Is it possible that our players just aren’t very good

[TriCountyCat]

I stress that’s is past time for Cal to go and he created this team. But it think this is just another poorly constructed team that Cal just threw together. Tre just feel in our lap by luck as did Z.

-our bigs are not ready, even Z obviously can’t play big boy ball against the SEC

-Tre is mid, good games and bad games but not very athletic and can’t guard.

-Burks and Edwards not ready and not skilled as most of these transfer players that are older.

- Adou is just a sophomore and wasn’t developed last year and been injury prone.

- Our guards can score and are flashy but are young and can’t do it all.

~ Reeves has given us about all we can expect

2014 had Julius Randle, 2017 we had Bam. We don’t have that under the goal. Cal is in a rough spot for creating this team but the man hasn’t done himself any favors by not having a style and recruiting to that style.

 

[Rockfly78]

Well we score 90 per. So they are talented scorers. But these kids are soft and brittle. They have no desire to play defense. It has to be lack of desire because there’s no way they are this stupid. They stay lost on D. The lack of grit and effort is embarrassing

We spent all of last year arguing that all we needed was a modern offense. But alas, defense is king.

 

[BlobUK]

No but it's possible our coach sucks.

 

[CatPhight]

Well we score 90 per. So they are talented scorers. But these kids are soft and brittle. They have no desire to play defense. It has to be lack of desire because there’s no way they are this stupid. They stay lost on D. The lack of grit and effort is embarrassing

We spent all of last year arguing that all we needed was a modern offense. But alas, defense is king.

They're being forced to play 40 minutes of man-man and don't have the collective physical tools and athleticism to do it. If they were switch between man, 1-3-1 and 2-3 it would be beneficial for everyone, except for the narcissist.

 

[know1]

Nope. Not possible at all.

Even the players that the fans are trashing are really good players. They just aren't being set up for success in the college game by their coach.

 

[chroix]

Anybody that looks at this team and sees a lack of talent…

 

[Rockfly78]

They're being forced to play 40 minutes of man-man and don't have the collective physical tools and athleticism to do it. If they were switch between man, 1-3-1 and 2-3 it would be beneficial for everyone, except for the narcissist.

I’m not a fan of zone. But what could it possibly hurt?

 

[Dontworryboutit23]

No, they are very talented, the coaching and effort are terrible

 

[WeWant9]

Some guys probably haven’t lived up to their hype, Wagner and Edwards were touted as the real deal and guys who’d end up high draft picks- the guys Cal has won with in the past.

But, I’m not putting the blame of any of the players. Give this group to basically any coach worth a damn, and I guarantee they would at least be mixing up defense and pressing. The talent is there, the game planning and in-game adjustments is what is missing. Defense was never going be elite for this group, but damn this is getting brutal to watch.

 

[RMorris33]

We have good but not great players. They're a step up in talent from the Toppin's, Wheeler's, Brooks', Mintz's and Grady's of the world but not quite as talented as Davis, Wall, Cousins, Towns, Booker, Fox, Monk, Bam, etc. We miss having game changers

 

[CatPhight]

I’m not a fan of zone. But what could it possibly hurt?

At the very least you force opponents to prepare for something other than 100% straight man-man.

Currently we are pick and rolled to death, straight line driven into the ground, and switched on until we're screwed.

Teams are already shooting triples right over the top of us at historic rates, so we have nothing to lose in that department.

 

[SemperFiCat]

Some guys probably haven’t lived up to their hype, Wagner and Edwards were touted as the real deal and guys who’d end up high draft picks- the guys Cal has won with in the past.

But, I’m not putting the blame of any of the players. Give this group to basically any coach worth a damn, and I guarantee they would at least be mixing up defense and pressing. The talent is there, the game planning and in-game adjustments is what is missing. Defense was never going be elite for this group, but damn this is getting brutal to watch.

Yep. Any solid coach, and this team is looking drastically different. Shouldn't be that hard. This team was capable of greatness.

 

[TheBlueMist]

It's coaching. Only Edwards is less capable/ready/polished than we thought he would be. Bradshaw is playing about how I thought he would. Reed, DJ, Rob are playing well for freshmen (and still making freshmen mistakes). Our vets are who we thought they would be. Big Z may turn into something special given the playing time, but who knows.

Give this team to Pitino or Hurley and we are 20-1 or 19-2 on the season.

 

[Aday96]

It's mainly just Cal, but I will say our bigs are not good at all. Ugo has had some decent moments, but the group lately has been horrendous.

Mitchell and Bradshaw have given us zero.

