Is it possible to critique Calipari here?

[qwesley]

Very difficult to build a team when you are recruiting that team before the previous years' team even plays. Like this team and '13 you end up with ones where the pieces just don't fit very well and are at the mercy of freshman from sub-par classes. What we look like with Booker and Dakari on this team...which is what we were all thinking last fall.

 

[bigbluedon]

Not sure if I'll respond to your answers here, but anyways here we go....

1. Lack of a 3 point threat
2. Dribble Drive Motion Offense
3. Lineup/Substitutions

***I believe most of these statistics are before tonight's game***

3 Point Shooting:

• At 11.9 Minutes Per Game, Derek Willis is shooting .355 from deep
• Derek Willis attempts 2.6 per game
• At 33.5 Minutes Per Game, Jamal Murray is shooting .382 from deep
• Jamal Murray attempts 6.8 per game
• At 35.4 Minutes Per Game, Tyler Ulis is shooting .288 from deep
• Tyler Ulis attempts 4.9 per game

Obviously, we don't have the kind of legit threat from the outside this year. When you look at years when we have made a deep run, Cal has had a legitimate threat from the outside, if not more than one:

• Devin Booker on just 3.6 attempts per game shot .411 from deep, and that includes a horrific slump towards the end of the season.
• Doron Lamb(2012) on 4.075 attempts per game shot .466 from deep
• Darius Miller on 3.725 attempts per game shot .376 from deep
• Kyle Wiltjer on 2.025 attempts per game shot .432 from deep
• Doron Lamb(2011) on 3.68 attempts per game shot .486 from deep

The other 2 seasons(12-13 and 09-10), we did not have a single "shooter" other than Josh Harrelson/Jon Hood(Whom only shot 19 3s in total) shoot above the .385 mark.

This year is another example of not having that consistent, can always rely on, the guy who makes the shots when we don't ABSOLUTELY need them, but the guy who makes the shot when we could use a run so to speak.

Guys like Dairus Miller and Doron Lamb seemed to be "that guy"

The Dribble Drive Offense:

• Let's be honest here, this system only works with an outside threat
• Briscoe is a PG, not an off-ball threat.

Briscoe is a bull. He works best when bringing the offense to his cadence. He needs to have the ball in his hands at the start of the offensive set or he is otherwise useless.

• 3 Guard lineup is killing the offensive flow when 3 guards(Ulis, Murray, Briscoe) start

Murray and Ulis are too "hot & cold" from deep. They're lack of an outside presence showed tonight as they were unable to find separation inside the three point line.

• There needs to be a threat to keep defenses honest so they cannot just, simply, pack the middle
• Where are the plays designed for specific players?

Each and everyone of these players has an individual skill set. Why are we not running plays that maximize the talents of Poythress(Inside/middle as he did against UofL), 8-12ft baseline shots for Skal, setting picks for Murray to create, etc....

Lineup/Subs:

• Substitutions are killing some players' confidence
• Willis is immediately subbed out for any wrongdoing --> killing his confidence and ruining his rhythm on the offensive end.
• Briscoe's playing time off the ball is only hurting his natural abilities as Cal did with Archie. They are by no means the same type of player, yet Cal has forced them to be contrived of their abilities(driving/ FT shooting). I understand Briscoe has been much worse at the line, but he is being misused in a similar fashion that Archie had been
• Skal needs an Enforcer when in the lineup. A "Goon" if you will. If he is going to play this soft, we cannot rely on Poythress to make up for that(We've seen enough of Poythress to see he is not going to bring that mentality game in and game out).

Mulder or Willis need to be a starter. It does not matter which one, but we need to abandon this 3 guard lineup that cannot consistently create a threat from deep. Otherwise, the dribble drive is doomed.

Anyways, just my thoughts. Have at it boys

Good points in there..Especially agree with Mulder or Willis starting and letting them play through the mistakes. The 3 guard lineup needs to go.

 

[KendallCat]

Excellent post by the OP and like how he detailed reasons for our struggles. One thing I have always wondered is why Cal does not make it a point to bring in one shooter each year to go with his numerous AA's who are long and athletic. While we thought that this year would be a pretty strong team based on returning players along with a strong class both groups, returning players and recruiting class, have not lived up to their press clippings.

Lee and Poythress look great when spelling Towns, Lyles, and WCS for a minute or two,but not as primary pieces day in and day out. Murray and Ullis look good out there, but on the defensive side give up a ton of size. Skal and Briscoe have been the two that surprised many in that neither one of them has been close to expectations as McD's All Americans. Briscoe is good on defense and driving to the hoop but is the worst shooter I have seen in a long time. Skal just does not have the toughness or aggressiveness to help right now. He might project later on but not now.

I would love to see a shooter like Farmer or Travis or Meek's on the last few teams where last 5 minutes of the half they get fouled it is an automatic 2 points. Play zone against us and they drill you from 3. Don't need a whole team but need one. To defend our team is too simple - play zone, pack it in, don't let Briscoe drive, play off Lee and Poythress.

 

[GLR5555]

Do those who critique Cal after each loss praise him after each win as well??? I don't recall too many of those threads after the Ole Miss game or UL. Just curious as to why not???

