elite Eight. As down as 2013 felt, it was succeeded by back to back Final Fours. And we’re nowhere near that down. Indeed, 2019 is an up year.

Second, John Calipari is the best NCAA tournament coach I have ever seen. By that I mean I have seen his teams transform on their journey from November to March more than the teams of any other coach. It blows my mind just how predictably excellent he is at this. Remember how terrible the 2013-14 regular season felt? That team looked utterly transformed when it mattered, and reached the championship game through a veritable gauntlet of competition. 2011 was a similar story of transformation. The 2017 team got obliterated by Florida in February - not in November - in a 22-point rout, and yet, I had no doubt that if we could survive UNC in the Elite Eight, we were going to the national championship. The team was Top 5 in both adjusted offense and defense. Even last year’s squad, down, injured, and dysfunctional as it was, had transformed into a winning team playing beautiful basketball in just the nick of time. But Cal can’t guarantee even his best shooters will hit open threes, or that forwards with broken digits will hit every free throw.

What I have learned to guarantee is that Cal will wring every drop of potential out of the roster we have to make a run in March. And this team has tools and competencies last year’s team didn’t. Just be patient. Relax, and keep enjoying every second of the Cal era. Love the process, and don’t be surprised when it pays off with a team that looks unrecognizably good in March. It’s what Coach Cal does. He knows more than we do.

Oh my brother! That was one the posts I’ve read on this board! So much truth in it!

 

[jrollins24]

What I know is that we have a ton of fans that hate their life and use the internet to cry it all out. You’re a clownshow.

What you know is absolutely nothing. What you can't stand is something not going your way and someone feels different. Your brains are in your ass.

 

[Wildcat-in-STL]

So would you guarantee a final four?

 

[DerekMcPwn]

So would you guarantee a final four?

No way. If John Wall and De’Aaron Fox can’t do it, then it’s foolish to guarantee it. But I like our chances. A lot.

 

[KYFOSSIL]

Coach idolatry is a scary thing that afflicts way too many fans.

So is hate over a game.

 

[Blue Bigfoot]

____________________________________


and then...#7 seed UCONN happened.

https://www.sbnation.com/2014/4/7/5592454/kentucky-uconn-2014-ncaa-basketball-championship-results

^Seriously mods, isn't it time to take the trash out?

 

[the stat man]

Six words that are pretty much a mantra to me. Cal knows more than I do.

Right now, Wildcat spirits are low. And they should be. Unless you’re primarily a soccer or volleyball fan, it’s been a rough couple weeks, and I don’t need to catalogue the reasons.

But if you indulge a brief moment of rationality, you’ll realize we have a lot to look forward to this season. And Coach Cal is the reason why. I don’t need to write the man’s resumé, but it’s worth remembering that he’s been a head coach for 30 years, and he is really good at it.

He inherited a UMASS team that hadn’t even made the NIT in twelve years, let alone the NCAA tournament. In his fourth year they made the NCAA Sweet Sixteen. In his seventh year, the Minutemen reached the Elite Eight; in his eighth year, the Final Four. Try to fathom the level of transformation this was. This was his first head coaching job, before the invention of the dribble drive offense. His Sweet Sixteen team had one barely Top 100 guy in Tony Barbee and they took a good Kentucky team to the wire in the tournament.

Ditto Memphis. Calipari inherited a Johnny Jones team with a losing record that couldn’t even qualify for the NIT. In Cal’s second year, the Tigers won the NIT. In his sixth and seventh years, they made the NCAA tournament Elite Eight. In his eighth year, they reached the title game and nearly won the damn thing.

This stuff doesn’t happen by accident. You don’t win by accident or by luck. Not in college basketball. It’s too competitive; there’s too much parity.

Some folks don’t want to talk about all that. It’s ancient history and they want to know: what is John Calipari doing for Kentucky right now? Because other than a national championship, three Final Fours, a win-loss record identical to Adolph Rupp, and resurrecting a program in the death throes of a drunken philanderer’s mismanagement, what has Coach Cal really accomplished? Now that he’s disastrously missing on top recruits (except for the two Top 10 players just this year who have already committed), it’s time for Cal to answer to the exacting justice of BBN.

