Still shooting crappy. Still outrebounded. Oscar only has like 2 rebounds this half and a couple points. How are we winning by 10?
D-League
- Thread starter Wildcat Droppings
- Start date
Great win Cats! How many on Rafters still think we need Nate Oats at UK?
I am so happy Oscar got that last dunk! Happy for that young man who works so hard.
Yes, outstanding win in another hostile environment. These young men are super special. They kicked ass with great team play.
Go Cats!
Go Cats!
Probably a good thing Bama couldn’t hit a 3, not a great game by the CATS.
But screw it… it’s another W!
IU lost, just wished Duke would’ve lost too. Almost a great day…missed it by that much.
But screw it… it’s another W!
IU lost, just wished Duke would’ve lost too. Almost a great day…missed it by that much.
I just hope these Cats can keep their offense polished like they had it (And perfecting it.) while they trudge through this crap. It is hard transitioning back and forth between basketball and rugby. It's been rugby the last several games.
Just keep in mind how STUPID uncheat still is to honor Ole Rat and Rat took them to the woodshed for their trouble...
Wonderful win. Auburn won at Alabama by 4. Alabama just last week beat number 4 Baylor, yet UK whipped the by double digits.
I will take it.
I will take it.
They've said it before. He's not the only name they've floated.
I certainly don't hang on Cal's every word. I don't listen to his show. I hear him before the games and I always listen to the post game when we win because I don't want the fun to end. But I don't want anyone else as our coach. Kentucky is not an easy place to coach, even when you're winning.
I've been about the same with every coach. I can only listen to the coach speak so much.
edit: Coach!
We're in the top 50 in 3 point defense. 30.6% coming into this game. They got a few open looks but they still had to hurry.
Very similar view from here. I wish he would coach differently after a loss and think that he coaches a good game when we win.
This team is actually rounding into a possible great team.
I was very pleased with the production off the bench. I like Cal pulling Oscar after his first foul. Collins really filled in well and Toppin really hustled. I like rotating what I call 4 guards. The defense was the reason Alabama shot the three so poorly.
The picking apart of individual players in the game thread is ridiculous
I can only imagine. No, seriously, I never look at the game thread on rafters.
I was telling my wife during the game that Collins getting play, and doing good, puts a different sheen on this team. We aren't dependent on any one person to do their thing. It's good that Oscar rebounds at the rate he does, but often times he's rebounding against one of our guys. Wheeler didn't score tonight but has scored over 25 on another night.
We are a TEAM! That's what's been missing the last few years. We've had some individual talent, but they just didn't understand what it takes to win.
Yes
And even better they are so LIKEABLE
Cal said on post game that this might be the best team he's ever coached as far as players understanding and sticking to the game plan. He also said that one guy can screw it up for everyone.
This team should lay to rest all the discussion about talent vs experience. It takes much more talent to make up for lack of experience. We have lots of talent with lots of experience. This will be the norm going forward with Cal.
This team should lay to rest all the discussion about talent vs experience. It takes much more talent to make up for lack of experience. We have lots of talent with lots of experience. This will be the norm going forward with Cal.
The things I look at now for this team, are things they should not do. A huge difference in focus.
We can only hope... I am seeing signs of it now as I saw playing KU, Cal did not stop the teams method of play when the team was pulling away. I have seen that in so many Cal coached games. I think it is the assistants Cal has now. It may just be Cal is trying to learn or re-learn some things too. I hope so.
In my profession I am at the point to where I could coast. I fight with all that is in me to NOT do that. I constantly do things that will make me work and not only work but to excel and challenge myself. Cal is a little older than me, I can only imagine Cal is human too.
There is an old adage in sports. If you are ahead on the scoreboard, don't take chances. You're ahead. If you are losing, take chances. What have you got to lose? You're already behind.
There is no reason to play the last 5 minutes when you're ahead by 16 like you would if you were behind by 8. Don't get anyone hurt and just win the game.
Guys are tired at the end of a game and more prone to mistakes.
There is no reason to play the last 5 minutes when you're ahead by 16 like you would if you were behind by 8. Don't get anyone hurt and just win the game.
Guys are tired at the end of a game and more prone to mistakes.
I see the point but I also saw UK lose games doing that. More than a few. The key I guess is, not to start doing that at the ten minute or so mark in games or to not change your play entirely. I never will understand the taking the air out of the ball way of playing. Yeah I have heard so many "explain" it on the other boards. Yep, you have 30 second possessions but I have seen games where the other teams stripped, stole, tie up, and have several possessions every 30 seconds or so... Just don't hurt your teams rhythm... If they are playing a good song play it again.
Name the games. Weren't missed free throws a bigger factor than the impression that Cal "took the air out of the ball"?
Judging Cal by a few games is no different than judging a team, or game, on a few possessions. Has Cal been good or bad for Kentucky?
Judging Cal by a few games is no different than judging a team, or game, on a few possessions. Has Cal been good or bad for Kentucky?
