I love this team....here's why

[BBNShelbyville]

Folks, our best player shot 3-14, mintz 2-7, wheeler 6-15, they made 10 more Fts than us.

We are going to be fine. This team showed fight like no other team before. Down 15 and cut it to 4. We were physical, diving for balls, scrappy, a lot of hustle.

The big O was an absolute monster! And he sat quite a bit due to foul trouble.

Maybe Our best Shooter didn't even play tonight (CJ)...Grady needs to be more aggressive.

All in all, I'm pleased with what I saw. Hell yes I wanted to win and pissed we lost. But after last year, this team is light years ahead. If their is 8 better teams in the country better than DUKE I want to see it. And if their is 9 better than us, then I want to see it too!

It's game 1! Take a breath, relax. This team is going to be fun to watch!

 

[Louis_Skunt]

We shot terrible because of Dukes length and ability to close out. It wasn't because we were off.

Duke has better talent, it is what it is.

 

[J-Ryan]

Folks, our best player shot 3-14, mintz 2-7, wheeler 6-15, they made 10 more Fts than us.

We are going to be fine. This team showed fight like no other team before. Down 15 and cut it to 4. We were physical, diving for balls, scrappy, a lot of hustle.

The big O was an absolute monster! And he sat quite a bit due to foul trouble.

Maybe Our best Shooter didn't even play tonight (CJ)...Grady needs to be more aggressive.

All in all, I'm pleased with what I saw. Hell yes I wanted to win and pissed we lost. But after last year, this team is light years ahead. If their is 8 better teams in the country better than DUKE I want to see it. And if their is 9 better than us, then I want to see it too!

It's game 1! Take a breath, relax. This team is going to be fun to watch!

I agree..I really don’t understand the meltdown. We played a very good game overall. Sure there were mistakes but it’s November. We are a good team and will win plenty of games.

 

[TheWyldKat]

I agree..I really don’t understand the meltdown. We played a very good game overall. Sure there were mistakes but it’s November. We are a good team and will win plenty of games.

Basically everyone’s tired of waiting. Losing losing losing is not what Kentucky basketball is about. . We beat Duke, they’re not supposed to be us. If we had Ran some sort of offence we could’ve won that game. Zero ball movement. One on one iso plays

 

[BBNShelbyville]

Basically everyone’s tired of waiting. Losing losing losing is not what Kentucky basketball is about. . We beat Duke, they’re not supposed to be us. If we had Ran some sort of offence we could’ve won that game. Zero ball movement. One on one iso plays

What in the world do you think Duke ran lol? Iso for keels and banchero. It's today's game. Go look at Gonzaga film and see the iso for Chet tonight.

 

[CHAMPCAT11]

Folks, our best player shot 3-14, mintz 2-7, wheeler 6-15, they made 10 more Fts than us.

We are going to be fine. This team showed fight like no other team before. Down 15 and cut it to 4. We were physical, diving for balls, scrappy, a lot of hustle.

The big O was an absolute monster! And he sat quite a bit due to foul trouble.

Maybe Our best Shooter didn't even play tonight (CJ)...Grady needs to be more aggressive.

All in all, I'm pleased with what I saw. Hell yes I wanted to win and pissed we lost. But after last year, this team is light years ahead. If their is 8 better teams in the country better than DUKE I want to see it. And if their is 9 better than us, then I want to see it too!

It's game 1! Take a breath, relax. This team is going to be fun to watch!

You don’t seem the least bit pissed we lost. You actually said “you’re pleased” with what you saw. Not trying to be a jerk but you must be young. You’re basically applauding a ‘moral victory’. Any Kentucky basketball team figures to lose a game or two but expects to win em all. The past few years have been sh*t and a lot of fans are tired of it. True UK fans don’t accept what we’ve been getting and that includes LOSING again tonight.

 

[cornbreadnmilk]

Expectations get lower every season.Cal is amazing at doing this to fans.

 

[loublue22]

I can see the banner now, "11/9/21, Lead cut from 15 to 4"

 

[BBNShelbyville]

You don’t seem the least bit pissed we lost. You actually said “you’re pleased” with what you saw. Not trying to be a jerk but you must be young. You’re basically applauding a ‘moral victory’. Any Kentucky basketball team figures to lose a game or two but expects to win em all. The past few years have been sh*t and a lot of fans are tired of it. True UK fans don’t accept what we’ve been getting and that includes LOSING again tonight.

I'm 34. Not sure if that's young or not.. I'm a coach and deal with high school kids and grade school kids daily so I feel 50. I expect to win every game. We are UK. But I also know I can't jump off the ledge with a loss. We made plenty of mistakes. But I saw a lot of good as well.

 

[HalHR2500]

Lots of losing is OK from the sunflowers

 

[BBNShelbyville]

I can see the banner now, "11/9/21, Lead cut from 15 to 4"

C'mon man..tell me you didn't jump off the couch and scream LFG on Oscar's and one to cut the lead late. You have no pulse if you didn't. Tell me you didn't see any good things tonight?

 

[RunninRichie]

 

[Cawood86]

Expectations get lower every season.Cal is amazing at doing this to fans.

