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Cal says

And unfortunately he's exactly right. End of season schedule will be brutal if our guys are committed to being better in every phase.

The trouble is that this recruiting class, while really good, is not outstanding and has no upperclassmen to help. Both Wenyen and Sasha are McD's AAs but both have limitations (obviously, we know that now). Neither are good enough to provide badly needed leadership. Shai and Knox could do that but are wildly inconsistent. PJ is possibly the most gifted skill-wise and in body, but seems to struggle because of a lack of intensity and low motor. He just doesn't want to work hard enough to beat the other guy. As our guards go, so goes the team--I said this largely from the beginning of the year and it is very true now that we've seen enough sampling. Both PGs today were subpar for the lead roles they have to assume. Duke is also proving that you simply cannot rely on and put your laboring oar in the hands of boys--you win consistently now at the highest level of college basketball with men.

Maybe we need to re-do our offensive focus and start shooting threes with wreckless abandon. We need to have that as part of our identity. What else do we have? We're not posting up PJ. We don't post up Hamadou. We effectively have no post up game that we can go to consistently. We slash and hope for the best if we're to willing to penetrate and dish. We even passed up some chances to shoot an uncontested three today. Maybe we just know the truth--none of them are great shooters. But, that goes back to breaking down a defense with good guard play--if that happens, we turn into a decent shooting team, so it really is more learning to be difficult to guard and doing a better job in our half-court offense.

Today was our worst game since the Billy Gillispie days (Noel's team was pretty inept also). Even with this group, that should never have happened. A little lack of energy--putting that a bit more harshly, that's called laziness--plus low understanding of the game of basketball create losses to teams you should be able to beat.

It's concerning we're seeing a definite downward trend. Not good. I must admit to being nauseated when I watch these guys play crappy basketball. They are better than this, but still maybe not as good as we want them to be.
They must have been on the dollar menu
 
Calipari needs to go back to the drawing board with this group. More fundamental skill teaching and getting someone to lead on the court.

Lack of leadership is really hurting right now....
 
Nope!!!! There are big time pumpers on here including yourself unless you can give a true and real answer to this team.
Wrong again! Missouri played their best game of the season and we couldn't throw it in the ocean. If you've played any level of ball you should know this. Was I happy? Hell no! We have 6 losses and most didn't expect that at this stage. This team needs to learn unselfishness in a hurry to make a good run. If that happens and JV gets into 35 minute/game condition, we'll be fine. If this makes me a pumper, so be it.
 
There is no one on this team ready for the NBA

They're not recruited to be ready for the NBA; rather because they are potentially draftable by the NBA after their freshman year.

If they can play basketball year 1 then so be it but let's not get our priorities confused.
 
It didn't surprise me that we lost today. Youngest team Cal has had and they are going to struggle on the road. Its disappointing but I think the team will continue to improve. People need to calm down and stop letting the irrational and low life trolls bait them into bashing our staff and players. The SEC has improved a lot and we have our youngest team in many years.
 
Fellas it's not all about selfishness. There is some of that I see at times but it's more about the fact they just don't know how to play off others because they never had to. The ball was in their hands 90% of the time on high school and they built their habits trying to find a shot and a way to score with the ball in their hands because most of the time they could in HS.

In college you just can't do that without playing off others by moving the ball, or drive and kick, pick and roll qor give and go etc.

I pick on Cal a lot but in this case I do believe he is right when he says they are good kids and not the selfish type, they're just really uncomfortable and struggle playing without the ball. That's why they are such bad passers when they do try to move it. They're lack of feel for spacing and timing and angles and feel for the defense is REALLY BAD. I saw Shai (our point guard!) try to enter a pass from the top of the key to the left elbow with a defender denying topside!

So while I do see a little ME out there I think most of it is a real lack of feel for the game. And while Cal is lost for answers I think one is to blow up the idea of "positionless basketball" and start assigning and demanding they play their role with specific duties. Start by telling PJ he is to stay on the baseline and block. Then go down the list. And teach spacing spacing spacing
 
I agree with you that we will get better. You don't play a game like we did vs. Louisville and VT and 2nd half vs. WVU and say this is a bad team. We just need to play consistent basketball in both halves. Our defense is getting better but our offense waits till 2nd half after we are down double digits to play better on offense. I also agree that we need to run more and press more. If we are hitting our shots in 1st half we win by double digits today. I still like the lineup of Green, SGA, Knox, PJ, and Vanderbilt. With the Harrison twins last year we waited till last 2 SEC games left and SEC Tourney before it clicked and made the run to the Final Four. We still have 8 games left in the SEC and many of the other teams in the NCAA are having same problem.
 
I bet there are a few people on this board that could take care of it. Be more like a Frank Martin at practice. I would have them scared of me that when they did not do what I told them they would run until their tongues were out. My college football coach would just look at you and you shook in you boots
 
This will be like this until we have a superstar we cant win with this kind of talent. Tubby got heat for far less this team as no iq and is soft. Wrose offense i've ever seen here. We are awful and Cal brings shit like this to Kentcky?
 
Guys, if you just gotta trash somebody, look at the AAU and high school coaches. They are the ones that taught fundamentals. You don’t unlearn in a year something you’ve been taught incorrectly or not at all over several years.

On another point, the NBA knows this well. They don’t recruit based on what you are doing. They are concerned with what they believe you can do.
 
