Coach Cal says he was loyal to the twins

[Wiltthastilt]

This stuff shouldnt be put out in the media but this is todays day and age

http://www.usatoday.com/story/sport...s-stayed-semifinal-loss-out-loyalty/72972990/

 

[Willy4UK]

I know Kansas is loyal to its players too, but in a different way. Ya'll compensate your players with "graduation gifts".

 

[EvilMD]

When you lose a big game like that, just shut up about it. Anything and everything you say will be twisted by someone with an agenda against you. This could easily be interpreted....true or not....as you blaming the loss on the twins. And someone like Forde is going to use it against you at a later date, guaranteed. It's like when he said we lost to West Virginia because his players were looking ahead to Duke. Just don't go there.

 

[mj2k10]

This stuff shouldnt be put out in the media but this is todays day and age

http://www.usatoday.com/story/sport...s-stayed-semifinal-loss-out-loyalty/72972990/

I would say that, in today's day and age, a Kansas fan shouldn't be starting these kind of threads on a UK board.

And, BTW, this is a problem for every coach who has talented young players. How much rope do you give the more veteran guys who've done it for you before? When do you turn to the more talented, less-experienced player? Your coach has dealt with this rather poorly, as he couldn't find a way to utilize 2 top 5 recruits in Selby and Alexander, and sure as hell struggled with Kelly Oubre for most of last year.

Cal is just being honest here, and shouldering some of the blame (rightfully so- I wouldn't want anyone else, but the last 5 minutes of the Wisconsin game involved players and coaches freezing up under pressure) for the Wisconsin loss. Anyone who watched the game knows the twins came up short in those 5 minutes. I'm not a huge fan of the downplay of not winning the title, but I get where he's coming from.

 

[rolaid]

No doubt this is true ... Cal cost himself a perfect season & National title playing Andrew late against Wisconsin.

If you don't beleive go watch the last 5 minutes of both Wisconsin Final Four games in 14 & 15.

Cal knows it and anybody who has clue about basketball could see it coming. Andrew was going to win it himself. Problem is he is not good enough to do it on his own. Wisconsin knew he can't score inside free throw line if not allowed to get all the way to rim. They baited him and he delivered

 

[Joneslab]

I'm not sure it would've mattered because the game seemed to be lost in those four to eight possessions when we got the lead.

Ulis should have been playing, no doubt. But Cal yoked the game down to almost a stop. People have said that the bad shots the Harrisons were taking was "hero ball"; I tend to think they were playing against the shot clock because of the pace of the game.

There are times when Cal has scripted beautiful late-game scenarios in March. Ohio State, North Carolina, quite a few more. But he tends to get tight, and I think that was happening against Wisconsin. Not sure if Ulis or Booker being in there would've made a difference. He was trying to sit on that lead, the same way he sat on the lead against Kansas in the title game.

 

[Wiltthastilt]

You are not smart if you think I am a kansas fan. I couldnt name their starters and have never posted on a kansas forum. They are overrated every year. Wayne selden is hot garbage. Back on topic. I think coach is right, the twins earned it from their play most of the season and of course last season heroics. Who is to say the frosh would not have cracked? He is right and i do not blame him.

 

[CELTICAT]

Cal said they played because he was loyal to them. He did not say he was "too loyal." The distinction being that he didn't throw them under the bus like the OP is implying.

 

[EvilMD]

Cal got tight against Wisconsin, but he has been the complete opposite almost every other tournament game and that is why we won games against Louisville twice, Kansas, Ohio State, Wichita State, Michigan, Wisconsin the first time, UNC, WVU the second time, Notre Dame, etc.

He got tight both times against UConn. I think it's a byproduct of what you're facing.

 

[TheTweak]

Why wouldn't he stay loyal to them? They had played close games before and had proved they could handle it. Tyler and Devin were both kinda a liability in that game. Until the final stretch the twins played fine and after the run to the title game the season before I have no problem with Cal keeping them in. It would be quite a twist to say he is blaming the twins for not achieving a perfect season.

 

[Smashcat]

I'm not sure it would've mattered because the game seemed to be lost in those four to eight possessions when we got the lead.

Ulis should have been playing, no doubt. But Cal yoked the game down to almost a stop. People have said that the bad shots the Harrisons were taking was "hero ball"; I tend to think they were playing against the shot clock because of the pace of the game.

There are times when Cal has scripted beautiful late-game scenarios in March. Ohio State, North Carolina, quite a few more. But he tends to get tight, and I think that was happening against Wisconsin. Not sure if Ulis or Booker being in there would've made a difference. He was trying to sit on that lead, the same way he sat on the lead against Kansas in the title game.

Tend to agree that Cal lost the game by slowing it down. Most talking heads said that's how you beat UK and Cal walked us right into that trap.