I am talking about factors that have led to lower than expected performance over several years. It seems over the last several games those winds may be changing. New coaches getting acclimated to each other, new outlooks for the future whether internally or externally.
OTS was good for UK. He was never on Cal's level due to Cal's personality and it seems his drive to bring in talent and their differing motivations. (They have/ had different motivations.)
If you'd like to get into Cal's or OTS's motivations I'd be glad to as I enjoy Cal's philosophy. I also enjoyed OTS's philosophy as well.
Only a fool would state Cal has been bad for UK. The thing is, no one should ever settle for either/or if there are other options. You can do more than one good thing at a time. (We can discuss that another day.)
The two main issues I ever had with Cal is he over-sells the player first mantra by not also selling the University of Kentucky (Mostly fan expectations over a broad spectrum.) first along with the Players first. (Kind of like playing multi-level chess, you can do or promote more than one thing at a time...effectively. Cal also kneeled when he should have lead. That was horrible in so many ways. I never thought Cal would be able to recover from that and I hurt for me and him as it was a big mistake. I have stated many times that Cal needs to un-kneel. Darned if he isn't almost doing that now.
(Some behind the scenes things you will only see if you look for them.)
I usually do not tout anything I do but in this instance I will. Take a look at this foundation and give a little if you are so led...
https://www.caliparifoundation.org/contribute (It is a good place.)
If you are actually asking me to go back over the last five or so seasons to name you some games it sounds more like you want to argue. I don't want to argue.
We could agree to disagree in this instance. (Have a good morning, I am pulling a late one as I decided to spend most of the day with my Darling and the Booger Butt. It was great BUT, I still have things to do...doing them now...
You don't even have to pick the guitar up to start with......just start out working you fretting hand out......also get the lightest gauge string you can find......to start with....
Alabama generally hits more threes and were off last night. Probably more due to us throwing our hands up at them as they shot and fatigue of them playing such hawkish defense running around chasing our shooters. Noticed they substituted a lot trying to keep their players fresh.
Morning Legionnaires! Slide out of those cots and fire up those pots.
24° this morning with a high of 49° expected. Light winds with sunshine to try and melt the rest of the snow which is still piled in drifts.
Ugly game last night but a good win for the team. Very physical year in the SEC so far. Liked seeing the POGO stick get some playing time. Put a little more weight on him and he could give Oscar some help inside. It also seems our "bigs" are all getting tougher and serious about fighting through the physicality with intensity and not anger. Loved the constant movement last night by everyone trying to run the offense as Cal wants it. Started off sloppy and hit a few sloppy points along the way but settled down when needed. Thought early on Wheeler tried a little too hard to penetrate but adjusted quickly. A concern I had/have is we have struggled in games where teams have 7 footers that understand how to set the pick and roll. Started early on in this game but we adjusted fairly well after the first couple two or three baskets by their guy who only scores 5 points a game. He got that and more in the first few minutes and it looked like he was going to have a banner game but then we adjusted. It will have to be defense by committee going forward on bigs as I see other teams trying to exploit that area as well
Good morning D
Another cold morning 19 degrees now but supposed to warm up later
The more I think about the same last night the more I like it overall
Alabama has a good game plan. Give them credit…they really focused on Oscar and Kellan. And while there were some questionable calls. Bama did NOT play dirty, just hard (looking at you Vandy)
And Oscar really struggled…and you know what? I think that may have been the best thing for him. He’s actually dominated rather easily (don’t count the Vandy game because they were out to target him) Because he’s the kind of guy who will work even harder to fix and adapt that part of his fame, he will be better for it.
It also forced others to step up..they gained some confidence in their games and it’s added more weapons to our arsenal. Cal has more options than he did
This team is more a team in a true sense than we’ve seen in a while.
I love my team
Another cold morning 19 degrees now but supposed to warm up later
The more I think about the same last night the more I like it overall
Alabama has a good game plan. Give them credit…they really focused on Oscar and Kellan. And while there were some questionable calls. Bama did NOT play dirty, just hard (looking at you Vandy)
And Oscar really struggled…and you know what? I think that may have been the best thing for him. He’s actually dominated rather easily (don’t count the Vandy game because they were out to target him) Because he’s the kind of guy who will work even harder to fix and adapt that part of his fame, he will be better for it.
It also forced others to step up..they gained some confidence in their games and it’s added more weapons to our arsenal. Cal has more options than he did
This team is more a team in a true sense than we’ve seen in a while.
I love my team
Good morning from ATX. Currently 30°F, clear and calm. Still see ice on the ground. Today's high expected around 58°F. We are under a boil water notice. No biggie, my tea pot boils the heck out of water.
Yeah, we won another rock fight last night. Held Bama to 10% (3/30) on treys. Cats defense also enjoyed an edge on steals: 12-5. Oscar pulled down 15 boards. Hard-fought grinder of a game. Next up: Gamecocks in Columbia. Go Cats!
Going for a walk after bit. Usual chores await this morning. Must grocery shop a bit later. Typical Sunday morning.
