Auburn has Bruce Pearl, who is a hell of a coach. Tennessee had it made when Pearl was there. They made 12 freakin 3 pointers. They rose to the occasion and we still had a good chance to win
Easily Cal's worst loss here
- Thread starter JohnnyGreen1975
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I agree with this 100%.
However, my lowest point in recent memory was our loss to Gardner-Webb.
Yeah because I'm sure that coach called for the "shot clock violation" play for 3 straight possessions. He put that play in just for Wisconsin. I'm sorry but if you want to say that he got out coached for not doubling Kaminsky or for switching too much on screens then ok but to say he got outcoached because of 3 possessions that were simply not executed correctly is ridiculous. Also, how can you call a FF loss to one of the best teams in the country, that matched up against us extremely well, our worst loss in the Cal era? That's just crazy.
At that point in the season, you are who you are and you do what got you there. Wisky played a hellava game and had a player goes nuts offensively. That usually spells doom for the other team in the FInal Four. You are letting your emotions effect your opinions. It is the most disappointing loss in the Cal era, IMO, but not the worse loss by any means. Wisconsin was a damn good team last year.
CAL HE NOT GEWD IZ YEAR. BAD LOSS CAL. BADDEST LOSS EVAR. YOU NEED GET GOODER. THIS UK!!
Yeah, because being great at something means you never make mistakes at it.
Some of you guys are GD unbelievable. Go argue with Jay Bilas about whether Cal is a great X and Os coach, he'll tell you that you're being an idiot to say otherwise. Go ask Bo Ryan about how he he unceremoniously quit mid season because he was losing to mid majors at home - ask him whether great X and O guys can be beaten by lesser teams .G
o look at K with the same record as Cal with losses just as bad (including one at home) with the same number of 5 stars on the roster, ask him whether you can just roll the balls out with a young team.
Go ask all the other coaches who've been to 4 final fours ever, much less in a six year span - all the other coaches that have reached final fours at mid majors multiple times, all the coaches who've beaten the damn '96 Cats by 10 (with known tactician Rick Pitino) using 2 high major recruits and 11 kids that had no offers.
Damn, I guess there aren't very many to ask about this stuff.
Look, I'm sure there are people on this board who literally object to any criticism of Cal at all, but for the most part, the board objects to people who say Cal is a mediocre basketball mind - because people who say that are just as ignorant as people who think that he is perfect.
If you're the kind of person who freaks out over every individual loss - you get these mood swings after losses, or wait for the Ls as an opportunity to spread your anti-Cal agenda, you're not objective, you don't know basketball, and you deserve to be laughed off. If you can't look at the history of CBB, look at the landscape - look at what other HOFers with supreme talent like Self, Williams, K have done while Cal is at UK, look at the fact that we're calling a last minute road conference loss to a mediocre team one of the worst of his tenure when most top tier coaches have one or two of those every year - I just don't know what to tell you.
You guys are crying like babies and talking about the NIT. It's so ridiculous. So short on memory. In some cases - so trollish, even Louisvillian?
At the end of the day, the reason why we make fun of you chicken littles is that K is the only guy whose results are comparable to Cal's at UK, and he has just as many five stars per roster. And he's possibly the GOAT.
Self and Roy both have a crazy amount of talent, neither are close to Cal performance.
And nobody else with lesser talent has even been in his universe for performance on the court, so it's apples to oranges.
Some people just lack perspective. Road conference upsets happen to everybody, every single year. Even the really good teams, much less the merely decent teams like we have thus far in the season. The majority of F4 teams have 5+ losses in there somewhere, and guess what - by loss 4 or 5, the simpleton fans of those teams are saying stupid ish like "well, guess there's always next year" and "the coach is overrated" and "maybe we can win the NIT".
And the reasonable ones who have memories longer than 5 minutes recall that basically every season has unexpected losses - including the '96 Cats the '12 Cats and '09 UNC, and '01 Duke, and...
And no, we're no where near that category of team. Yes, Cal makes decisions that are bad in retrospect. All the time. As does every coach in the world. But good talent that's young can be beaten - teams that go bonkers from 3 can pull huge upsets, good coaches can lose to lesser coaches (just like John Wall can outplay Chris Paul on a given night, even though he's not better), and Bruce Pearl is a damn good coach in his own right.
I don't even know how to end this. We shouldn't have to correct you ignoramuses every single time.
