Do you agree with Forde here....?

[catrecruit]

With his reference to Andrew?

"Ulis was Calipari’s best point guard last year, but he clung to sophomore Andrew Harrison as his primary point – clung to him so stubbornly that it helped get Kentucky beaten in the Final Four against Wisconsin, when Harrison and twin Aaron seized up down the stretch. This year, with the Harrisons gone, the 5-foot-9 Ulis has the job to himself. And he is ready to star, as his 18-point, six-assist, four-rebound, zero-turnover stat line showed."

 

[UKWildcats#8]

No, I do not agree. The Harrison twins brought UK back from a 9 point deficit and got us a 4 point lead with 5 to go. Benching them would have resulted in never coming back from said 9 point deficit as Ulis/Booker were abused on D in that game (wisconsin had a PRETTY GOOD Offense as some seem to forget).

Now having said that. I would have went with Harrison, Harrison, and Ulis the last 5 minutes...as the length of the twins with WCS and Towns could have helped on D and I like the 3 guard line up better than the one we utilized.

 

[JasonS.]

http://sports.yahoo.com/news/kentuc...elling-early-season-tilt-054448136-ncaab.html

Also, no. Andrew/Aaron both played pretty great in that game.

But it's an arguable point, especially since Cal has made it himself.

 

[UKvisitor]

Forde is just echoing what has been said by many on this board even last year. I felt that Ulis was the best PG last year. Andrew had his plusses.

 

[wildcatsboston1984]

Perhaps if it was someone that didn't have a clear agenda against the Harrisons their entire time at Kentucky.

 

[TankedCat]

you can't take a 5 minute slice from the Wisconsin game and base the whole year on it though

 

[JWat_]

With his reference to Andrew?

"Blah blah blah blah backhanded compliments, made bed, looks good, my career peaked a long time ago and now I just cover swim and dive, and troll UK basketball and ACC football teams not named Louisville for a living, since no one wants to read books about a vampire with multiple major sex scandals. I like volleyball and most people hate my guts because I'm a shameless prick."

I agree.

 

[AirRaidFan]

I agree with that Forde statement. Yes.

 

[kitkoodle]

hmmm didnt coach cal even admit, he left them in too long, he felt obligated to do so?

 

[capnmonkey]

Andrew was REALLY good for most of last season, and Ulis was pretty banged up at times.
With the benefit of hindsight, its easy to say that Ulis should have played more. Going into the game, Andrew was a good choice.

 

[Federal Cat]

This is how I see it, we can knock our teams play, but not anyone else especially some media personality who just couldn't wait to see Kentucky lose last year and their were many of them all season long especially during the tournament

 

[TankedCat]

undefeated until the last game of the season and second guessing the decision to play a point guard from a final four team the year before.

that's the bar he's setting as an observer now?

 

[IL Wildcat]

Well it's easy to say, in hindsight. That's what Calipari said a couple months back. In hindsight, he was too loyal to Andrew. But there is no guarantee that Ulis and/or Booker could have won the game. The year before, the Harrisons are the only reason we made the Final Four. If he had taken them out and the team lost, folks would have second guessed that also.

Is Tyler a better point guard? Yes, I think he is better today. Was he better last March? Maybe. But second guessing doesn't help anyone.

 

[Aike]

Trolling 101. A lifetime loser picking the one nit he can pick.

Believing Andrew would get the job done was a good call, based on historical evidence.

 

[UKvisitor]

From the same article that quote came from, Forde was D head trying to throw barbs at UK and Cal.

"The Wildcats have reloaded faster than the Blue Devils. Not necessarily better – that will be decided in the spring. But faster."
"Krzyzewski got the last and longest and most meaningful laugh in April, when he won his fifth national title, while Calipari’s 38-0 team stumbled one step short of a collision with Duke in the championship game."

He does finish with this:
"Duke must accept that if it wants to catch up to Kentucky by March, it has a lot of ground to cover. The Wildcats are way out in front early."

 

[TheBigBluePrint]

There's nothing to agree with here. He's is stating a fact everyone knows and adding a prickly little twist to it. It's not as if it's original or his original thinking in any way shape or form. It happened, and he is simply bringing it up to remind UK fans of it. He's like Max Mercy in The Natural, a tool and leech waiting for others to crumble so he can have a story.

 

[Stonewall12]

I am glad Ulis is playing PG for 40 minutes.

 

[KentuckyWildcat4Life]

This post is

 

[OH_catfan]

Andrew didn't lose the game to Wisconsin. However, Cal deciding to take the air out of the ball and only make Wisconsin play D for the last 7 seconds on the play clock did.

