If good players can struggle but the team still wins...

[IL Wildcat]

It's a great sign of the health of the overall team- and at just the right time.

I know there is much to be pleased about on the offensive end with this team, but I was just looking at these last 3 games and noticing there were different key players who struggled in all 3, but the team didn't miss a beat scoring the ball...

Against Alabama: Wagner only had 4pts. Team scored 117.
Against Miss St: Edwards only had 2pts, Ivisic only had 2 pts. Team scored 91.
Against Arkansas: Thiero only had 5pts, Mitchell only had 2pts. Team scored 111.

That's 5 different players who have been key players in different games this season who all struggled in key games here at crunch time of the season, but the team won anyway. It's a great sign for this team. There are many teams (most teams, really) who must rely on a particular player or maybe a couple guys to score big this time of year or they lose.

Miss St is a good example. Their top 2 players are Josh Hubbard and Tolu Smith. When those guys are playing well, Miss St usually wins. (they got 55 against UK and still lost) Hubbard had 23 against Auburn but was inefficient, shooting only 6-15. Smith also went 6-15 and went for 14. Everyone else had 6 points or fewer and they lost by double digits. Meanwhile, UK just finished a game where 7 players scored 10pts or more. It's a very good sign when you see that kind of balance. It gives the team some margin for error, which is critical for postseason play.

 

[BBNinSC]

Kentucky has the best bench in college basketball and it isn’t even close

 

[thedahc]

It's a great sign of the health of the overall team- and at just the right time.

I know there is much to be pleased about on the offensive end with this team, but I was just looking at these last 3 games and noticing there were different key players who struggled in all 3, but the team didn't miss a beat scoring the ball...

Against Alabama: Wagner only had 4pts. Team scored 117.
Against Miss St: Edwards only had 2pts, Ivisic only had 2 pts. Team scored 91.
Against Arkansas: Thiero only had 5pts, Mitchell only had 2pts. Team scored 111.

That's 5 different players who have been key players in different games this season who all struggled in key games here at crunch time of the season, but the team won anyway. It's a great sign for this team. There are many teams (most teams, really) who must rely on a particular player or maybe a couple guys to score big this time of year or they lose.

Miss St is a good example. Their top 2 players are Josh Hubbard and Tolu Smith. When those guys are playing well, Miss St usually wins. (they got 55 against UK and still lost) Hubbard had 23 against Auburn but was inefficient, shooting only 6-15. Smith also went 6-15 and went for 14. Everyone else had 6 points or fewer and they lost by double digits. Meanwhile, UK just finished a game where 7 players scored 10pts or more. It's a very good sign when you see that kind of balance. It gives the team some margin for error, which is critical for postseason play.

Also to add to this, Reed only had 8 vs Bama and 4 vs Auburn and both were wins.

 

[FinancialPlannerZac]

It really does feel like we are starting to put it together at the right time. Pretty crazy that we have now played just ONE full game with our entire roster available. We get Mitchell back up to speed, and I feel like we can get hot at the right time. Obviously, with our defense, getting hot and staying hot shooting wise is seemingly the only way for this team to win it all. It can be done, but we are going to have to blitz teams offensively and simply outpace everyone else. A deep, deep run would be just what the doctor ordered, and man, what a ride it would be with this team. Going to be fun to see unfold.

 

[mcnicKY91]

It really does feel like we are starting to put it together at the right time. Pretty crazy that we have now played just ONE full game with our entire roster available. We get Mitchell back up to speed, and I feel like we can get hot at the right time. Obviously, with our defense, getting hot and staying hot shooting wise is seemingly the only way for this team to win it all. It can be done, but we are going to have to blitz teams offensively and simply outpace everyone else. A deep, deep run would be just what the doctor ordered, and man, what a ride it would be with this team. Going to be fun to see unfold.

No doubt we have tremendous depth...literally anyone can step up in any given game and produce 25-30 pts.

However, with that being said, I do not want Tre Mitchell sniffing the court unless it is due to injury or foul trouble. I understand he has been injured, but the reality of it is before he was injured, he wasn't playing well. He is slow, very lazy on defense, isn't a shot blocking presence, and only adds anything offensively if he is hitting from 3, which he has not been doing in the slightest. He has looked terrible the past 1.5 months, and some of those games happened before he was injured.

People are way too enamored with his "leadership" qualities. He had no business being on the court Sat. Looked awful.

Cal needs to role with Z, Bradshaw, and Ugo and call it a day.

 

[NothinButNylon]

Well at least no one can say we peaked too early this year. It's coming together at the right time. We finally have a full roster even though some are beat up a bit. All Cal has to do is play the players that are hot on any given night. Sounds simple, doesn't it?

