If you are actually surprised, enraged, etc, just consider the following

[silentsaregolden2.0]

We got a very young coach who hasn't proven himself yet. He had to assemble an entire team with ZERO returning players, and ZERO star freshmen. And he had to do it in just a few weeks. Nobody but Aaron Torres even had us in the Top 40, let alone Top 25. And we got off to a 10-1 start with wins over legit Top 10 teams. If you expected more than that, you were being unrealistic.

 

[Cawood86]

We got a very young coach who hasn't proven himself yet. He had to assemble an entire team with ZERO returning players, and ZERO star freshmen. And he had to do it in just a few weeks. Nobody but Aaron Torres even had us in the Top 40, let alone Top 25. And we got off to a 10-1 start with wins over legit Top 10 teams. If you expected more than that, you were being unrealistic.

Exactly my point in other threads. Excellent post.

 

[Digger-Cat]

Kinda tough, because we all felt like MP overcame the roster thing and we were on some crazy ride, so I think it’s fair for the BBN to be disappointed here.
We are definitely much better than what we showed today. Yeah, we're down on talent, but the talent was good enough to beat duke and Gonzaga, so losing hy 20 to a bad OSU team is a real cold shower

 

[silentsaregolden2.0]

Kinda tough, because we all felt like MP overcame the roster thing and we were on some crazy ride, so I think it’s fair for the BBN to be disappointed here.
We are definitely much better than what we showed today. Yeah, we're down on talent, but the talent was good enough to beat duke and Gonzaga, so losing hy 20 to a bad OSU team is a real cold shower

Agreed. I'm as down about it as anyone. Everytime I let myself start to think maybe we can make a title run, I get hit with reality. I don't think our defense can get there, and our frontcourt is nowhere near strong enough. We have enough to overperform in a normal season, but with the SEC being so strong, I suspect we will finish in the middle of the field.

 

[CatOfDaVille]

We got a very young coach who hasn't proven himself yet. He had to assemble an entire team with ZERO returning players, and ZERO star freshmen. And he had to do it in just a few weeks. Nobody but Aaron Torres even had us in the Top 40, let alone Top 25. And we got off to a 10-1 start with wins over legit Top 10 teams. If you expected more than that, you were being unrealistic.

Agree with everything except the young coach part. Pope is in his 50s.

 

[ukfan1622]

There is some good news...everybody is going to get eaten alive on the road in the SEC.

 

[The_Answer1313]

I think the thing is this.

Going in with all the transfers, you didn't know what to expect. The expectations were reasonable at that time.

Then wins happen over Duke and Gonzaga. 10-1. 4th in the country. 1 seed discussion. All of a sudden the expectations rise.

I think if you asked people at the beginning of the season would they take this, everyone would be on board.

But now there's some bit of disappointment because this team just might not be what people were expecting at 10-1, top 5 in the country.

 

[silentsaregolden2.0]

Agree with everything except the young coach part. Pope is in his 50s.

This is his 10th season as a head coach. Not exactly seasoned yet.

 

[Terrapin_Station]

I think everyone except HerrosHeroes realizes this is a flawed team. With that said, wins over Duke and Gonzaga (that probably should not have been wins) and a top 5 ranking had the fan base excited. Those comeback wins gave us hope that Pope could be the anti-Cal and do more with less rather than less with more.

I, for one, don’t think the sky is falling. But I do question Pope’s running the same lineup out there game after game. If he insists on Williams starting at the 5, my long term hope for the Cats will be diminished. Pope doesn’t have the best pieces, but I take issue with him not using the pieces he does have in the best way.

 

[TOMCATS1990]

Your never as bad as your blowout loss looked but your never as good either. This team when clicking can beat anyone anywhere anytime. They can also lose to anyone.

 

[CatFanInIlliniLand]

This is his 10th season as a head coach. Not exactly seasoned yet.

Plus, even veteran guys might be shell shocked as UK coach at first. Look what the job did to Eddie Sutton & BCG. It’s different here.