 

[Mojocat]

This is Cal's 7th team and we get tired of hearing it but he coaches a completely different team, dominated by freshmen, every year except last year, and look what happened then. I don't care how talented someone is, there is a huge learning curve for freshmen. We do have some veterans on this team but they've never been responsible for much. Cal gets a lot of talent in here but he hardly ever gets experience.

Just started a thread on this point - if I'd seen your post first, I could've just emphasized your closing paragraph.....

 

[Mojocat]

Excellent post by the OP and like how he detailed reasons for our struggles. One thing I have always wondered is why Cal does not make it a point to bring in one shooter each year to go with his numerous AA's who are long and athletic. While we thought that this year would be a pretty strong team based on returning players along with a strong class both groups, returning players and recruiting class, have not lived up to their press clippings.

Lee and Poythress look great when spelling Towns, Lyles, and WCS for a minute or two,but not as primary pieces day in and day out. Murray and Ullis look good out there, but on the defensive side give up a ton of size. Skal and Briscoe have been the two that surprised many in that neither one of them has been close to expectations as McD's All Americans. Briscoe is good on defense and driving to the hoop but is the worst shooter I have seen in a long time. Skal just does not have the toughness or aggressiveness to help right now. He might project later on but not now.

I would love to see a shooter like Farmer or Travis or Meek's on the last few teams where last 5 minutes of the half they get fouled it is an automatic 2 points. Play zone against us and they drill you from 3. Don't need a whole team but need one. To defend our team is too simple - play zone, pack it in, don't let Briscoe drive, play off Lee and Poythress.

Good point about Lee and Poythress - I think it's just much more difficult to recruit in this era, you're never totally sure who'll come back year to year, so it's more difficult to long term plan. So, easier to end up with a team that has pieces that don't quite fit. I remember as a kid listening to Joe Hall talk about planning for or building for a particular year (e.g. '78). First, a coach at uk now could never get away with "disregarding" some seasons as he targeted a year down the road. Second, more to the point, back then you had pieces for 4 years (absent a transfer), so it's like a chess board. Now, more of a crapshoot. I'd bet a decent amount that Cal figure no way - back in 2012 - that Alex Poythress would still be around in 2016, or that he'd essentially be the same player....

 

[SpamburgerHamburger]

This is how you present a critical post about someone. Most people just make some knee jerk statement about something they don't have any knowledge of.

I won't criticize the coach for lack of shooting, the coach is putting them in the right spots and giving opportunities. The kid has to make the shot. If a kid can't shoot, he should be putting up shots on his own, and practice should be schemes, teamwork, fundamentals. That kind of thing. I can see an argument that it's a coach fault for not recruiting a "shooter". But any kid not playing the 4 or 5, If you're at this level, you should be able to make an open shot 70% of the time.

Coach Cal may not be the best coach around. But he's in the top echelon. You're not going to get any better without sacrificing huge on other areas and There isn't another coach I'd trade him for.

 

[CUT-NETS]

Excellent post by the OP and like how he detailed reasons for our struggles. One thing I have always wondered is why Cal does not make it a point to bring in one shooter each year to go with his numerous AA's who are long and athletic. While we thought that this year would be a pretty strong team based on returning players along with a strong class both groups, returning players and recruiting class, have not lived up to their press clippings.

Lee and Poythress look great when spelling Towns, Lyles, and WCS for a minute or two,but not as primary pieces day in and day out. Murray and Ullis look good out there, but on the defensive side give up a ton of size. Skal and Briscoe have been the two that surprised many in that neither one of them has been close to expectations as McD's All Americans. Briscoe is good on defense and driving to the hoop but is the worst shooter I have seen in a long time. Skal just does not have the toughness or aggressiveness to help right now. He might project later on but not now.

I would love to see a shooter like Farmer or Travis or Meek's on the last few teams where last 5 minutes of the half they get fouled it is an automatic 2 points. Play zone against us and they drill you from 3. Don't need a whole team but need one. To defend our team is too simple - play zone, pack it in, don't let Briscoe drive, play off Lee and Poythress.

He had that in Wiltjer but burned him at the stake over defense. Briscoe is an excellent defender that can't make a shot to save his life. Wiltjer is an excellent shooter who can't defend. Why does Wiltjer get burned at the stake and Briscoe doesn't?

 

[KYFOSSIL]

He had that in Wiltjer but burned him at the stake over defense. Briscoe is an excellent defender that can't make a shot to save his life. Wiltjer is an excellent shooter who can't defend. Why does Wiltjer get burned at the stake and Briscoe doesn't?

To the OP your posts and comments are well spoken and I agree with much of what you've said. Many posters on here bash and attack Cal and the players and never show up after a strong win such as Ole Miss. Many people said Cal would never win the big one then when he does they say "well he should have won" more". We are in the middle of an incredible run yet the degree of negativity on here at times is mind boggling. I for one appreciate your post.

 

[kybassfan]

Yes, Willis looked lost playing defense last night. He wasn't entirely lost though, he had a group of Kentucky players with him. Coaches too. They were all lost. We couldn't shoot for crap. Then we went into a panic and forgot that the way you deal with bad shooting is play defense. Then we forgot the value of the basketball. Then the coaches forgot, well, a lot of stuff.