If you want to talk strategy and look at what could've been better, that's one thing. But if you use this forum mostly as a way to say that our HOF coach sucks.. that guy with the same win percentage as Rupp, maybe you guys would be best served to just wait till our next hiring process.
Then one of two things will happen - we'll either get Sean Miller or Bruce Pearl or Billy Donovan who will recruit better than they ever have here and best case scenario win as much as Cal (probably less), and then you can talk about how they suck, because they'll all have at least five 5 stars per roster here yet won't win the championship regularly.
Or, we'll get a more "traditional" coach like Gregg Marshall, who actually gets guys back but gets less talent, then if he's really good, we'll go back to making F4s 2-3 times a decade, and then you losers will whine about that after being spoiled by Cal.
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I will explain it to you since you are obviously not smart enough.
As predicted, this thread had a heavy dose of @LmdCat who has never liked Cal and only posts after losses or close games.
This thread has posters who only show up after losses and provide nothing but nonsensical crap and every one of their threads are liked by Louisville fans.
We can't have an adult discussion regarding anything remotely negative without trolls and a handful of our own douchebag fans who think they know more than Cal or want him gone.
Does that help?
Let me explain this to you since you're too much of a moron to understand...
Not everyone who is critical is "hating". Of course the idiots come out of the woodwork after a loss, etc... but for some poster to say "the haterzzzzz are out..." when the majority of those complaining are just upset UK venting, is pretty idiotic. We get it, some people are just "haterzzzzzz", but thread after thread of anyone being critical getting called a troll or a hater is getting old.
Does that help?
Stop whining.
It is one thing to critique, we all do.
We have "fans" that only come out after losses and we have a large number of trolls.
That is who the poster was referencing, I assume you see yourself in one of those categories...
I wouldn't say worst but certainly Top 5 in my opinion. Some of our losses under Cal have been shockers. This was a shocker. But we lost everybody last year and we did not recruit up to Cals standards. So it happened. The rest of the season will be interesting and unpredictable. I learned a lesson after Ohio State, never bet on this team.
The majority of his posts are of his undying love for Coach Cal. The others are spent trashing those who express anything contrary to that. He rarely, if ever, actually posts about the team.
The majority of posters on here are Kentucky Wildcat fans.
Some are Cal fans.
hint: see when he joined the board.
What a dumbass troll.
I was here before rivals and I started the scout board. I was bpoe when this place opened.
3rex u are a known POS troll.
And I have criticized Cal more than enough.
Stop being a little whinyass if you don't want to be called out for your troll posts that so many card fans seem to like.
Ok, whatever you say Cal lover. You keep on cheering for Cal.
I'll keep on cheering for UK, as I have since the mid 70s.
Good luck finding your next "favorite team" when Cal is gone.
As a player, no game should ever be a meaningless game if they are keeping score. I don't care if you're playing a pick-up game at the Y. The loss to Robert Morris ranks up there with the losses to VMI and Gardner Webb under BCG as among the worst of all-time. Certainly not the most painful, but among the most inexcusable.
Auburn doesn't really compare to any of those three. You could tell from the opening tip that Auburn and their fans were jacked up, and we would be lucky to get out of there with a win. Credit Pearl, as much as I hate to.
False. Not in either category, but you seem to be an expert at categorizing every single poster here. You know it all. Stop whining about what I post.
You stop chastising other posters.
He was absolutely correct in his prediction.
I often agree with you here and on the fball board but it gets worse here everyday.
You want to side with the troll above more power to you.
Glad to see that article when we made it to the FF, dont recall Forde taking it back.
Not siding with anyone. I don't like posters generalized as haters when many are simply venting about a UK game. Nothing more than that.
Spend more time over here and you will notice the amount of previously banned posters, trolls, and actual UK fans who really dont Cal that only come out after losses.
We critique Cal all the time, and try to be reasonable, I myself have had the following issues:
2010 - no timeout to stop the constant shooting of 3 pointers
2014 - no adjustment on defense to stop the guards
2015 - again no timeout with multiple play clock issues
lack of a zone anytime
slow down ball with a lead
But we cannot have these conversations without one of the previously mentioned morons being asses.
I never questioned your fanhood btw and probably lumped you in with others that I shouldnt have.
It's all good. I'm sure we are probably both reasonable people. I admit that I get frustrated after bad losses and post some silly stuff and we're all just fans, but I try to be rational for the most part. I agree with you though, the board gets loaded with yahoos coming out of the woodwork and that's probably who the poster was mainly referring to as haters.
