Coach Cal has “all the faith in the world” in P.J. Washington

[HICATFAN]

This was a confidence booster for P.J., the team and Coach Cal!!

AlohaCat


Calipari has “all the faith in the world” in P.J. Washington
by Larry Vaught

P.J. Washington had 16 points Saturday. (Jeff Houchin Photo)


By LARRY VAUGHT

At halftime it didn’t seem likely that P.J. Washington would be a key contributor for Kentucky.

Yet that’s exactly the way it played out as Washington had 10 of his 16 points and just one of his five turnovers in the second half of Saturday’s 81-71 win.

“Early on he bumbled balls and turned it over. He had five turnovers today and they were all like fumbles balls and maybe a charge,” Kentucky coach John Calipari said. “He and Wenyen (Gabriel) had nine of our 13 turnovers. We had 13 turnovers and those two had nine.

“When the game got in the balance, P.J. made every play he was supposed to make. We need him to play 40 minutes that way, or 30, whatever minutes he's playing.

“But even if he's playing poorly, I have all the faith in the world to go to him and that's what we did. We went at him.”

He delivered in a big way the second half, too, when Kentucky needed him most.

Washington, a freshman, said it wasn’t complicated what he was trying to do at the end of the game.

“At the end of the game, I tried to get the guys up in the air tried to get easy fouls and get to the line. I did that and I made my freethrows. I’m proud of myself and I’m proud of my team for giving me the ball,” Washington said.

Powering his way to the basket and finishing plays enabled Kentucky to end its four-game losing streak.

“It was a great learning experience for us. We learned a lot from losing those four games, I feel like we’re going to be a lot better the next couple of games,” Washington said.

“If we play like this, we feel like we can beat anyone in the country. We need to keep doing this in practice and eventually in the games. We’ll keep working on it every day.”

 

[Cindog28]

“Early on he bumbled balls and turned it over. He had five turnovers today and they were all like fumbles balls and maybe a charge,” Kentucky coach John Calipari said. “He and Wenyen (Gabriel) had nine of our 13 turnovers. We had 13 turnovers and those two had nine."

Yikes.

 

[Thompkins4uk]

I hope he comes back for his sophomore season.

 

[HICATFAN]

True, Cin, but I hope that this was a cleansing process...

AlohaCat

 

[DCFseattle]

Cal ain't got no quit in him.

 

[Smashcat]

Washington is a typical inconsistent freshman. Good game. Bad game. Bad half. Good half. All kinds of upside.

 

[SaguaroCat]

Cal ain't got no quit in him.

Yep. Difference between being a hall of fame coach and loudmouth fan. Posters on this board give up immediately and want to banish guys to the bench after one mistake. Good coaches have a plan to win and patience to see it through.

 

[morgousky]

“Early on he bumbled balls and turned it over. He had five turnovers today and they were all like fumbles balls and maybe a charge,” Kentucky coach John Calipari said. “He and Wenyen (Gabriel) had nine of our 13 turnovers. We had 13 turnovers and those two had nine."

Yikes.

 

[Mike-D]

I have faith until he makes a pass. Then I lose all faith.

 

[G-PIP]

Someone really knowledgeable about basketball once said: "If you don't have a post up presence, then your offense is a fraud. You won't win 6 games in the tournament."

 

[morgousky]

Someone really knowledgeable about basketball once said: "If you don't have a post up presence, then your offense is a fraud. You won't win 6 games in the tournament."

I am an extreme minority. I know good guards can carry you too, but I would prefer dominant bigs if I had to choose between the two.

The issue with PJ is like so many others. If they were 3-4 year players and he was learning off the bench behind Patterson, a more tradition build, then he would be fantastic.

Now back in reality, he could bolt. He could be here only long enough to show 5 years away talents, and Cal might pound it inside to him(vanilla vanilla pound pound) all tournament while he uses one move and we go home quick.

That is the problem. I love PJ too, in pre 2009 years.

 

[JoeBeeHall]

I am an extreme minority. I know good guards can carry you too, but I would prefer dominant bigs if I had to choose between the two.

The issue with PJ is like so many others. If they were 3-4 year players and he was learning off the bench behind Patterson, a more tradition build, then he would be fantastic.

Now back in reality, he could bolt. He could be here only long enough to show 5 years away talents, and Cal might pound it inside to him(vanilla vanilla pound pound) all tournament while he uses one move and we go home quick.

That is the problem. I love PJ too, in pre 2009 years.

So you are saying size does matter .

 

[morgousky]

So you are saying size does matter .

I just prefer them big. Lots of people think smaller guards are better deep in it but I'll take my chances with 7" plus.