 

[FinancialPlannerZac]

No doubt we have tremendous depth...literally anyone can step up in any given game and produce 25-30 pts.

However, with that being said, I do not want Tre Mitchell sniffing the court unless it is due to injury or foul trouble. I understand he has been injured, but the reality of it is before he was injured, he wasn't playing well. He is slow, very lazy on defense, isn't a shot blocking presence, and only adds anything offensively if he is hitting from 3, which he has not been doing in the slightest. He has looked terrible the past 1.5 months, and some of those games happened before he was injured.

People are way too enamored with his "leadership" qualities. He had no business being on the court Sat. Looked awful.

Cal needs to role with Z, Bradshaw, and Ugo and call it a day.

I hear ya on that. My guess is he was playing through pain ahead of him actually not playing in games. I do think there's a game or two in March where he comes through for us. He was as steady as they come for the first 60% of the season. Doesn't need to play the minutes he was at that time, but I think he's still a guy that can help us, even in a lesser role than what he was filling early on.

 

[jameslee32]

Good players are not robots. 😏

 

[IL Wildcat]

I hear ya on that. My guess is he was playing through pain ahead of him actually not playing in games. I do think there's a game or two in March where he comes through for us. He was as steady as they come for the first 60% of the season. Doesn't need to play the minutes he was at that time, but I think he's still a guy that can help us, even in a lesser role than what he was filling early on.

Yep, this is what I think about Mitchell as well. The biggest argument for him playing more would be a team that has quite a bit of strength down low. Mitchell is the strongest post player on the team. He may well be needed against a team like Gonzaga, for example. I still think if we had Mitchell in that game, we win. Even Mark Few mentioned in the postgame that UK missed Mitchell. He's 6-9 231 and has experience defending big men. We saw it early this season when he was forced to defend opponents' centers. He wasn't always great in those positions, but he wasn't terrible, either. He held his own.

I would also say, Mitchell was dealing with that back injury when his numbers started dropping. He was playing 30+ minutes per game- played nearly every minute in several games there. But he didn't really sit with the back until it reached a critical pain threshold from what I have read. So, which Mitchell is the real one? The one who was one of our best players on the court for the first 10 games or the one who was dealing with a back issue and not playing so well? If you look at his career numbers, I'd say his early season play is more in step with his career. I agree that Mitchell is likely to come through for us down the stretch. Why? Well, for one BIG thing. he's actually played in the Big Dance, scored 13pts and had 6 rebounds against Maryland in a loss. He's only played one game in the NCAA-T, but it's one more than most of our team. Who else has played an NCAA-T game? Reeves has played in 2 games for UK, against Providence and K-State, scored 22 vs Providence and 5 vs KState. Thiero barely played in the NCAA-T games last year (3 minutes total playing time), Onyenso didn't play at all in those games, So, in my opinion, Mitchell's experience is important. If he gets fully healthy, I expect him to return to his early season form.

 

[$Z71$]

It's a great sign of the health of the overall team- and at just the right time.

I know there is much to be pleased about on the offensive end with this team, but I was just looking at these last 3 games and noticing there were different key players who struggled in all 3, but the team didn't miss a beat scoring the ball...

Against Alabama: Wagner only had 4pts. Team scored 117.
Against Miss St: Edwards only had 2pts, Ivisic only had 2 pts. Team scored 91.
Against Arkansas: Thiero only had 5pts, Mitchell only had 2pts. Team scored 111.

That's 5 different players who have been key players in different games this season who all struggled in key games here at crunch time of the season, but the team won anyway. It's a great sign for this team. There are many teams (most teams, really) who must rely on a particular player or maybe a couple guys to score big this time of year or they lose.

Miss St is a good example. Their top 2 players are Josh Hubbard and Tolu Smith. When those guys are playing well, Miss St usually wins. (they got 55 against UK and still lost) Hubbard had 23 against Auburn but was inefficient, shooting only 6-15. Smith also went 6-15 and went for 14. Everyone else had 6 points or fewer and they lost by double digits. Meanwhile, UK just finished a game where 7 players scored 10pts or more. It's a very good sign when you see that kind of balance. It gives the team some margin for error, which is critical for postseason play.

I think the two biggest things we have going for us is that we've found a way to win the close games and we have more weapons than anyone else in the nation hands down. Sure other offenses are performing on par with ours meyric wise but they don't have 8-9 different guys who could lead the team in scoring. We have that so even on an off night for 2-3 guys we have others who can pick up the slack.