 

[JFCats22]

Did I miss it or does it not say he was "too loyal"? I don't see that anywhere. No mention that Tyler or Devin "should have" been playing instead.

He said he was loyal to the Twins, same as any other coach in the world would be to two players who did what they did.

Dumb article.

 

[Backdoorcut11]

Love the guy, but cal needs to just shut up. His "loyalty" didn't lose the game. He got out coached. Just like Huggins did to him in 2010.

Now this makes the twins look bad. Cal says some silly stuff man.

 

[Joneslab]

Cal got tight against Wisconsin, but he has been the complete opposite almost every other tournament game and that is why we won games against Louisville twice, Kansas, Ohio State, Wichita State, Michigan, Wisconsin the first time, UNC, WVU the second time, Notre Dame, etc.

He got tight both times against UConn. I think it's a byproduct of what you're facing.

I think it's what you're facing but I think Cal is sometimes a little too enamored with this idea that he can get a lead and then just let the air out.

Many times it hasn't hurt Kentucky. Sometimes the lead is too insurmountable, sometimes our talent is just too much to overcome. But there are times when the game is played a little too tight to the vest and we seem to be trying to sort of slug it out with teams and hold on until the buzzer.

 

[MWes11]

Not one of Cal's better comments. I'll just leave it at that.

 

[mj2k10]

You are not smart if you think I am a kansas fan. I couldnt name their starters and have never posted on a kansas forum. They are overrated every year. Wayne selden is hot garbage. Back on topic. I think coach is right, the twins earned it from their play most of the season and of course last season heroics. Who is to say the frosh would not have cracked? He is right and i do not blame him.

My apologies. You're kind of asking for that assumption with your name, but I checked your post history, and you seem legit. This board has been inundated with Kansas trolls recently, so I assumed wrong.

 

[kybassfan]

Sounds to me like he decided to "dance with the one that brought him." I support him in that. You can second guess stuff like this to death. It was a reasonable decision in a pressure filled situation. I have no problem with what he said.

 

[ThroughBlue]

OP = envious Kansas fan

 

[MSU129]

For the ones saying that Cal slowed it down, I really thought he said after the game that he was not slowing it down...almost implied that players didn't listen to him and maybe they slowed it down?!

 

[bigblueinsanity]

It wasnt his loyalty to the twins that cost us, they should have been on the floor. It was his not subbing in Ulis that cost us. Ulis, twins, WCS, and KAT.

Booker couldnt be on the floor because Wisconsin abused him on D.

Any of this 2nd guessing is ridiculous anyway. The twins bailed us out many times before. They just ran out of magic. They were clutch, if nothing else.

 

[caneintally]

Did I miss it or does it not say he was "too loyal"? I don't see that anywhere. No mention that Tyler or Devin "should have" been playing instead.

He said he was loyal to the Twins, same as any other coach in the world would be to two players who did what they did.

Dumb article.

he didn't say that the OP is a complete idiot who is trying to start something . He is on ignore now.

 

[IL Wildcat]

Cal is trying to take some blame on himself for the loss but this will be construed as him throwing his players under the bus. That's why a Kansas fan posted this. Forget the disclaimer. He should have said, "HA! Take this!"

Look, players have off nights. They have stretches of games where they don't play well. It happens. If not for the Harrisons, UK wouldn't have even been in that game. Should he have pulled them and put in Ulis and Booker? Maybe. But is there any guarantee those guys could have helped UK to the win? No. It's easy to look back and second guess. It was crunch time and those 2 guys had done it at crunch time for 2 years. This time they didn't play well. Oh well.

I don't like downplaying the loss or emphasizing 38-0 over a title. I wouldn't do that. But I'm not Calipari. That competitive fight is what makes him a great coach. So I'm just gonna let him do his thing and I'll do mine.

 

[MWes11]

Anyone with eyes can clearly see that he does take the air out of the ball to try and hold on during big games. Don't think this is breaking news. That being said, many more times than not our athleticism and skill of our players can compensate for this. Very rarely it backfires.

 

[ThroughBlue]

He didn't say he was TOO loyal. He just said he was loyal.

 

[Joneslab]

For the ones saying that Cal slowed it down, I really thought he said after the game that he was not slowing it down...almost implied that players didn't listen to him and maybe they slowed it down?!

I'm not sure what he said after the game, but slowing it down has been a pattern. He said after the Kansas game that he almost got us beat. Periodically he'll kind of want to be really methodical like that late in games and try to just hold on for dear life.

This isn't a knock necessarily, as I think just as many times he's done things to help us win close games. He's a much smarter coach than people give him credit for being. But he's strangely conservative in a lot of ways and there are times when it bites him.

All that said, we got beat by an excellent basketball team.

 

[wkycatfan]

Personally, I think Cal saying they didn't watch much tape on Wisconsin was a bigger cause.