 

[JoeBeeHall]

I just prefer them big. Lots of people think smaller guards are better deep in it but I'll take my chances with 7" plus.

Do you like guards than can penetrate and dominate ?

 

[Play some D]

I have a lot of confidence in Washington. But not this year. He just seems to me to not have good hands, no bounce, & not a lot of drive. But he's a freshman. I would much rather see Vanderbilt getting some of Washingtons mins. I know people hate for any of us to question Cal. I like Cal a lot, but I have questioned him playing Diallo as much as he was playing him. I also question him for playing Washington 9 more mins than Vanderbilt. I still think we can get to a final4. Now, let's go beat Arkansas.

 

[Cindog28]

I have a lot of confidence in Washington. But not this year. He just seems to me to not have good hands, no bounce, & not a lot of drive. But he's a freshman. I would much rather see Vanderbilt getting some of Washingtons mins. I know people hate for any of us to question Cal. I like Cal a lot, but I have questioned him playing Diallo as much as he was playing him. I also question him for playing Washington 9 more mins than Vanderbilt. I still think we can get to a final4. Now, let's go beat Arkansas.

If I could like this 100 times I would.

 

[Fox2monk]

I am an extreme minority. I know good guards can carry you too, but I would prefer dominant bigs if I had to choose between the two.

The issue with PJ is like so many others. If they were 3-4 year players and he was learning off the bench behind Patterson, a more tradition build, then he would be fantastic.

Now back in reality, he could bolt. He could be here only long enough to show 5 years away talents, and Cal might pound it inside to him(vanilla vanilla pound pound) all tournament while he uses one move and we go home quick.

That is the problem. I love PJ too, in pre 2009 years.

I crack up everytime you say vanilla vanilla pound pound for some reason .

 

[YaySports]

All the faith in the world is a lot of faith... like a worlds worth.

 

[HICATFAN]

All the faith in the world is a lot of faith... like a worlds worth.

I’m going to write that down and put it on my desk so that I can see it daily! Profound!

AlohaCat

 

[G-PIP]

I am an extreme minority. I know good guards can carry you too, but I would prefer dominant bigs if I had to choose between the two.

The issue with PJ is like so many others. If they were 3-4 year players and he was learning off the bench behind Patterson, a more tradition build, then he would be fantastic.

Now back in reality, he could bolt. He could be here only long enough to show 5 years away talents, and Cal might pound it inside to him(vanilla vanilla pound pound) all tournament while he uses one move and we go home quick.

That is the problem. I love PJ too, in pre 2009 years.

I agree that you don't normally see good post up play from freshmen. It's another of those learned skills that I imagine is pretty hard to hone well against high school kids. Williams (a sophomore) at Tennessee is an example of the growth that can come from a year in college - and I think most would agree Washington's upside is even better.

I'm not pretending to know what any of these players will do, but, for a number of reasons, most are assuming that Washington will be back next year. I'm excited about that.

 

[UKGrad93]

Do you like guards than can penetrate and dominate ?

 

[morgousky]

Do you like guards than can penetrate and dominate ?

I like sticky defensive guys who can penetrate or pull out.

 

[YaySports]

Do you like guards than can penetrate and dominate ?

Nothing like a guy who can take it hard to the hole and pound it in.... also gotta love when a guy can stroke it from deep.

We’re still talking basketball, right?

 

[KyCatFan]

Yep. Difference between being a hall of fame coach and loudmouth fan. Posters on this board give up immediately and want to banish guys to the bench after one mistake. Good coaches have a plan to win and patience to see it through.

I think you are exaggerating a little (maybe a lot). Having 5 turnovers is not 1 mistake. He has 55 on the year so far which is 7 more than the assists he has. His effort and horrible decision making are the reasons people have been unhappy with him so far. I don't think people want to banish him to the bench, but he should probably lose a little more of his playing time until he proves he deserves it back. The same goes for any other player that makes a bunch of mistakes each game still.

 

[Pizza Slice]

Nothing like a guy who can take it hard to the hole and pound it in.... also gotta love when a guy can stroke it from deep.

We’re still talking basketball, right?

I love watching women's basketball that allows deep penetration. Some of those girls can stroke it like no other. The kicker is when they start orally communicating, my God that's fun to watch.

 

[BBUK]

I like sticky defensive guys who can penetrate or pull out.

That's just nasty, as another poster talked about one of my posts recently. This is "really, really" weird... Not at you Morweirdsky...

 

[Hypotenoose]

All the faith in the world is a lot of faith... like a worlds worth.

Tautologically speaking.