Makes us very dangerous even if our defense is lacking.

 

[catsfanbgky]

Mitchell has obviously been hurt, even playing games hurt. But he averages 11.6 ppg. / 7.3 rpg (leader) / 3 assist
But he has somewhat produced even when playing hurt. His last 10 games before Saturday :
01/06 - @ UF - 12 pts. / 10 reb. / 2 steals
01/09 - Missouri - 20 pts. / 14 reb. / 3 assist / 2 blocks
01/13 - @ A&M - 8 pts. / 13 reb. / 6 assist / 1 block
01/17 - Miss. St - 15 pts. / 3 reb. / 3 assist / 1 block
01/20 - Georgia - 23 pts. / 5 reb. / 4 assist / 1 block
01/23 - @ SC - 13 pts. / 5 reb. / 2 assist / 2 blocks
01/27 - @ Arkansas - 10 pts. / 11 reb. / 2 assist / 2 steals / 1 block
01/31 - UF - 5 pts. / 9 rebounds / 3 assist / 1 block / 1 steal
02/03 - Tenn. - Bad, nothing good except 5 rebounds in 22 minutes played
02/13 - Ole Miss - 5 pts. / 6 reb. / 2 assist in only 20 minutes

Say what you want, but we NEED a healthy, game shape Tre Mitchell. Do not know how some can say he doesn't do anything but shoot 3's. BS, he is our LEADING rebounder, averages 3 assist, always gets a couple steals or blocks. Not to mention he is a veteran leader who helps calm the team. I do not get why people feel he is JUST a end of the bench player. The injured, rusty Mitchell may be, but the HEALTHY Tre Mitchell is a very valuable part of this team and was probably the most consistent player the first 1/3 to 1/2 of the season. Got hurt, tried to play thru it, came back, got hurt trying to play before fully healed.
3 double / doubles, a 8 point 13 rebound game (near double/ double)also had 6 assist in the game, a 15 point game, 23 point game, 13 point game and a 9 rebound game all in his last 10 games played is nothing to bitch about. That is 8 productive games out of 10, the only bad being Ole Miss (he had 5 pts. and 6 rebounds before leaving the game at the start of the 2nd half to injury.) He was on track for 10 points and 12 rebounds, so not really terrible, he got hurt and only played essentially half of a game. The UT game was his only really terrible game he has had, other than Saturday. Against Arkansas, he had just came back from being injured and was rusty. He missed 4.5 games before the game, it takes time.

 

[IL Wildcat]

Mitchell has obviously been hurt, even playing games hurt. But he averages 11.6 ppg. / 7.3 rpg (leader) / 3 assist
But he has somewhat produced even when playing hurt. His last 10 games before Saturday :
01/06 - @ UF - 12 pts. / 10 reb. / 2 steals
01/09 - Missouri - 20 pts. / 14 reb. / 3 assist / 2 blocks
01/13 - @ A&M - 8 pts. / 13 reb. / 6 assist / 1 block
01/17 - Miss. St - 15 pts. / 3 reb. / 3 assist / 1 block
01/20 - Georgia - 23 pts. / 5 reb. / 4 assist / 1 block
01/23 - @ SC - 13 pts. / 5 reb. / 2 assist / 2 blocks
01/27 - @ Arkansas - 10 pts. / 11 reb. / 2 assist / 2 steals / 1 block
01/31 - UF - 5 pts. / 9 rebounds / 3 assist / 1 block / 1 steal
02/03 - Tenn. - Bad, nothing good except 5 rebounds in 22 minutes played
02/13 - Ole Miss - 5 pts. / 6 reb. / 2 assist in only 20 minutes

Say what you want, but we NEED a healthy, game shape Tre Mitchell. Do not know how some can say he doesn't do anything but shoot 3's. BS, he is our LEADING rebounder, averages 3 assist, always gets a couple steals or blocks. Not to mention he is a veteran leader who helps calm the team. I do not get why people feel he is JUST a end of the bench player. The injured, rusty Mitchell may be, but the HEALTHY Tre Mitchell is a very valuable part of this team and was probably the most consistent player the first 1/3 to 1/2 of the season. Got hurt, tried to play thru it, came back, got hurt trying to play before fully healed.
3 double / doubles, a 8 point 13 rebound game (near double/ double)also had 6 assist in the game, a 15 point game, 23 point game, 13 point game and a 9 rebound game all in his last 10 games played is nothing to bitch about. That is 8 productive games out of 10, the only bad being Ole Miss (he had 5 pts. and 6 rebounds before leaving the game at the start of the 2nd half to injury.) He was on track for 10 points and 12 rebounds, so not really terrible, he got hurt and only played essentially half of a game. The UT game was his only really terrible game he has had, other than Saturday. Against Arkansas, he had just came back from being injured and was rusty. He missed 4.5 games before the game, it takes time.