Yep. Now folks are ok with losing. Actually ok with it. "Pleased" in fact. Just amazing.

 

[catman111]

C'mon man..tell me you didn't jump off the couch and scream LFG on Oscar's and one to cut the lead late. You have no pulse if you didn't. Tell me you didn't see any good things tonight?

I saw a team badly outmatched talent wise. It felt more like a 20 point loss than a 9 point loss. Moral victories is not for UK.

 

[BBNShelbyville]

Yep. Now folks are ok with losing. Actually ok with it. "Pleased" in fact. Just amazing.

You have to fail to succeed. I never said I was pleased with a loss. I said I was pleased with what I saw on the court compared to last season.

 

[HerrosHeroes]

Folks, our best player shot 3-14, mintz 2-7, wheeler 6-15, they made 10 more Fts than us.

We are going to be fine. This team showed fight like no other team before. Down 15 and cut it to 4. We were physical, diving for balls, scrappy, a lot of hustle.

The big O was an absolute monster! And he sat quite a bit due to foul trouble.

Maybe Our best Shooter didn't even play tonight (CJ)...Grady needs to be more aggressive.

All in all, I'm pleased with what I saw. Hell yes I wanted to win and pissed we lost. But after last year, this team is light years ahead. If their is 8 better teams in the country better than DUKE I want to see it. And if their is 9 better than us, then I want to see it too!

It's game 1! Take a breath, relax. This team is going to be fun to watch!

Agreed. We are going to be scary good in a few months.

 

[HerrosHeroes]

I saw a team badly outmatched talent wise. It felt more like a 20 point loss than a 8 point loss. Moral victories is not for UK.

FIFY

 

[CHAMPCAT11]

I'm 34. Not sure if that's young or not.. I'm a coach and deal with high school kids and grade school kids daily so I feel 50. I expect to win every game. We are UK. But I also know I can't jump off the ledge with a loss. We made plenty of mistakes. But I saw a lot of good as well.

34 is young, very young. That’s a good thing. I’m not a ledge jumper nor should anyone be. It’s just a game. But history tells us that UK basketball isn’t cutting it right now. You shouldn’t have to ‘look’ for good things - good things should be there in plain site. Not trying to argue with you - you seem pretty smart. But we are trending really poorly over the past few years. That’s not good if you’re a UK fan.

 

[HerrosHeroes]

You have to fail to succeed. I never said I was pleased with a loss. I said I was pleased with what I saw on the court compared to last season.

1996 lost game 1 to UMASS then beat them in the FF only losing one other time the rest of the yr.

No this is not 1996 but Duke is damn good and a bad matchup for UK with all of their size.

We knock down a few more threes in the 2nd half and we may have won

 

[BBNShelbyville]

34 is young, very young. That’s a good thing. I’m not a ledge jumper nor should anyone be. It’s just a game. But history tells us that UK basketball isn’t cutting it right now. You shouldn’t have to ‘look’ for good things - good things should be there in plain site. Not trying to argue with you - you seem pretty smart. But we are trending really poorly over the past few years. That’s not good if you’re a UK fan.

We can't dwell on the past. It's the past. Their is no changing that. We have to see what we see right now.

 

[Supafuzz75]

Didn't piss me off at all..

 

[CB3UK]

Well be better by seasons end. I do like the makeup of this team. Doesn't mean I'm still not sour on Cal or on losing the meaningful games on our schedule. Less talk, more walk Cal.

 

[katkraze]

Duke has more talent — not much UK could do

 

[BourbonBalz]

You have to fail to succeed. I never said I was pleased with a loss. I said I was pleased with what I saw on the court compared to last season.

Well that’s not exactly a lofty expectation. Better than last year? That’s like saying you’d rather eat a booger than a turd. Just saying.

 

[CHAMPCAT11]

We can't dwell on the past. It's the past. Their is no changing that. We have to see what we see right now.

We DO see what we see right now and it’s bad. What we WANT to see is UK challenging for Final Fours and NC’s again. We’re about to lose our spot as the winningest college basketball program. That’s another thing we’re seeing. That is bad and needs to be fixed.

 

[ArtLaibsGhost]

Oscar doing his Carl Malone imitation was encouraging, seeing our point guard get double digit assists was encouraging, those ARE 2 things we never had last season, unfortunately all our returning players off last years team looked exactly like they did last year, inconsistent and offensively challenged. As for our freshmen zilch, hopefully Washington’s performance was an aberration. Brooks still plays in spurts, Mintz was just outclassed tonight. Would have liked to have seen Allen in to see if he could provide a spark offensively on offense when we needed it in second half. Hell he couldn’t have gotten beat off the dribble any worse than the guys we had playing .

 

[Cowtown Cat]

Basically everyone’s tired of waiting. Losing losing losing is not what Kentucky basketball is about. . We beat Duke, they’re not supposed to be us. If we had Ran some sort of offence we could’ve won that game. Zero ball movement. One on one iso plays

Yep. Our ball movement was absolutely awful. Rarely did we make the extra pass. Gotta set screens and run motion in the half court with all these shooters. Instead, we play the damn pick and roll 80% of the game.