 

[mj2k10]

For the ones saying that Cal slowed it down, I really thought he said after the game that he was not slowing it down...almost implied that players didn't listen to him and maybe they slowed it down?!

Maybe. But if you're a coach who tells your players not to slow it down, and they do it anyway, that's still a coaching problem. Coaching is not just telling your guys what do, but having them actually execute it.

 

[wcc31]

So, Cal got tight in all the big games we lost but didn't in all the big tourney games we won?

UK under Cal has faced some ridiculous roads in the NCAA. Just compare who UK has faced and who Duke/Florida have had to beat the last 5 seasons. When you play that many good teams, you lose sometimes.

Anyway, I don't think having the Harrisons in late was a mistake at all. For all their flaws, those dudes have been clutch as hell for us. Both of them. In that game, they just didn't make the plays down the stretch and Wisconsin did. That's all there is to it.

What really LOST the game was getting killed on the glass and Dekker- two things a kid named Alex Poythress could've helped us out with. Finally caught up to us in the E8 and F4.

 

[Blueaz]

Cal said they played because he was loyal to them. He did not say he was "too loyal." The distinction being that he didn't throw them under the bus like the OP is implying.

and he said that they deserved to be in the game, because of their play over the past two years
There was no throwing under the bus.

 

[Blueaz]

he didn't say that the OP is a complete idiot who is trying to start something . He is on ignore now.

It is not just the OP...read some of the replies in this post...smh

 

[JWat_]

Meaningless.

If you take that comment to mean, "UK would have won if Tyler and Devin were in the game", you have poor reading comprehension skills.

I know that's the way the author was trying to spin it. But please, be smarter.

 

[TUL]

Eh, doesn't seem like a big deal, when you look at the actual quote. It isn't like Aaron hasn't performed under pressure, after all.

The whole "Who won the title etc etc" approach he keeps taking is a bit stupid though, especially when he asks "Who won the title three years ago?" I get that the 38 win streak was incredible, but yes, people DO remember national champs, and you should probably remember who won too.

 

[SilentsAreGolden]

Leave it to a chokehawk fan to start a thread for all the Cal haters to bloviate once again.

 

[CELTICAT]

The whole "Who won the title etc etc" approach he keeps taking is a bit stupid though, especially when he asks "Who won the title three years ago?" I get that the 38 win streak was incredible, but yes, people DO remember national champs, and you should probably remember who won too.

Considering who won it three seasons ago, I think it's a pretty hilarious dig.

 

[UofKBlue]

I don't understand the big deal here? Cal said he played the Harrison Twins basically because of the experience they had from the tournament run we made the year before. And what's the issue with that? Who could blame him?

 

[Drcatfan]

I will get torched for this comment, but there was a 4 to 8 possession stretch in which the offense couldn't create a good shot and Harrison forced a shot near end of shot clock. I don't think Ulis would have made a difference and actually may have had even a tougher time creating a shot on his own at the end of the shot clock (due to his height). There are two things that could have "saved" us: either some reliable set plays to create a shot or a player with the individual offensive skills to create himself a shot. I think a player more like Murray or even Briscoe is what we needed (can create their own shot).

I think Murray and Briscoe are better individual scorers (create their own shot and score) now than either Harrison twin or Ulis.

Note, I still love Ulis and think he is a great point guard.

 

[UK90]

Well, frankly, that was sort of the pink elephant in the room throughout last season, as it became increasingly apparent that our backup guards (Booker/Ulis) appeared to be better than our starting guards.

You knew Cal saw it too, and he's finally acknowledging it.

 

[TUL]

Considering who won it three seasons ago, I think it's a pretty hilarious dig.

Oh, I never read it as including this last title... figured three years ago was you guys. Like... "This year, Duke won the title, a year ago UConn won the title, two years ago Louisville won the title, three years ago Kentucky won the title." I guess if you read it as Louisville, sure. But it still seems a bit dumb. Pretty sure anyone who follows college basketball knows who wins titles. I mean, I get what he is doing, defending an amazing record, but that seems a dumb way to do it.

 

[Joneslab]

Well, frankly, that was sort of the pink elephant in the room throughout last season, as it became increasingly apparent that our backup guards (Booker/Ulis) appeared to be better than our starting guards.

You knew Cal saw it too, and he's finally acknowledging it.

I don't think either set was better than the other. They complemented each other well. Ulis wouldn't have been as effective as he was if he'd had to play 30+ minutes; not at his size.

Andrew all in all had a solid year. Just a game before he made the winning play. I've no problem with Cal going with him and Aaron. Taking Aaron Harrison out of a close game wouldn't have made any sense given what he'd done in his career.

I thought the problem was the methodology, not the personnel.

 

[MWes11]

Sometimes I wish Cal would take the Belichick approach on last season and not talk about it anymore. If anyone asked him I would just say we have moved on and are focused on this season. Commenting on it won't do any good, imo.