Agreed. People get enamored with the "what if?" and height. That is, they prefer the freshmen over the senior and the flash over the workman-like contributions of a guy like Mitchell. And they also assume (since most haven't looked at any of Mitchell's play at his 3 other stops) that the way he played injured in late January and February is who he really is, not the way he played to start the season. They're wrong, of course. We need Mitchell without a doubt. We need his experience. We need his rebounding. We need his post defense. We may even need his scoring a few times before all is said and done. The last thing we need is to just sit him on the end of the bench. I don't think he needs to play 30+ like he did to start the season, but he needs to get in these games and get himself back into game shape for the postseason.

 

[Rockfly78]

No doubt we have tremendous depth...literally anyone can step up in any given game and produce 25-30 pts.

However, with that being said, I do not want Tre Mitchell sniffing the court unless it is due to injury or foul trouble. I understand he has been injured, but the reality of it is before he was injured, he wasn't playing well. He is slow, very lazy on defense, isn't a shot blocking presence, and only adds anything offensively if he is hitting from 3, which he has not been doing in the slightest. He has looked terrible the past 1.5 months, and some of those games happened before he was injured.

People are way too enamored with his "leadership" qualities. He had no business being on the court Sat. Looked awful.

Cal needs to role with Z, Bradshaw, and Ugo and call it a day.

We need all 3 bigs. I know Z is everyone’s favorite, hell he’s my favorite. We need them all. Each of them do things that the other 2 can’t. It’s a 3 headed monster.

 

[JC CATS]

It's a great sign of the health of the overall team- and at just the right time.

I know there is much to be pleased about on the offensive end with this team, but I was just looking at these last 3 games and noticing there were different key players who struggled in all 3, but the team didn't miss a beat scoring the ball...

Against Alabama: Wagner only had 4pts. Team scored 117.
Against Miss St: Edwards only had 2pts, Ivisic only had 2 pts. Team scored 91.
Against Arkansas: Thiero only had 5pts, Mitchell only had 2pts. Team scored 111.

That's 5 different players who have been key players in different games this season who all struggled in key games here at crunch time of the season, but the team won anyway. It's a great sign for this team. There are many teams (most teams, really) who must rely on a particular player or maybe a couple guys to score big this time of year or they lose.

Miss St is a good example. Their top 2 players are Josh Hubbard and Tolu Smith. When those guys are playing well, Miss St usually wins. (they got 55 against UK and still lost) Hubbard had 23 against Auburn but was inefficient, shooting only 6-15. Smith also went 6-15 and went for 14. Everyone else had 6 points or fewer and they lost by double digits. Meanwhile, UK just finished a game where 7 players scored 10pts or more. It's a very good sign when you see that kind of balance. It gives the team some margin for error, which is critical for postseason play.

That tells me that opposing defenses can't focus on 1 or 2 guys, must be difficult to prepare for UK defensively

 

[IL Wildcat]

That tells me that opposing defenses can't focus on 1 or 2 guys, must be difficult to prepare for UK defensively

Exactly. It's hard to gameplan for so many options. And even if you could come up with a plan for every UK player, it's tough to execute such a wide-ranging scheme. I'd say you can scout to take away a couple key guys, maybe 3, but after that it becomes much more complicated. Who can you leave open right now on this team? Onyenso? Maybe? He hasn't been playing nearly as much. Bradshaw his a 3. Edwards has been shooting over 40% last 7 or 8 games. Can't leave Sheppard. Can't leave Dilly. Certainly can't leave Reeves. Adou is now a threat. Wagner just had 4 threes in his last game. Gameplanning for this team right now would be a nightmare. Even if you could stop Reeves from hitting 20 (which He's been doing nearly every game), the other guys can pick up the slack. We're in a great position on offense. The defense is the only concern.

 

[kywildcatsfannumber1]

Kentucky has the best bench in college basketball and it isn’t even close

With everyone back now and starting to get healthy, we have seen in these last few games where one player can struggle but another guy whether it be Dillingham, Reed, Reeves or Edwards can carry this team. This depth will be crucial especially if they run into foul trouble or an injury in the Tournament. I'll admit that I was not crazy about seeing guys like Edwards play through his struggles most of the year but Cal sticking with him has paid off now. Alabama for Justin would not have happened by riding the pine. Hopefully the mantra 'we build for March' starts to have meaning around here again.