 

[TriCountyCat]

It's coaching. Only Edwards is less capable/ready/polished than we thought he would be. Bradshaw is playing about how I thought he would. Reed, DJ, Rob are playing well for freshmen (and still making freshmen mistakes). Our vets are who we thought they would be. Big Z may turn into something special given the playing time, but who knows.

Give this team to Pitino or Hurley and we are 20-1 or 19-2 on the season.

I agree, Cal is responsible for 4 of our losses.

 

[cats2010]

I’m not a fan of zone. But what could it possibly hurt?

Man could still be played a good portion of the game, I’d say about 65% of it. But mixing in other defenses forces the opponent to change how they have been attacking and changes up their rhythm. It’s not so much about finding a defense that allows us to shut down the other team, rather keeping the opponent off balance just enough to tip the scales in our favor.

Every single opponent starts off every single game with a wide open look from deep as they just spent 3-4 days preparing for how we are going to defend them. Cal obliges the opponent by giving them exactly what they prepared for.

 

[Rideordiewildcat]

Attitude and effort. Their soft but what do you expect when Mr. Softy is the one teaching them.

Teams have learned they can just punch them in the mouth and lean on them and they will fall.

 

[Aike]

We have good but not great players. They're a step up in talent from the Toppin's, Wheeler's, Brooks', Mintz's and Grady's of the world but not quite as talented as Davis, Wall, Cousins, Towns, Booker, Fox, Monk, Bam, etc. We miss having game changers

Rob is a similar level as Monk/Booker in college. Reed is at least TyTy/Cason good. DJ is probably Teague good. Reeves is Jodie Meeks range.

We might not have any elite bigs. Z might be a better version of Wiltjer, but not sure if we’ll find out.

 

[sluggercatfan]

Well we score 90 per. So they are talented scorers. But these kids are soft and brittle. They have no desire to play defense. It has to be lack of desire because there’s no way they are this stupid. They stay lost on D. The lack of grit and effort is embarrassing

We spent all of last year arguing that all we needed was a modern offense. But alas, defense is king.

When you won't even teach your "kids"(as Cal says as his fall back) how to guard an inbounds play...
IT'S COACHING!!!!

 

[gojvc]

I’m not a fan of zone. But what could it possibly hurt?

Kind of where I am. In the last 40 years I remember exactly one national champion that played zone defense. But what could it hurt at this point.

 

[gojvc]

Anybody that looks at this team and sees a lack of talent…

I don’t think there’s a lack of talent but I don’t think it’s overwhelming talent either some some seem to believe.

 

[The_Answer1313]

I think that our players are extremely talented...........on offense.

But just because you are talented on one side of the ball doesn't necessarily mean that translates to the other side. UK isn't the first team in America to be extremely efficient on one side but sorely lacking on the other.

 

[UKWildcats1987]

It's coaching. Only Edwards is less capable/ready/polished than we thought he would be. Bradshaw is playing about how I thought he would. Reed, DJ, Rob are playing well for freshmen (and still making freshmen mistakes). Our vets are who we thought they would be. Big Z may turn into something special given the playing time, but who knows.

Give this team to Pitino or Hurley and we are 20-1 or 19-2 on the season.

Pitino couldn't recruit this team so always amusing to read these silly posts. Pitino had to cheat big-time to win his only title outside of UK.

And Hurley wouldn't want this bunch. He has his own vastly superior team.

 

[WildcatforLife1965]

No but it's possible our coach sucks.

He absolutely sucks and running out the back door last night like a coward was the icing on his shit cake. The hell with Barnhart, it’s time to start contacting the Board of Trustees to get rid of this phony clown.

 

[sluggercatfan]

Rob is a similar level as Monk/Booker in college. Reed is at least TyTy/Cason good. DJ is probably Teague good. Reeves is Jodie Meeks range.

We might not have any elite bigs. Z might be a better version of Wiltjer, but not sure if we’ll find out.

Good analysis. Don't think Reeves is Meeks level as he was also an excellent defender. Not keeping him around for his Sr year probably cost 2010 squad a championship.

 

[TankedCat]

I seldom pay attention to recruiting rankings but I do remember several threads during the last recruiting cycle saying that yes, Uk is getting a haul in this years class but this years class compared to others isn't as overall talented.

Maybe there was some truth in those statements.

Its doesn't really matter though , like someone said, UK can score 90 at will against the best teams in the country.

This is an issue with development and desire

 

[Aike]

Good analysis. Don't think Reeves is Meeks level as he was also an excellent defender. Not keeping him around for his Sr year probably cost 2010 squad a championship.

