It's impossible to have a rational discussion right now on this board. It's pointless. Everything just devolves into "Cal is an idiot! Cal can't coach! Cal will just screw it up." It becomes no real discussion, just another gripe thread. But I'll give you an opinion...
I agree that this team is not what I thought it was back in the Bahamas. Once I saw what Reeves could bring and then with the way Toppin was playing and even Collins, I thought this team could be dominant, one of the best in the nation. I will say, the early injuries to Oscar and Wheeler hurt the early development. Having heard Calipari talk about how the team really doesn't put in offense in the Bahamas, it makes more sense. They were just playing man to man defense and running a couple sets on offense. Anyways, I think that's part of the problem. For Collins, the death of his father seems to have set him back significantly. He was playing with confidence and aggression in Bahamas but we haven't seen that yet.
But there is something else here that I didn't see coming. Reeves doesn't seem to deal well with physicality. And he also has backed off under pressure. He showed against Michigan that he can step up, though, so maybe he has turned a corner. Fredrick has also struggled against more athletic teams. I'm not sure that will change.
As for Toppin, he showed some signs against Michigan that he is ready to step up. Before that, he was backing down under pressure and disappeared in the big games, vs Mich St and Gonzaga. He must be a consistent player for this team to be what we thought.
I think we're still waiting on some guys- Fredrick, Collins, and Livingston- to become what we need them to be. We have seen some flashes from Onyenso which i didn't expect and could be a good addition.
The best news we've seen so far is from Cason Wallace. We knew he could become a great player as he progressed this season, and he has shown that he may be ahead of schedule.
So, what's next? I'm not sure. We need these guys who have been timid at times to step forward and be what they have the potential to be. Namely, Toppin and Reeves MUST be consistent threats every game out. We need Wallace to continue his production. We need Oscar to be Oscar. We need Wheeler to be more steady. We need Fredrick to get open and make shots.
Yale will be a challenge because of their style, which mirrors Bellarmine and Mich State. That will tell us if we're ready to step forward or not. And the next high pressure game will be UCLA at MSG. That game will tell us if we are ready for the pressure of a big game and atmosphere. The Michigan game was a step in the right direction but was still lacking consistency. Too many turnovers and dumb mistakes, too many missed free throws under pressure.
I think we will get there eventually. We're gonna have some more growing pains. I just hope we can win while growing. When we hit conference play, we'll need to take more steps ahead. I guess we'll see.
Im not sure what you mean by its impossible to have a rational discussion on this board. Cal is the coach and this teams lack to perform is on him to a great degree. Why is it irrational to discuss that?
The style of play in the Bahamas was detrimental to the team. They didn't run plays and didn't really defend, it was streetball. They got it in their minds that they HAD arrived and could score 107 points anytime they wanted. Cal should have known that these teams were equivalent to high school teams. When they curb stomped those teams they should have been told these teams were like playing a womens NCAA team. Instead of playing streetball he should have actually worked on running plays, running a few out of bounds plays and teaching how to play a zone. We don't run any of that now and cals excuse is that we haven't had time to practice as a team yet. That's just BS. He Actually said that Oscar didn't KNOW the plays, and we let him get away with that totally irrational statement go as IF IT WAS TRUE..
Toppin an Collins are just what they were a year ago. Ill admit that Collins could have had a setback because of the loss of his dad, but significantly! When was he significantly better than he now?? never.
Oscar and Wheeler had time for early development IN THE BAHAMAS but they played streetball rather than learning anything, That's on cal. And why did they even need early development, there both upper classmen , they should be teaching the younger guys,
When did these guys and specifically Reeves become physical to weak? Cal see them every day and cal knows what his teams looked like in Memphis. Why did he recruit physically inferior players and why didnt make sure they became physically superior players ?
I also think there is something different about Oscar. I think Cal talk has effected his thinking. Watch Oscar closely. last year he never looked at the refs or looked at the bench holding his hands out like he was fouled. he's a second or two slower because he's complaining in ways that he didnt last year. This is subtle.. it not every time but quite a few times. he's actually celebrated after a score rather than getting back like he did last year. In not saying Oscars a problem but he's definitely not as dominate as he was last year.
Fredrick, Collins, and Livingston are not going to become what they need to be on their own, that's what coaches do, make players better. That's what RP did with Woods, Phephery, Farmer, and Feldhaus. Cal cant develop a 5 star guy while RP was developing 2 and 3 star guys and winning with them.
These guys should be ready for the big games from the get go. They have already been in the bubble for several years before coming to UK. And once you sign up with UK the coaches should have them ready for big time pressure before they ever walk out on the court. We are playing YALE next, YALE ! and your thinking that should be challenge for us. I don't care what style of play they bring they should NOT be a challenge for any UK. We should be able beat any 21st century Yale team by digging up the 1942 UK team and letting them play. Michigan is not a prime time team. they are in a p5 conference but they are not a high quality team. We could have easily lost to them had we not hit an abnormal amount of 3's. We miss on 4 of them we lose that game. Any team can get hot and hit a lot of threes, hitting a lot of threes consistently is another thing
We always think they will get there eventually, problem is they don't. Its not the teams fault. If they are underachieving Cal should be able to detect every issue and fix them. The great coaches always do.