 

[Kybluedude]

I was hoping, after the roster was assembled, of a 500 season. Very similar to Pitino’s first season. Just get UK back on track. Get a defined system in place and recruit for the future. Make it fun again.
10-2 as a start is better than I projected. Never thought of wins over Duke and Gonzaga. Either of those wins cancels out last night to me.
Disappointed last night but not deterred. Team looked tired to me from the start. Just didn’t have it. Cut it to 6 and fumbled a pass for a layup with all the momentum and gave up a score. We had been making that play this year. Got embroiled in a slow down late shot clock high screen and drive game we couldn’t guard.

Going to have to develop and play more zones. Develop the bench. Better screening and movement. Defensive positioning. Lots to work on. Got served a big dose of humble pie which can be a good thing.
Too much love recently. Spoiled. Not the #4 team. Get back to work.

 

[TFCats11]

OP is correct on all points, but after watching this team compete with Duke and the Zags, not a single one of us thought this team had a 20 point blowout loss in them! Not to Auburn not to Tennessee, and DEFINITELY not this OSU team!

If these guys approach conference play the way they did this contest last night, not only will they have a losing conference record, they might not win 4-5 home games!

No, I’m not a chicken little, or a negative nancy, quite the contrary, but again, if they give last night’s effort and performance, they are donezo!

 

[Eagles_Ball]

This is his 10th season as a head coach. Not exactly seasoned yet.

9 yrs experience isn’t seasoned? People were and are right to question the hire. Pope and staff have done an AMAZING job initially, and benefited from some major luck and fortune with wins against Gonzaga and dUKe. I think those two wins at least showed what the team is capable of. Unfortunately so did Clemson, Ga St, and tOSU.

 

[Eagles_Ball]

We got a very young coach who hasn't proven himself yet. He had to assemble an entire team with ZERO returning players, and ZERO star freshmen. And he had to do it in just a few weeks. Nobody but Aaron Torres even had us in the Top 40, let alone Top 25. And we got off to a 10-1 start with wins over legit Top 10 teams. If you expected more than that, you were being unrealistic.

Agreed on every point, except Pope ain’t young. He’s been a head coach for 10 yrs. He’s 50 yrs old. He’s not some green newbie. I still think he and his staff have done a good job given the situation.

 

[65pacecar]

We got a very young coach who hasn't proven himself yet. He had to assemble an entire team with ZERO returning players, and ZERO star freshmen. And he had to do it in just a few weeks. Nobody but Aaron Torres even had us in the Top 40, let alone Top 25. And we got off to a 10-1 start with wins over legit Top 10 teams. If you expected more than that, you were being unrealistic.

Excellent post, this team has already accomplished more than I expected the whole season. I expected losses to Duke, Zags and many others and no chance to make the NCAA tournament and even struggle for the NIT. With the brutal SEC this year, I expect a rough go and will not be surprised with a losing record. Pope assembled a team with portal leftovers and has done a great job making it work. Last night was rough, I think they may have believed the hype and overconfident coming in at #4 and playing a mediocre Ohio State team. Hopefully it's a good lesson learned and a reality check.

 

[UK67KU59]

I think the thing is this.

Going in with all the transfers, you didn't know what to expect. The expectations were reasonable at that time.

Then wins happen over Duke and Gonzaga. 10-1. 4th in the country. 1 seed discussion. All of a sudden the expectations rise.

I think if you asked people at the beginning of the season would they take this, everyone would be on board.

But now there's some bit of disappointment because this team just might not be what people were expecting at 10-1, top 5 in the country.

Agree. My expectations were heightened after our good showing early and big wins over Duke and Gonzaga. Turns out those were probably aberrations, and we are most likely a mid tier SEC team and a 4-7 seed in the tourney. Who knows, maybe Pope can work some magic and turn it around and figure out how to win with this bunch. But my expectations are officially lowered. Just want to win a game in the tourney and compete in the round of 32. More than anything though I want to see a team who competes on every play and comes prepared to win every game. I haven’t seen that recently from this team.