It is a bad loss but it isn't the end of the world and there is time to fix enough of what is wrong to make it to the tournament and I don't mean the National Invitational either. Let's see what happens against Ark. and then Kansas will be a good test too...win or lose if we make a good showing it will mean we are progressing. We are an inside presence away from being a very good team. Granted, as of now we're a good team that can lose on just about any given night; the opposite is true as well.
I'm not going to excuse this loss by any means - it was a bad one. Maybe not the worst or even second worst - but pretty damn bad.
But everyone needs to consider one small detail: yes it was Auburn, but look who their coach is. Bruce and Cal go way back in a rivalry situation. First when it was Tenn vs Memphis, then Tenn vs Kentucky, and now Auburn vs Kentucky. Bruce and Cal, head to head, are now 8-4 in favor of Cal. Because of this, I think it becomes more of a rivalry game rather than just another SEC game. It's not a mitigating factor, just something to think about.
Just my opinion.
But everyone needs to consider one small detail: yes it was Auburn, but look who their coach is. Bruce and Cal go way back in a rivalry situation. First when it was Tenn vs Memphis, then Tenn vs Kentucky, and now Auburn vs Kentucky. Bruce and Cal, head to head, are now 8-4 in favor of Cal. Because of this, I think it becomes more of a rivalry game rather than just another SEC game. It's not a mitigating factor, just something to think about.
Just my opinion.
I don't know you, why would I dislike you? Can't even understand that thought process. That comment in itself reflects a problem. You may take this thing too seriously, hall monitor.
Do you actually base who you like & dislike on words on a message board?
For the record, I love the Cats. I even like Coach Cal!! I just laugh at those who label others because they dare question something he does. You even told a poster earlier that he is pathetic because he doesn't like the OAD, going on to say that he & others who feel the same should leave.
Newsflash: I know a lot of fans who dislike, even hate the OAD (the process, not the kid) and many of them are some of the biggest UK fans I know.
You make some solid points, as usual. I think Auburn played the 2nd half to win and we played not to lose. Even so, we almost had them. We were up 12 at one point. I recall 2 highly contested 3's that went in and a bank shot from the scorer's table. We missed a number of inside shots and couldn't hit a 3 when we needed one.
At the end of the day, the team with the most points wins and they had the most. Hopefully, we don't have too many more games like that.
![[winking]](http://l.yimg.com/j/assets/img/emoticons/classic/wink.r191677.gif "Winking [winking]")
you are correct, sir - and I hope the same.You make some solid points, as usual. I think Auburn played the 2nd half to win and we played not to lose. Even so, we almost had them. We were up 12 at one point. I recall 2 highly contested 3's that went in and a bank shot from the scorer's table. We missed a number of inside shots and couldn't hit a 3 when we needed one.
At the end of the day, the team with the most points wins and they had the most. Hopefully, we don't have too many more games like that.
It's hilarious that when someone even vaguely suggests Cal may not be the best X's and O's coach around, you get idiotic half-page diatribes targeting anyone who dare make such a suggestion. Really? On a public messageboard you can be targeted for taking a view that may create discussion?
Apparently some here are so caught up in the cult of personality that they make a personal challenge to weed out and trample anyone who dares question or go against the script. Hell, you'd think the very future of UK basketball totally depended on John Calipari. Any success we had before he got here was just dumb luck and oh by the way, why haven't we put his name on the arena yet?
Honestly, that's the mentality of some posters who can't stand any criticism of Cal. We've seen this before. In fact it's becoming quite a common strategy in society these days.
Apparently some here are so caught up in the cult of personality that they make a personal challenge to weed out and trample anyone who dares question or go against the script. Hell, you'd think the very future of UK basketball totally depended on John Calipari. Any success we had before he got here was just dumb luck and oh by the way, why haven't we put his name on the arena yet?
Honestly, that's the mentality of some posters who can't stand any criticism of Cal. We've seen this before. In fact it's becoming quite a common strategy in society these days.
I dont dislike you either.
Big difference in questioning coaching and the constant complaints by the same people or previously banned ones, or trolls.
People are not pathetic for not liking OAD, even though it has been our guide to winning games. The fact that people cry about Cal saying he is a players first coach and all of that recruiting jargon he puts out there, that some just cannot figure out why he does that and believe it cost us the Wisconsin game are (pathetic may be too strong a word) lacking mentally, in my opinion.