Well here’s their answer, and it has two parts. First, stuff hasn’t changed as much as people think. Our seasons have ebbed and flowed even under Cal. We have up years when the roster accumulates more talent than it loses (2010, 2012, 2014, 2015, 2017) and down years when it loses more than it gains (2011, 2013, 2016, 2018). Cal has turned even a down year into a Final Four, and no up year has been worse than an Elite Eight. As down as 2013 felt, it was succeeded by back to back Final Fours. And we’re nowhere near that down. Indeed, 2019 is an up year.

Second, John Calipari is the best NCAA tournament coach I have ever seen. By that I mean I have seen his teams transform on their journey from November to March more than the teams of any other coach. It blows my mind just how predictably excellent he is at this. Remember how terrible the 2013-14 regular season felt? That team looked utterly transformed when it mattered, and reached the championship game through a veritable gauntlet of competition. 2011 was a similar story of transformation. The 2017 team got obliterated by Florida in February - not in November - in a 22-point rout, and yet, I had no doubt that if we could survive UNC in the Elite Eight, we were going to the national championship. The team was Top 5 in both adjusted offense and defense. Even last year’s squad, down, injured, and dysfunctional as it was, had transformed into a winning team playing beautiful basketball in just the nick of time. But Cal can’t guarantee even his best shooters will hit open threes, or that forwards with broken digits will hit every free throw.

What I have learned to guarantee is that Cal will wring every drop of potential out of the roster we have to make a run in March. And this team has tools and competencies last year’s team didn’t. Just be patient. Relax, and keep enjoying every second of the Cal era. Love the process, and don’t be surprised when it pays off with a team that looks unrecognizably good in March. It’s what Coach Cal does. He knows more than we do.

Well said and thank you !! If the kids were missing on (Zion, Ayton ) are asking for stuff I want no part of them anyway. We all know the Rat Faced Bastard at Dook knows full well the NCAA will never knock on his door. Hell UNCHEAT blatantly cheated for TWENTY YEARS and the worthless ass NCAA barely did a drive by . So if your Cal what do you do ?

 

[jrollins24]

^Seriously mods, isn't it time to take the trash out?

really? for pointing out a fact?

Serious question: Why do you just simply want to "erase" people that don't agree with you?

 

[Blue Bigfoot]

really? for pointing out a fact?

The only fact I see, is that your an obnoxious Kentucky-loathing troll. And it's pathetically obvious.

 

[jrollins24]

The only fact I see, is that your an obnoxious Kentucky-loathing troll. And it's pathetically obvious.

smh. that's exactly the response I knew was coming. nice job. I most likely care, am older and have put more time into this team than you. I'm guessing you are at most in your 30's?

 

[Blue Bigfoot]

smh. that's exactly the response I knew was coming. nice job. I most likely care, am older and have put more time into this team than you. I'm guessing you are at most in your 30's?

You're trying to hard.

 

[jrollins24]

You're trying to hard.

57?

 

[ZaytovenCat]

Your ass lives in your mouth and you’re a hypocrite who came after me because I felt different than you. Keep making a fool of yourself. It’s entertaining.

Are you seriously calling out someone for “going after you because you felt different” than they did? You’re the biggest hypocrite on the board. 90% of your posts are nothing but instigating crap with posters who aren’t pumping sunshine and rainbows out their ass with every post. You’re as bad, if not worse, than the UL fans you love to call everybody.

 

[FishersBlue]

When Cal leaves we will be fine. This isnt the University of Cal.

 

[minjo]

Six words that are pretty much a mantra to me. Cal knows more than I do.

Right now, Wildcat spirits are low. And they should be. Unless you’re primarily a soccer or volleyball fan, it’s been a rough couple weeks, and I don’t need to catalogue the reasons.

But if you indulge a brief moment of rationality, you’ll realize we have a lot to look forward to this season. And Coach Cal is the reason why. I don’t need to write the man’s resumé, but it’s worth remembering that he’s been a head coach for 30 years, and he is really good at it.

He inherited a UMASS team that hadn’t even made the NIT in twelve years, let alone the NCAA tournament. In his fourth year they made the NCAA Sweet Sixteen. In his seventh year, the Minutemen reached the Elite Eight; in his eighth year, the Final Four. Try to fathom the level of transformation this was. This was his first head coaching job, before the invention of the dribble drive offense. His Sweet Sixteen team had one barely Top 100 guy in Tony Barbee and they took a good Kentucky team to the wire in the tournament.