 

[qwesley]

A big factor, and let's hope Pope learns on roster building, is that as the season goes on more physicality is allowed...especially in league. So constructing a motion roster without many players that can punish overplaying the perimeter with the dribble is going to be an issue. Those same players are also a turnstile on defense. The scouting report is to bully them, not sure we have an answer.

 

[BC_Wader]

I think everyone except HerrosHeroes realizes this is a flawed team. With that said, wins over Duke and Gonzaga (that probably should not have been wins) and a top 5 ranking had the fan base excited. Those comeback wins gave us hope that Pope could be the anti-Cal and do more with less rather than less with more.

I, for one, don’t think the sky is falling. But I do question Pope’s running the same lineup out there game after game. If he insists on Williams starting at the 5, my long term hope for the Cats will be diminished. Pope doesn’t have the best pieces, but I take issue with him not using the pieces he does have in the best way.

Make your mind up bro. You say the sky isn't falling here but in another thread we're the worst team in the SEC. Did you miss your meds again Sybil?

 

[Terrapin_Station]

Make your mind up bro. You say the sky isn't falling here but in another thread we're the worst team in the SEC. Did you miss your meds again Sybil?

It is possible that in a very good - historically good - SEC, this team will struggle mightily on the road and get crushed by a few teams at home. When you look over the schedule, how many games do you feel we will be favored in? Especially if Florida blows us out to begin conference play?

 

[WallMashKyBall]

If the outside shooting wasn't working all other aspects had to work, defense, making a layup, getting a rebound and not throw it to their player. It looked like that team had had a cushy 10 days off and then went to Hamilton.

 

[Blue-ish]

Lamont Butler

OSU 27 minutes 1-7 0-3 2-2 4 points
Lou 32 minutes 10-10 6-6 7-12 33 points

There's the difference between an 8 point win and a 20 point blowout.

 

[KYFOSSIL]

OP is correct on all points, but after watching this team compete with Duke and the Zags, not a single one of us thought this team had a 20 point blowout loss in them! Not to Auburn not to Tennessee, and DEFINITELY not this OSU team!

If these guys approach conference play the way they did this contest last night, not only will they have a losing conference record, they might not win 4-5 home games!

No, I’m not a chicken little, or a negative nancy, quite the contrary, but again, if they give last night’s effort and performance, they are donezo!

If anybody consistently plays the worst game, yes they’re not gonna be worth the crap

 

[The_Answer1313]

While there's definitely been some red flags I really wish we would do away with the whole "well if they play like this against X team or X conference games, we are going to get killed".

This was our worst game. You don't play your worst game every day lol.

We play UF in a few weeks time. This game has no bearing on how we do in that one. None. Or any other game this season for that matter.

 

[TankedCat]

I'm not down at all but this game was so bad it changes the narrative on UK and Pope now. UK will not be in the conversations with Auburn anymore.

I didn't post during the game, matter of fact this is my first post in a few days.

All I say is, when I saw videos of them playing around in NY prior the game, going to see Hamilton, etc, I was concerned their focus wasn't on the game. I'm of the mindset that you go and do that stuff AFTER the game, win or lose, but prior to the game you are singularly focused.

Yesterday they moved away from what got them to 10-1. All of the guys that got regular playing time had no sense of urgency at the start of the game and the entire first half. In the second half I believe they thought they could just come out, flip a switch and take over, when that didn't happen, they just quit being a team.

Was it a learning experience for them? I'm not sure. Carr, Jackson and Butler have to contribute every game. They have to know how to respond to that type of team. Clemson should have prepared them for it. Mentally they just weren't there yesterday. And I think it goes back to not being focused on the game.

I try to avoid being the guy that gives up on the team mid point in the game but when Ohio State came out in the second half and ran a set play to score, I knew then UK didn't have an answer. Ohio St was dominating them on both ends of the court and the big 3 for us were lost. I feel Oweg can handle himself in a game like that if the other 3 are contributing.

 

[hoggwildcat]

You beat Duke and Gonzaga, now your expectations increase. Then you go out and lose to UNC Wilmington.