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Can you count how many timeouts he had in his pocket? That's the coaches job period. No excuse in it IMO. Worst coaching job I've ever seen in the final four, for this reason, and the ones you cite. That was Cals worst game here.
Can you count how many timeouts he had in his pocket? That's the coaches job period. No excuse in it IMO. Worst coaching job I've ever seen in the final four, for this reason, and the ones you cite. That was Cals worst game here.
Cal has always been a controversial topic, whether someone loves him or not. Been this way for years. I've just come to accept it.
LMAO!! Really? Come on, now. It's hilarious that you put full blame on Cal but none on the actual players on the court. You need to go back and watch those possessions and you will see (maybe) what happened on those trips. It's like you think Cal told the kids to get a shot clock violation. Lol. It's hilarious.
But I've had enough conversations about this game and I'm sure that I won't change your opinion, no matter what I say. So, I'll just leave it alone. But just know this, you're WRONG!!
Good day to you!
You've been one of the worst in terms of never admitting a Calipari flaw. Cal is a great recruiter, marketer, etc etc But he is not a great coach.
Many say that he doesn't need elite talent to win. What would you consider this team to be? Do they have elite talent? If not, then how is he proving he doesn't need elite talent to win?
We better hope that another Anthony Davis is on the horizon otherwise Cal will NOT win another title at UK.
Not taking a timeout during that stretch killed me as well.
Same thing in 2010 when we watched our worst shooting team take one hundred 3 pointers with Cousins and Patterson down low and Wall and Bledsoe who could penetrate Fort Knox.
Just call a timeout, Cal has been especially good out of timeouts on offense since he's been here.
Thanks for the proclamation Zipp.
You better hope UNLV doesnt keep calling your coach...
Lol I'm not Zipp. But you can keep calling me that. Doesn't change your devout homerism despite not being able to get as close to the program as you would like. You talk about Cal's mistakes in not calling timeouts in some of the biggest losses of his career here yet you refuse to question why he consistently made that mistake. You're a smart guy, I'm sure there is a part of you deep down that knows there is truth to some of the criticisms of Cal and I would imagine it scares you. Your defense of that is to defend him and belittle anyone with an opinion that is less than flattering. The truth is, Cal gets tight. He's not the greatest X's and O's coach. He's too damn stubborn. It's cost him, and I predict it will cost him again. Guess we will see. I think it's starting to show as this team (that is full of talent) is not progressing. When you lose to Auburn you have to admit one of two scenarios:
A). Bruce Pearl is a helluva coach
B). Maybe Cal doesn't know how to handle this team
I have been a member for 7 years. Mostly just enjoy reading other UK fan's opinions. Do not post regularly, just in spurts. But, I have noticed that complaints of Cal fall into 2 categories, which has been referenced in previous posts.
1st Type of Cal Post---Legit (IMO) Criticisms--Cal has a tendency to hold onto leads way too early; Cal doesn't call timeouts at crucial times; Cal will not play zone in the times that it may be helpful; Cal should run a more precise offensive set in order to feed the post more often, etc, etc, etc.
2nd Type of Cal Post--Agenda Driven (IMO) Criticisms--Cal and all of the highly ranked players are selfish and don't care about winning, only getting drafted; Cal cannot coach X&O's he just rolls the balls out; Coach K & Izzo would win it all every year with UK's talent, Cal doesn't develop his players, etc, etc, etc.
Now this is certainly all just my opinion as well. However, I must admit that I get pretty defensive when I see the 2nd type of Cal posts. It is pretty clear to anyone with half a brain that those posts are MOSTLY agenda driven--the poster doesn't like Cal, or the one-and-done, or expects UK to be 38-0 every year. Typically, these only come out at times when UK is struggling. Which is additionally frustrating. I mean do posters actually believe that Cal is not a good X&O coach? I mean I am sure he is not the best, but to act as if he just rolls the balls out is not something you would expect a UK fan to say. At least one who has watched any of UK's games.