Ditto Memphis. Calipari inherited a Johnny Jones team with a losing record that couldn’t even qualify for the NIT. In Cal’s second year, the Tigers won the NIT. In his sixth and seventh years, they made the NCAA tournament Elite Eight. In his eighth year, they reached the title game and nearly won the damn thing.

This stuff doesn’t happen by accident. You don’t win by accident or by luck. Not in college basketball. It’s too competitive; there’s too much parity.

Some folks don’t want to talk about all that. It’s ancient history and they want to know: what is John Calipari doing for Kentucky right now? Because other than a national championship, three Final Fours, a win-loss record identical to Adolph Rupp, and resurrecting a program in the death throes of a drunken philanderer’s mismanagement, what has Coach Cal really accomplished? Now that he’s disastrously missing on top recruits (except for the two Top 10 players just this year who have already committed), it’s time for Cal to answer to the exacting justice of BBN.

Well here’s their answer, and it has two parts. First, stuff hasn’t changed as much as people think. Our seasons have ebbed and flowed even under Cal. We have up years when the roster accumulates more talent than it loses (2010, 2012, 2014, 2015, 2017) and down years when it loses more than it gains (2011, 2013, 2016, 2018). Cal has turned even a down year into a Final Four, and no up year has been worse than an Elite Eight. As down as 2013 felt, it was succeeded by back to back Final Fours. And we’re nowhere near that down. Indeed, 2019 is an up year.

Second, John Calipari is the best NCAA tournament coach I have ever seen. By that I mean I have seen his teams transform on their journey from November to March more than the teams of any other coach. It blows my mind just how predictably excellent he is at this. Remember how terrible the 2013-14 regular season felt? That team looked utterly transformed when it mattered, and reached the championship game through a veritable gauntlet of competition. 2011 was a similar story of transformation. The 2017 team got obliterated by Florida in February - not in November - in a 22-point rout, and yet, I had no doubt that if we could survive UNC in the Elite Eight, we were going to the national championship. The team was Top 5 in both adjusted offense and defense. Even last year’s squad, down, injured, and dysfunctional as it was, had transformed into a winning team playing beautiful basketball in just the nick of time. But Cal can’t guarantee even his best shooters will hit open threes, or that forwards with broken digits will hit every free throw.

What I have learned to guarantee is that Cal will wring every drop of potential out of the roster we have to make a run in March. And this team has tools and competencies last year’s team didn’t. Just be patient. Relax, and keep enjoying every second of the Cal era. Love the process, and don’t be surprised when it pays off with a team that looks unrecognizably good in March. It’s what Coach Cal does. He knows more than we do.

BRAVO

 

[minjo]

We shall never forget, THE DOOR

Thank you coach Cal.

 

[Elliott Tim]

DMcP,
That was nearly inspirational. Other than that, it was a great post.

True Grit!

 

[dave5164]

We will not get another Head Coach that recruits like Coach Cal does or has us every season ready to make a run at the Final Four and a National Championship. The fan base at Kentucky is never satisfied with Coach Cal and his #1 and #2 recruiting classes each year. They are never satisfied with 6 Elite 8's and 4 Final Fours and a National Championship in starting his 10th season. Most fans complain because of the WVU game in year 1 when we shot 3 for 34 from 3 point and lost to WVU in the Elite 8 game. That was Coach Cal's best team and he knows that today and knows they could have won the National Championship in his 1st season. Then the UCONN loss in 13-14 season in the Final Four and the big Wisconsin loss when we were undefeated that season but we will not have a Head Coach that recruits like Coach Cal and a Head Coach that us each team ready in March to make a title run.

 

[JC43]

For those posters that have to comment negatively in OP inspirational post show your lack of character . Again you csn disagree but to personally attack other posters for agreeing and hoping says all we need to know. All this. " can't say anything negative, or you all worship Cal is utter bullshit. We are fans of a program. Good or bad. Many of us have been fans longer than you have lived through several coaches and generations. The game has chanGED and Cal has been at the forefront. With all this ncaa investigations I had no fear cause we all know Cal runs a clean program here at UK.