I should have said offensively about Reeves. Meeks was better all around. They can both give you 30 points in a hurry.

 

[sluggercatfan]

He absolutely sucks and running out the back door last night like a coward was the icing on his shit cake. The hell with Barnhart, it’s time to start contacting the Board of Trustees to get rid of this phony clown.

You got 40 million?

 

[knot4reel]

Please don't throw our young players under the bus. It's not on them it's on the coaching they are getting.

 

[LukaszObrzut]

Yes which is another concern- the coaching staff can’t even find the strong in a crowd of weak anymore

 

[liveblue92]

It’s not a lack of talent, but I do think a lot of the problem is that Edwards who was supposed to be the best player on the team, is barely playable. DJ is an average Cal guard, and Bradshaw (see Edwards). We’ve been fortunate that Sheppard and Dillingham have overachieved, and that Reeves has been really good. Cal is a really bad in game coach, so unless he really hits a home run and all of the players live up to their expectations, we’re going to have problems. Our players aren’t good enough to overcome his major coaching flaws. More often than not, they could from 09-17.

 

[shockme76]

The one constant all these years is Cal. He brings in the talent but can no longer coach them. He let's the inmates run the asylum to where these guys play with no heart or effort. Our strength and conditioning is a problem as well. I've never seen such weakness on a Kentucky team. This program has gone downhill since 2015 and anyone that can't see that needs to remove the blue-tinted glasses. We're going back to where we were the last few years of Tubby. No other coach has done less with more talent than Cal. We're trending towards 8 to 10 losses which is absurd with how well this team can score.

 

[know1]

The one constant all these years is Cal. He brings in the talent but can no longer coach them. He let's the inmates run the asylum to where these guys play with no heart or effort. Our strength and conditioning is a problem as well. I've never seen such weakness on a Kentucky team. This program has gone downhill since 2015 and anyone that can't see that needs to remove the blue-tinted glasses. We're going back to where we were the last few years of Tubby. No other coach has done less with more talent than Cal. We're trending towards 8 to 10 losses which is absurd with how well this team can score.

Agree except for the part about Tubby. We've been worse now than we were then. And for longer.

 

[sam_o]

No. Our players are fine and there is a ton of talent on this roster. We have the wrong guy at the helm. That’s the only issue

 

[Pelosigalore]

No, they are very talented, the coaching and effort are terrible

Danny Hurley would have this team rolling.

 

[Fox2monk]

Well we score 90 per. So they are talented scorers. But these kids are soft and brittle. They have no desire to play defense. It has to be lack of desire because there’s no way they are this stupid. They stay lost on D. The lack of grit and effort is embarrassing

We spent all of last year arguing that all we needed was a modern offense. But alas, defense is king.

No offense is king, we just need a decent defense, the fact all these 5 star players can play defense is ridiculous. Cal is a lot of things but I’d never have dreamed he would put a team out there that defended this bad. Now that they can’t it’s on Cal to change defenses but he won’t!

 

[Fox2monk]

Danny Hurley would have this team rolling.

I’m ready for UK to throw the bank at Hurley. Get rid of Cal and send that offer to him.

 

[TriCountyCat]

Hurley isn’t coming ever. I don’t get the fascination with Drew either, two E8s in 20 years. Give me young and hungry any day. I also don’t think one flash in the pan run in the NCAA proves much either. Any team can gel and get hot. 2014 proves that, Cal sucked with that team all year and they got hot when the “tweek” wasn’t much of anything. Players will come to UK for exposure and NIL. We need someone that understands the modern game and can relate to these kids. I’d take Paris or the Florida coach and could get behind supporting them because they have a system and they recruit to it and coach.

 

[Rockfly78]

No offense is king, we just need a decent defense, the fact all these 5 star players can play defense is ridiculous. Cal is a lot of things but I’d never have dreamed he would put a team out there that defended this bad. Now that they can’t it’s on Cal to change defenses but he won’t!

I disagree about offense being king. We literally score 90 a game and lose. That’s enough offense. Besides, you can convert good defense into points. But not vice versa.

I don’t know if there’s a coach alive that harden these kids up. But cal sure isn’t successful at it.

 

[Fox2monk]

I disagree about offense being king. We literally score 90 a game and lose. That’s enough offense. Besides, you can convert good defense into points. But not vice versa.

I don’t know if there’s a coach alive that harden these kids up. But cal sure isn’t successful at it.

Yeah but offensive teams are what’s wins. Yes you need a competent defense, that’s our issue. With our current offense we shouldn’t lose much. The fact that Cal trots out Man to Man every game with no adjustments it’s crazy to me.