Slightly off topic, I am sorry, but I would like to hear a reasoned well thought out response as to what it is the people who say they don't like the one-and-done would like Cal to do every year. Would you like him not to recruit the best possible players available? Do you want a whole team of mid-level 2-3 stars like Pitino has to sign every year? If so, reference our record vs UL & overall in Cal's tenure and tell me who's system works better. I would submit that every UK fan in the world would like to have the one-and-done players stick around for more than one season. As would Cal. However, it is the NBA's rule that allows for this and it is how it will be for the foreseeable future. I, for one, would like Cal to continue bringing in the best players he possibly can. Regardless what some of the naysayers proclaim, Cal has done a great job of mixing the one-and-done talent with more of the 2-4 year players (Lamb, Ullis, Matthews, Lee, etc, etc.)
So again, all my opinion but I do agree that there are some here that do not seem to be happy with anything Cal does. He is not above criticism, but do not hide behind the "Cal is infallible" schtick because that is just BS. And do not proclaim those of us who do defend UK's coach are propping him above UK b/c that is not true either. No coach is above UK, nor will they ever be. Doesn't mean we cannot defend someone with a clear agenda attacking the coach or players.
1st Type of Cal Post---Legit (IMO) Criticisms--Cal has a tendency to hold onto leads way too early; Cal doesn't call timeouts at crucial times; Cal will not play zone in the times that it may be helpful; Cal should run a more precise offensive set in order to feed the post more often, etc, etc, etc.
2nd Type of Cal Post--Agenda Driven (IMO) Criticisms--Cal and all of the highly ranked players are selfish and don't care about winning, only getting drafted; Cal cannot coach X&O's he just rolls the balls out; Coach K & Izzo would win it all every year with UK's talent, Cal doesn't develop his players, etc, etc, etc.
Now this is certainly all just my opinion as well. However, I must admit that I get pretty defensive when I see the 2nd type of Cal posts. It is pretty clear to anyone with half a brain that those posts are MOSTLY agenda driven--the poster doesn't like Cal, or the one-and-done, or expects UK to be 38-0 every year. Typically, these only come out at times when UK is struggling. Which is additionally frustrating. I mean do posters actually believe that Cal is not a good X&O coach? I mean I am sure he is not the best, but to act as if he just rolls the balls out is not something you would expect a UK fan to say. At least one who has watched any of UK's games.
Slightly off topic, I am sorry, but I would like to hear a reasoned well thought out response as to what it is the people who say they don't like the one-and-done would like Cal to do every year. Would you like him not to recruit the best possible players available? Do you want a whole team of mid-level 2-3 stars like Pitino has to sign every year? If so, reference our record vs UL & overall in Cal's tenure and tell me who's system works better. I would submit that every UK fan in the world would like to have the one-and-done players stick around for more than one season. As would Cal. However, it is the NBA's rule that allows for this and it is how it will be for the foreseeable future. I, for one, would like Cal to continue bringing in the best players he possibly can. Regardless what some of the naysayers proclaim, Cal has done a great job of mixing the one-and-done talent with more of the 2-4 year players (Lamb, Ullis, Matthews, Lee, etc, etc.)
So again, all my opinion but I do agree that there are some here that do not seem to be happy with anything Cal does. He is not above criticism, but do not hide behind the "Cal is infallible" schtick because that is just BS. And do not proclaim those of us who do defend UK's coach are propping him above UK b/c that is not true either. No coach is above UK, nor will they ever be. Doesn't mean we cannot defend someone with a clear agenda attacking the coach or players.
Perfect example of what I am talking about. Does anyone really believe this guy is a UK fan. Because I have not seen a lot of his posts, but I have seen enough to realize this guy, maybe more than anyone else on this site, has a GIANT agenda against Cal. Almost everything he says is some version of "Cal can't coach", "He only cares about getting guys drafted", "Pitino/Bruce Pearl/etc/etc is a better coach".
Please my man. Don't know if you are Zipp. Don't care. But, please, please, please do not for one second think that ANYONE on this site believes your crap or thinks that you are not one of 2 scenarios:
A) A complete moron who knows nothing about basketball and hates UK & Cal
B) A UL fan (Which is redundant--See A)
That's pretty much it. I like at him as our coach. Not the first and definitely won't be the last. He's the best recruiter we've ever had but, I don't think he's the best basketball mind ever at UK. He's perfect for where the program is right now, in this media intense age. In many ways he's a reflection of the program, bigger than life and always the most scrutinized. Certainly not infallible and definitely not above criticism.
I agree with this and I think that is a very fair and honest way to look at it. Nobody is saying Cal is the most brilliant basketball mind ever at UK. But, when someone says he can't coach or develop players then that is agenda driven IMO.