 

[the stat man]

You seriously need to wake up. Most of us can't stand louisville or Puke but it's people like you that just think you can simply speak for everyone else and delete things you don't like...pretty much like the government. Get a grip on reality.

Hey man if you don't like the way things are then take your sorry bitching whiny ass some place else, nobody will miss you that's for dam sure !!!

 

[ck-2]

Snowflake mentality on full display.

 

[St.PatterSoN-54-]

It's sad to see how quickly the whining minority can swarm the board when things aren't exactly rosy.

If we'd beaten Duke, these same snowflakes would be proclaiming that we're the greatest of all Cal's teams.

Grow a pair and enjoy the ride.

 

[CalipariCapo]

really? for pointing out a fact?

Serious question: Why do you just simply want to "erase" people that don't agree with you?

Because it’s basically been like watching a soft porn show of you sucking coach K/ Zion off all over this board. GTFO and go back to the rat hole you live in (under Coach K’s bed).

 

[turkeywildturkey]

Six words that are pretty much a mantra to me. Cal knows more than I do.

Right now, Wildcat spirits are low. And they should be. Unless you’re primarily a soccer or volleyball fan, it’s been a rough couple weeks, and I don’t need to catalogue the reasons.

But if you indulge a brief moment of rationality, you’ll realize we have a lot to look forward to this season. And Coach Cal is the reason why. I don’t need to write the man’s resumé, but it’s worth remembering that he’s been a head coach for 30 years, and he is really good at it.

He inherited a UMASS team that hadn’t even made the NIT in twelve years, let alone the NCAA tournament. In his fourth year they made the NCAA Sweet Sixteen. In his seventh year, the Minutemen reached the Elite Eight; in his eighth year, the Final Four. Try to fathom the level of transformation this was. This was his first head coaching job, before the invention of the dribble drive offense. His Sweet Sixteen team had one barely Top 100 guy in Tony Barbee and they took a good Kentucky team to the wire in the tournament.

Ditto Memphis. Calipari inherited a Johnny Jones team with a losing record that couldn’t even qualify for the NIT. In Cal’s second year, the Tigers won the NIT. In his sixth and seventh years, they made the NCAA tournament Elite Eight. In his eighth year, they reached the title game and nearly won the damn thing.

This stuff doesn’t happen by accident. You don’t win by accident or by luck. Not in college basketball. It’s too competitive; there’s too much parity.

Some folks don’t want to talk about all that. It’s ancient history and they want to know: what is John Calipari doing for Kentucky right now? Because other than a national championship, three Final Fours, a win-loss record identical to Adolph Rupp, and resurrecting a program in the death throes of a drunken philanderer’s mismanagement, what has Coach Cal really accomplished? Now that he’s disastrously missing on top recruits (except for the two Top 10 players just this year who have already committed), it’s time for Cal to answer to the exacting justice of BBN.

Well here’s their answer, and it has two parts. First, stuff hasn’t changed as much as people think. Our seasons have ebbed and flowed even under Cal. We have up years when the roster accumulates more talent than it loses (2010, 2012, 2014, 2015, 2017) and down years when it loses more than it gains (2011, 2013, 2016, 2018). Cal has turned even a down year into a Final Four, and no up year has been worse than an Elite Eight. As down as 2013 felt, it was succeeded by back to back Final Fours. And we’re nowhere near that down. Indeed, 2019 is an up year.

Second, John Calipari is the best NCAA tournament coach I have ever seen. By that I mean I have seen his teams transform on their journey from November to March more than the teams of any other coach. It blows my mind just how predictably excellent he is at this. Remember how terrible the 2013-14 regular season felt? That team looked utterly transformed when it mattered, and reached the championship game through a veritable gauntlet of competition. 2011 was a similar story of transformation. The 2017 team got obliterated by Florida in February - not in November - in a 22-point rout, and yet, I had no doubt that if we could survive UNC in the Elite Eight, we were going to the national championship. The team was Top 5 in both adjusted offense and defense. Even last year’s squad, down, injured, and dysfunctional as it was, had transformed into a winning team playing beautiful basketball in just the nick of time. But Cal can’t guarantee even his best shooters will hit open threes, or that forwards with broken digits will hit every free throw.