It didn't surprise me that we lost today. Youngest team Cal has had and they are going to struggle on the road. Its disappointing but I think the team will continue to improve. People need to calm down and stop letting the irrational and low life trolls bait them into bashing our staff and players. The SEC has improved a lot and we have our youngest team in many years.
Who are these low life trolls? The ones that are pissed at how awful this team is playing?
 
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Wrong again! Missouri played their best game of the season and we couldn't throw it in the ocean. If you've played any level of ball you should know this. Was I happy? Hell no! We have 6 losses and most didn't expect that at this stage. This team needs to learn unselfishness in a hurry to make a good run. If that happens and JV gets into 35 minute/game condition, we'll be fine. If this makes me a pumper, so be it.
Thank you, your logic doesn’t fit in with some agendas but I concur with you. Stop the panic people
 
His rosters over the years have covered up his coaching ability. Now Duke, and other schools are beating him at the recruiting game for one, and done's. Time for coach to rethink his methods. This season is over. We're halfway through conference play, and they are still playing from behind in EVERY game.....That's not Kentucky basketball.
 
Putting myself in the players shoes here, I feel like they have to be somewhat frustrated too. I mean, who are they supposed to pass the ball to? There's no motion in our ddMo. Watch it, the only guy moving is the guy with the ball, nobody else is cutting or trying to get open. Remember how Murray used to run around like mad man trying to get open? Where is that with his team?
It's a very poor offensive design in my opinion. Cal needs to redesign it and find something that works for the team he has.
To me, all I see is isolation (one on one) offense, where you have to beat your man and that ends up turning into 1 guy trying to beat 4 defenders because nobody is moving.
We see this every year, some players, like Fox, Monk, Knight, Ulis, Murray etc… have the physical tools to pull it off, but this team doesn't.
Overhaul the offense Cal, do something that works for THIS team.
 
Wrong again! Missouri played their best game of the season and we couldn't throw it in the ocean. If you've played any level of ball you should know this. Was I happy? Hell no! We have 6 losses and most didn't expect that at this stage. This team needs to learn unselfishness in a hurry to make a good run. If that happens and JV gets into 35 minute/game condition, we'll be fine. If this makes me a pumper, so be it.
Nope! Very good answer.
 
I am puzzled why coach always blames the players for this or that. How about some new offensive sets? The ones we run are too predictable and easy to stop. I almost want to be zoned so that will dummy down the defense we are playing against. Cal is definitely a defensive first coach...our offense is weak.
 
Can anybody tell us what Cal's offensive scheme is? I look and look for any resemblance of some type of set offense and I see none.
Dribble Drive, right? That's the offense where you run isolation plays and give your superior athletes the opportunity to take their guys one-on-one.

The problem is, our guys consistently give up dribble drives, but are very underwhelming in isolation plays themselves.

I believe the guy in the broadcast booth went on and on about how bad we in when we run isolation. And Cal's offensive system revolves around isolation.

Not good!
 
Putting myself in the players shoes here, I feel like they have to be somewhat frustrated too. I mean, who are they supposed to pass the ball to? There's no motion in our ddMo. Watch it, the only guy moving is the guy with the ball, nobody else is cutting or trying to get open. Remember how Murray used to run around like mad man trying to get open? Where is that with his team?
It's a very poor offensive design in my opinion. Cal needs to redesign it and find something that works for the team he has.
To me, all I see is isolation (one on one) offense, where you have to beat your man and that ends up turning into 1 guy trying to beat 4 defenders because nobody is moving.
We see this every year, some players, like Fox, Monk, Knight, Ulis, Murray etc… have the physical tools to pull it off, but this team doesn't.
Overhaul the offense Cal, do something that works for THIS team.
We need to go back to running it up and the down the court. Try to score before the defense is set. That's what this team is equipped to do. Diallo is at his best in transition. Knox is at his best in transition. Green's game winner the other night was a great play in transition. We beat WVU, whether it was against the press or after a missed basket, because we got out in transition. How Cal doesn't understand that this, of all his teams, is one that has to attack before the defense gets set, is beyond me.
 
He takes Vanderbilt out for taking a bad shot, but plays Washington every second the 2nd half for doing nothing.

Washington is his biggest problem. He doesn't play hard and jacks 3's he shouldn't. Cal says these guys are someones child and he is responsible for them.

I say if they don't want to listen and play as hard as Vanderbilt, Gabriel and Jones, then they deserve to sit till they want to try hard. Knox could drive or post most of the time but refuses to play that way. He wants to shoot, shoot and shoot from the outside mainly. Diallo takes 3's he shouldn't and rarely passes the ball. Who is running this joint?
 
This is shaping up like another 2nd round Indiana loss year. Sigh.
I said after the season started, this groupe will be VERY LUCKY to get past the first weekend of the BIG DANCE! My Son said I was CRAZY for thinking that! Cal will work it out, and it's the youngest team EVER? I'd love to have a dollar for everytime I have heard that, This is the youngest team in the country, and it's a work in progress, and the SAME OLD [poop] PILE I hear every year.......... [sick]
 
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We need to go back to running it up and the down the court. Try to score before the defense is set. That's what this team is equipped to do. Diallo is at his best in transition. Knox is at his best in transition. Green's game winner the other night was a great play in transition. We beat WVU, whether it was against the press or after a missed basket, because we got out in transition. How Cal doesn't understand that this, of all his teams, is one that has to attack before the defense gets set, is beyond me.
Problem is, teams don't let you just run it up and down the court like that.
West Virginia will, because that's their style, but you can't live like that in CBB. You have to be able to beat teams in the half court or you won't make it out of the first weekend in the NCAAT.
 
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