Wishing happiness and health for all our fellow D-League members.
Yeah, we won another rock fight last night. Held Bama to 10% (3/30) on treys. Cats defense also enjoyed an edge on steals: 12-5. Oscar pulled down 15 boards. Hard-fought grinder of a game. Next up: Gamecocks in Columbia. Go Cats!
Going for a walk after bit. Usual chores await this morning. Must grocery shop a bit later. Typical Sunday morning.
Wishing happiness and health for all our fellow D-League members.
Good morning folks.
Great win by the Cats. Very tough environment. I'd guess lots of people looking ahead had this game chalked up as a W back when Bama beat Gonzaga rather easily on a neutral court (16 point halftime lead.)
Great to see the output by Collins. Cal is really showing skill in how he uses Collins and Ware and Hopkins in the right situations -- and even Allen a few games ago when TyTy was out.
The Rafters crowd is deflated, and grasping at straws the diameter of gnats' whiskers to denigrate the win, especially over their December fair-haired boy Nate Oats.
I'm not going to do it, but if someone resurrects some of the more idiotic threads from mid-December I won't be sympathetic for the worst of that crowd who seemed determine to lobby for setting the program adrift in that uncertain netherworld of a coaching transition despite having a certified hall of famer on the bench. Ask UNC-Cheats how that sometimes works - or Indiana for three full decades now.
Great win by the Cats. Very tough environment. I'd guess lots of people looking ahead had this game chalked up as a W back when Bama beat Gonzaga rather easily on a neutral court (16 point halftime lead.)
Great to see the output by Collins. Cal is really showing skill in how he uses Collins and Ware and Hopkins in the right situations -- and even Allen a few games ago when TyTy was out.
The Rafters crowd is deflated, and grasping at straws the diameter of gnats' whiskers to denigrate the win, especially over their December fair-haired boy Nate Oats.
I'm not going to do it, but if someone resurrects some of the more idiotic threads from mid-December I won't be sympathetic for the worst of that crowd who seemed determine to lobby for setting the program adrift in that uncertain netherworld of a coaching transition despite having a certified hall of famer on the bench. Ask UNC-Cheats how that sometimes works - or Indiana for three full decades now.
When Adolph Rupp came to UK, he replaced the most successful coach UK had ever had, Johnny Mauer. Mauer coached a methodical style called "submarine" ball. Rupp had only been a high school coach, but he convinced the hiring committee (which included a player btw) with his confidence and his new faster style which was based on giving talent more chances to succeed. History tells how that theory worked for him. BTW he was also the first coach to play a national rather than a regional schedule. He did that to showcase his talented players in areas of the country where the versions of pro ball was played in the day. I firmly believe if you have the most talent, you want more possessions (within reason). I do understand the theory of taking the air out of the ball with a lead late, but ask any coach what he's going to do if his team is the underdog. Almost always, he's going to try and shorten the game.
L to R. Keith Whitney. Ralph Stanley's mom, Ricky Skaggs. Way back yander.
Something told me our 3-point defense is no fluke.
Good Morning,
Not that you need it but I got your back when I see it. I look through RR a little as I do the paddock but not much.
That’s much appreciated BBUK.
Great info, I will caveat by using a line from...Rio Bravo....
"Dude I never had no idea you wouldn't (When Dude said he was going to take a bath.), I was just wondering when..." -Stumpy... (As far as the timing of such things...within the game along with the skill of the opposing team.)
Good morning! Good sleep after a great win! Now that they have opened the door to the transfer portal, we have a window of opportunity to cross the threshold and become dominant once again. Cal dabbled with the post grads prior to this new team building tool and it was helpful, but now he can build an entire team out of experienced and proven talent.
Think of the teams we play who have no chance to beat us. How often do those lesser teams have that one dude who makes us say "I wish he played for us". Now he can and some of them will.
We really missed out on having CJ this year. I think he got hurt in the shoot around for the Duke game. In his 2 years playing, and starting, for Iowa, he was a 47% 3 point shooter. He also had an impressive amount of steals. I only said that to say that as good as we are, we could have been even more potent. Riding the wave!
Think of the teams we play who have no chance to beat us. How often do those lesser teams have that one dude who makes us say "I wish he played for us". Now he can and some of them will.
We really missed out on having CJ this year. I think he got hurt in the shoot around for the Duke game. In his 2 years playing, and starting, for Iowa, he was a 47% 3 point shooter. He also had an impressive amount of steals. I only said that to say that as good as we are, we could have been even more potent. Riding the wave!
Totally agree with this BKO. Vandy played dirty as hell. I watched the game yesterday against LSU and Pippen did not get away with murder like he did at UK. I never hated Vandy, but with their current coach that may be possible now. I think he is dirty.
It was a cold 22°F when I got up this morning. It is now 37.8° on our way to 47. This should get rid of the last traces of our little snow.
I like what I see Cal doing with this team. I don't go to RR so I will not get into a verbal fight. I can't stand what I call stupidity.
You all have a great Sunday.