What I have learned to guarantee is that Cal will wring every drop of potential out of the roster we have to make a run in March. And this team has tools and competencies last year’s team didn’t. Just be patient. Relax, and keep enjoying every second of the Cal era. Love the process, and don’t be surprised when it pays off with a team that looks unrecognizably good in March. It’s what Coach Cal does. He knows more than we do.

Well, hells bells. I didn’t realize there were any UK fan that would admit they didn’t know as much as Cal does. Miracles do happen.,

 

[GonzoCat90]

No one who needs to hear what you said will ever read that many words structured in such a complex manner, which is part of the problem in the first place.

We're applying logic, reason, precedent and perspective to something that others are viewing with pure emotion and tribalism.

 

[WildcatDJ]

Cal has taken us to a Final Four as an 8 seed and a 4 seed...I'm not giving up.

 

[anon_013cn8yrfncx2]

Cal's record speaks for itself. But let's be clear. He hasn't had the Cats ready for a title run every year. Not even close.

This year who knows. Depends on seed and draw but a better chance this year than 2 of last 3.

 

[DerekMcPwn]

12/8/2018 - Bump, because some people on this board need a reminder.

New editorial - I don’t understand why we have to do this every year. Ole Miss took our superteam to overtime at Rupp in 2014 in January. Myles Powell went full Stefan Moody this afternoon at Madison Square Garden in December with, for all intents and purposes, the same result. And our current roster isn’t stacked with NBA superstars to complement a returning Final Four backcourt.

The same people in meltdown mode today will be the ones complaining about officiating in late March/early April because like everyone else they’ll know the team was a championship contender when it mattered. We have the pieces. We have the coach. We have the time.

Patience.

 

[ChicagoCat1990]

12/8/2018 - Bump, because some people on this board need a reminder.

New editorial - I don’t understand why we have to do this every year. Ole Miss took our superteam to overtime at Rupp in 2014 in January. Myles Powell went full Stefan Moody this afternoon at Madison Square Garden in December with, for all intents and purposes, the same result. And our current roster isn’t stacked with NBA superstars to complement a returning Final Four backcourt.

The same people in meltdown mode today will be the ones complaining about officiating in late March/early April because like everyone else they’ll know the team was a championship contender when it mattered. We have the pieces. We have the coach. We have the time.

Patience.

I don’t think it’s jist getting beat. We have yet to play a great all around game. We have yet to show any promise that we will be a legitimate title contender at years end. So to be pessimistic about this season isn’t that crazy. Let fans vent and meltdown. If Cal works his miracle and turns the team around, then you can make everyone eat crow. But If they flame out of the tourney again in unspectacular fashion...maybe the crazies on this board are onto something.

 

[Cawood86]

Not idolatry. A reasonable inference built on past performance, as the post established.

I agree on Cal and I agree he is a phenomenal coach. But I ain't seen that Cal in a while. The Cal took UMASS and Memphis to FF's. The cal that beat the '06 UK team.
That Cal is the best in CBB. That Cal took and 2011 team to a FF. If that Cal reappears, UK will be fine.

 

[DerekMcPwn]

I agree on Cal and I agree he is a phenomenal coach. But I ain't seen that Cal in a while. The Cal took UMASS and Memphis to FF's. The cal that beat the '06 UK team.
That Cal is the best in CBB. That Cal took and 2011 team to a FF. If that Cal reappears, UK will be fine.

He’s been here all along. People complain about angry, screaming Cal, but UMASS Cal screamed even louder.

It’s hard coaching freshmen. Different sport, but it blows my mind looking at the side-by-side of Josh Allen as a freshman and Josh Allen as a senior. Look at NBA Anthony Davis vs. UK freshman Anthony Davis. And that’s just the physical component; the basketball IQ piece is even more consequential.

This year is taking longer than usual because the most important piece of the team hasn’t materialized yet - the floor general. Last season was no different. People have already forgotten how long it took SGA to become the guy. He was a turnover factory at the start of the season, and our offense would grind to a halt every time Quade Green left the floor. I used to be in agony when it was just Shai and Hami out there trying to run an offense. Woof.

But if there’s one thing Cal knows how to coach, it’s point guards. Patience. There’s a star rising in Lexington. We just can’t see it yet.