 

[UKvisitor]

Wonder why forde didn't write article about how great UL guards played last night against U Hartford? (sarcasm)

 

[wcc31]

No, I do not agree. The Harrison twins brought UK back from a 9 point deficit and got us a 4 point lead with 5 to go. Benching them would have resulted in never coming back from said 9 point deficit as Ulis/Booker were abused on D in that game (wisconsin had a PRETTY GOOD Offense as some seem to forget).

Now having said that. I would have went with Harrison, Harrison, and Ulis the last 5 minutes...as the length of the twins with WCS and Towns could have helped on D and I like the 3 guard line up better than the one we utilized.

Completely agree with this.

The whole "should've benched the Harrisons" stuff is insane. For all their faults, they were CLUTCH AS HELL. If he put Aaron on the bench for Booker, I would've lost my mind. The guy may be the most clutch Wildcat of all-time and you pull him down the stretch in the Final 4? Did these idiots not watch the 2014 NCAA Tourney or the Elite 8 ND game? You have a better argument with Ulis, but as said above, he should've been in WITH Andrew, NOT for Andrew.

 

[EvilMD]

Forde and Goodman are constantly trolling Calipari and those who support him. He knows this is a bone of contention with UK fans and so Forde puts it in his story. Ulis couldn't guard anyone in that Wisconsin game. And Andrew came through with the game on the line against Notre Dame. I watched the end of the Duke game and wondered what Ulis might have been able to do against Sconny, but how do you take that risk when he's a liability on the other end?

Yesterday Goodman tweeted that World Wide Wes was seated in the front row and probably giving hand signals to UK players.

Take everything you read from these two with a grain of salt. They have agendas.

 

[Brando Mac]

Well, I mean, we had only won 38 games in a row with Andrew starting...

I do agree that Ulis is the better pure point guard. I think he's the best pure point guard since Cal has been here (note: not the best athlete or physical specimen). Wall is close in terms of PG skills and obviously has the huge advantage when athleticism and physical attributes are factored in. The Harrisons could be frustrating at times and I prefer our backcourt this season just in terms of skill, but let's not forget that they had their strengths as well.

Forde, though, is so obviously trying his damnedest to be the rain on top of one epic parade that's been taking place for us these past 48 hours. His buddy Rick's program is in a tailspin of hilarious proportions while Kentucky is experiencing a resurgence ever since Murray committed to end a worrying slump (some slump for Cal, eh?) and we haven't looked back since. This supposed grown man is acting like a scared little child because all of the "doom and gloom" that he and others of his ilk forecasted for us after Duke won the title and we (luckily?) missed on a bunch of our 2015 recruiting targets clearly hasn't came to fruition.

Kentucky has a top 5 team this season (AND THEY HOPED IT WOULD BE OUR BRIDGE YEAR HYUCK HYUCK HYUCK!) with the best backcourt in the nation, and we've seen countless times that great guards that can drive and shoot win in March/April. We've already locked up a legendarily badass recruiting class for 2016 and we'll be right there fighting for our spot at the top of the heap once again next season.

So yeah, pretty easy to see why he mad, bro.

 

[W_Heisenberg]

Tough to say..my instinct says in that particular game, if Ullis plays 30 minutes, we win. But in the moment, can't say I wouldn't have stuck with my sophomore guards.

I don't think you can't second guess Cal's decision...Harrisons were stone cold killers and made big plays when we needed them on several occasions, easy to see that Cal was expecting them to close it out vs. Wisc.

Cal's lineup won the most games in NCAA history, so he had those odds for the last 2 games.

 

[mccollums]

hindsight....

UK was in a no win situation if they didn't win the title last season.

If he brings Ulis in and we lose... why did you bench the Harrisons when UK was 38-0.

I don't think he could've brought Ulis and/or Booker in as much (30mpg) in the Wisconsin game (unless it was late offensive / defensive substitutions) because we never worked on a zone all season.... Wisconsin was taking advantage of our switches and we were getting beat off the dribble or on post ups. Harrison's were playing more solid D in that game because of their size/experience.

When we had the 4 point lead late and 3 straight possessions of driving into 4-5 defenders.... that's when I would have tried a different lineup.. Towns in the middle surrounded by 4 shooters. It would have opened up driving lanes for a possible layup or a kickout for an open 3.

 

[Xception]

Where's the challenge in being right after the game , in the heat of the moment with pressure you have to make a call . You might have wanted Cal to play Ulis but it wasn't because you knew what was going to happen . Total hindsight on this one .