There were some bright spots in this game, especially Oscar. I just don’t think this type of offense is going to be the most effective offense for this team. Furthermore, we should’ve pressed their guards and played some zone. They only shot 8% from 3!

 

[IL Wildcat]

You have to fail to succeed. I never said I was pleased with a loss. I said I was pleased with what I saw on the court compared to last season.

Don't let them get to you bbnshelbyville, you're making perfect sense. Nobody likes to lose a game, not even 1. But I completely agree with you that there was much to be positive about watching this game. I especially loved their fight, even when shots weren't falling and Duke was making runs. They kept coming and showed they have some fight. I believe you give these guys some time playing together and time to gel and they can be very good.

 

[mbc82584]

I saw a team badly outmatched talent wise. It felt more like a 20 point loss than a 9 point loss. Moral victories is not for UK.

I didn’t see that at all. I saw a team ignoring their strengths and playing away from their opponents weaknesses.

 

[IL Wildcat]

Oscar doing his Carl Malone imitation was encouraging, seeing our point guard get double digit assists was encouraging, those ARE 2 things we never had last season, unfortunately all our returning players off last years team looked exactly like they did last year, inconsistent and offensively challenged. As for our freshmen zilch, hopefully Washington’s performance was an aberration. Brooks still plays in spurts, Mintz was just outclassed tonight. Would have liked to have seen Allen in to see if he could provide a spark offensively on offense when we needed it in second half. Hell he couldn’t have gotten beat off the dribble any worse than the guys we had playing .

I am surprised we didn't see Allen after his play in that 2nd half against Miles. I would have also liked to see him get some run tonight. He is definitely a bigger, stronger guy so maybe he could have been an answer to the strength of Duke's guards. Oh well.

 

[bookerfan66]

I didn’t see that at all. I saw a team ignoring their strengths and playing away from their opponents weaknesses.

Coaching played a big part for sure.

 

[BourbonBalz]

I think this can be a pretty good team, but not a title contender. We’re too short on bigs that can actually play. Oscar can’t do it all. Teams with big bodies will bully us when Oscar isn’t on the court. we just don’t have any bulk other than Oscar. That’s what will most likely end our season.

 

[yes_takeaside]

Team played with a lot of energy and that’s a great sign if it shows up every game.

Cal has added a lot of shooting but doesn’t know how to use it. I would say YET but not sure that applies.

The second most important bb skill is quickness and once again this team has very little. That is a limiting factor when your offense is “Go make a play”

Don’t know how much input O and Chin have but maybe more than previous assistants. Cal left to himself is not likely to figure out what to do with this bunch to get the max out of them.

It is what it is but I think the team will actually be pretty competitive when all is said and done.

 

[BBNShelbyville]

I think this can be a pretty good team, but not a title contender. We’re too short on bigs that can actually play. Oscar can’t do it all. Teams with big bodies will bully us when Oscar isn’t on the court. we just don’t have any bulk other than Oscar. That’s what will most likely end our season.

Im almost thinking when O is not on the court, you play small ball. Run and gun. Ware showed me fight but he's so limited offensively and not strong enough to give you what O does.

 

[Cowtown Cat]

C'mon man..tell me you didn't jump off the couch and scream LFG on Oscar's and one to cut the lead late. You have no pulse if you didn't. Tell me you didn't see any good things tonight?

I most definitely did, because I’m a diehard Kentucky fan. However, our coach refuses to make strategic in game adjustments. He also refuses to mix up defenses. We were getting killed off the bounce and didn’t play even ONE one possession in a zone defense. Didn’t press them full court even one possession, either, that I recall.

 

[BourbonBalz]

Im almost thinking when O is not on the court, you play small ball. Run and gun. Ware showed me fight but he's so limited offensively and not strong enough to give you what O does.

Cal better start working on some zone because when Oscar is on the bench teams with size are going to filet us. Having said that, I know he won’t. Why? Because he never has.

 

[Cowtown Cat]

I think this can be a pretty good team, but not a title contender. We’re too short on bigs that can actually play. Oscar can’t do it all. Teams with big bodies will bully us when Oscar isn’t on the court. we just don’t have any bulk other than Oscar. That’s what will most likely end our season.

Yep. We had a second team 7’ AA basically begging to come here and refused to take him.

 

[BBNShelbyville]

This i most definitely agree with

I most definitely did, because I’m a diehard Kentucky fan. However, our coach refuses to make strategic in game adjustments. He also refuses to mix up defenses. We were getting killed off the bounce and didn’t play even ONE one possession in a zone defense. Didn’t press them full court even one possession, either, that I recall

 

[BourbonBalz]

Im almost thinking when O is not on the court, you play small ball. Run and gun. Ware showed me fight but he's so limited offensively and not strong enough to give you what O does.

We’re pretty much going to have to because we have no other options unless two of Brooks, Toppin, Ware, Hopkins, or Collins wake up and become consistent contributors. I can hope, but hope isn’t a strategy.

 

[Cawood86]

You have to fail to succeed. I never said I was pleased with a loss. I said I was pleased with what I saw on the court compared to last season.

Last season was a 100 year bad team. My goodness. You guys act as if UK is some start up program trying to make a name.