 

[kybassfan]

With his reference to Andrew?

"Ulis was Calipari’s best point guard last year, but he clung to sophomore Andrew Harrison as his primary point – clung to him so stubbornly that it helped get Kentucky beaten in the Final Four against Wisconsin, when Harrison and twin Aaron seized up down the stretch. This year, with the Harrisons gone, the 5-foot-9 Ulis has the job to himself. And he is ready to star, as his 18-point, six-assist, four-rebound, zero-turnover stat line showed."

Let me translate this for you.

Kentucky fans are puppets. I can get half of the Kentucky fan base to fight with the other half for days on end in one stupid paragraph. Watch!

Forde's comment is stupid on a number of levels. Its designed to start a pissing contest. Don't fall for this stupid BS.

 

[Icecoldbrewdoggy]

With his reference to Andrew?

"Ulis was Calipari’s best point guard last year, but he clung to sophomore Andrew Harrison as his primary point – clung to him so stubbornly that it helped get Kentucky beaten in the Final Four against Wisconsin, when Harrison and twin Aaron seized up down the stretch. This year, with the Harrisons gone, the 5-foot-9 Ulis has the job to himself. And he is ready to star, as his 18-point, six-assist, four-rebound, zero-turnover stat line showed."

He's a piece of garbage that used Ulis to bash Cal. It's sad to watch someone that is supposed to be a Professional act like a baby repeatedly.

 

[Mike-D]

With Forde as our coach, 40-0 would have been no problem last year. He's got it all figured out. It just amazes me that he would rather take a pay cut, and write for yahoo. You won't find another elite coach like himself do it again.

 

[4UK]

No, I couldn't disagree more with Forde, or anyone else on this board for that matter who shares that view.

For starters, this is another case of laziness in linking the twins as one. Booker was terrible in the Wisconsin game. He literally couldn't guard anyone on the floor. And I love Booker, but he couldn't play in that game defensively, so "benching" Aaron wasn't even in question.

Beyond that, both Harrisons made so many clutch plays over two years it's hard to keep count. Even in games where they didn't play well, they always found a way to make a play when it counted most. Remember the UK-Wisconsin game in 2014? Aaron hadn't made a three all game (and only two buckets total) before he hit the dagger. So should Cal have benched him that game?

I'm sure that Cal had absolutely no doubt that one, or both, would make a big play when needed. There was zero reason for him not to believe that. It didn't happen, but to blame Cal for believing it would is silly.

 

[JohnBlue_]

Let's don't pretend he wasn't part of the game, Ulis played 17 minutes and finished with 6 points, 1 assist. Andrew played 31 min's and finished with 13 points, 4 assist. It's easy to second guess but it's a huge assumption to think the outcome would have been different.

 

[UKBrassowTipIN]

No andrew played really well in the tourney...we lost bc we changed the way we played..Cal pulled the ball out and played not to lose...shld have given Towns the ball every trip

 

[Deli owl]

That's a sports reporters guess. Nothing more.

 

[Big Foot 275]

No andrew played really well in the tourney...we lost bc we changed the way we played..Cal pulled the ball out and played not to lose...shld have given Towns the ball every trip

Absolutely correct. Plus the basket after shot clock expired was a killer.
We can only hope Cal learned from that failed strategy.

 

[KWilt43atbuzz]

Hindsight

 

[KentuckyCat420]

Saying this as a fan of the Twins who genuinely appreciates that they both helped lead us to 2 Final Fours. Now that I have that out of the way, some day fans will look back and realize they were arguably the 2 most overrated players to ever put on a UK jersey. Aaron was stone cold and hit huge shots I'll never forget but overall they were both oversized guards who couldn't defend a lick and couldn't shoot the ball nearly as well as they should considering their average athleticsm. There's a reason neither have a future in the NBA. Ulis was better then Andrew last year and much better then him this year. In 2 years Andrew never had a game as good as Tyler did last night.

 

[TeoJ]

I didn't read it because it was Forde but if he said it I don't agree with it.

 

[irishcat1965]

Forde is a complete ass who has an agenda. There is one thing that is undisputed- UK doesn't go 67-12 and to two straight final fours without the twins.

 

[stevo51]

Booker got abused on defense the entire time he played in that game

 

[Seth C]

By the end of the season Ulis was our best point guard, but Harrison is also incredibly talented, gifted physically, and was our most experienced point guard. Given how the season had progressed Cal simply couldn't turn to the freshman at that point, and shouldn't have. It is what it is.