I'm not a Willis fanboi but there is no need to blame him. He's not the fix either. We screwed this up as a team. It was a perfect storm. Nobody stepped up. Nobody. You don't try to fix that mess. You go back to fundamentals. First and foremost is defense. Second is protecting the ball.

Also, no point in throwing out the baby with the bathwater.

 

[tmuck]

It sure is suspicious when unfamiliar username's with low post counts, start threads like this, and only post after a loss.

 

[The_Answer1313]

You can't really say anything about the almighty cal around here without being clowned on. Fact remains it would have been REALLY hard not to win the title in 2010 and last year ... and we managed to lose.

Either 1) You are overvaluing the talent we had those year, 2) You are undervaluing the talent other teams had or 3 you don't understand how the NCAA Tournament works.

Or a bit of all three.

The favorite doesn't always win. Usually the favorite gets odds in the 30-35% range and that's if they are very good. Last year Wisconsin and Duke were just as good as we were. We were the favorites because we happened to be undefeated going into the tournament but the gap (if there even was a gap) was not large between UK and other teams.

 

[LineSkiCat14]

You really can't blame players like Willis for looking lost at times. They get yanked the second they don't run a play to perfection. How is he supposed to get better? IMO, all our bench players get a pass. Until they start making these mistakes AFTER getting extensive in-game minutes, they are excused.

 

[SilentsAreGolden]

The truth is that even if you get ALL the recruits you want, you don't know how it's going to fit together on the court. Like most all coaches, Cal likes to tear his teams down before he builds them back up. I just hope there's still time to bring the team back together again, because right now they look a lot more like the Goodwin team than the Knight team (two most recent examples of completely tearing a team down to nuts and bolts, only to be rebuilt with vastly different outcomes).

Agree, a lot of it is chemistry, but luckily this next class reportedly all already like each other and have wanted to play together, so that shouldn't be a problem. I also think there is less of a chance they don't perform as hyped.

 

[shutzhund]

No one over here is a troll nerd, I just know how people are here, you say one bad thing about Cal and the cronies come out with pitchforks.

Try saying something intelligent and your troll reputation may be ignored.

 

[Untouchables22]

As I posted in another thread this team's struggles are primarily the result of very poor roster construction. Which is a product of some questionable recruiting evaluation. It appears at least so far that Cal's team MUST have a low post threat in order for his offense to run correctly. I understand that at Memphis he had no dominant big men but at UK his two team's that have really struggled both had a lack of an even decent low post scorer. And in 2011 our growth as a team coincided with Harrelson's growth as a low post offensive option. This is a bummer because unless Skal turns it around we simply aren't going to have a low post scorer on this team this year. Second you can't have a playing rotation where only 2 guys can shoot at all. Mulder finally got some run last night as Cal had to FINALLY emphasize offense over defense. Going forward we have to recruit guys that can shoot on a college level even if that mean's giving up a little length and athletism in the process. Having three guys on the team in Briscoe, Matthews, and Hawkins that all can't shoot at all but are excellent defenders is redundant and bad roster construction. Finally I think we have to admit that the pressure of playing at UK is destroying Skal, Briscoe, and Pothyress mentally. Cal favorite quip is "not everybody can play here" and those guys are cracking under the pressure.

 

[.S&C.]

Because you said it was "really hard not to win" the title in two years. Which, of course is untrue and stupid. The very best, most dominant teams have way less than a 50/50 shot of winning 6 consecutive games, the last 3 of which will be against good teams that are really hot. So, no, it's not really hard "not to win", it's really hard to win, even if you have the best team (which we didn't even have in 2010, but at least you got one out of two).

Posts like yours are why people like Dick Vitale belittle some UK fans.

Post like his are why UK's seen an the juggarnaut that it is. It's why dick vitale rattled on about us giving us, essentially giving us free program advertisement for the last few decades. A winners only mentality actually makes this program what it is.

Some posters understand what cal was trying to accomlish at UK, and he still can. But acting like you got some no name coach who walked in and performed way above expectation is being dishonest. When Calipari walked through the door, he was expecting a broader legacy, not something other men have done over and over. Cal has underachieved to some degree and there's nothing wrong with saying it. When he came to UK world wide Wes claimed what was about to happen to UK would be "unprecedented". We've had a marvelous run thus much in, but so far it isn't unprecedented. Lots of coaches win a title.

He's got plenty of time to but you cannot win championship recruiting misses on OAD players and guards who have zero offensive skill. He should understand that.

Cal right now is closer to Joe B without the NBA stars than a program maker like Rupp. Cal sells it brilliantly. He's the best at this. But he's underachieving on the court and he's capable of loads more. I pray he doesn't sell himself short and walk out of here wishing he'd have done and few things different.

 

[.S&C.]

As I posted in another thread this team's struggles are primarily the result of very poor roster construction. Which is a product of some questionable recruiting evaluation. It appears at least so far that Cal's team MUST have a low post threat in order for his offense to run correctly. I understand that at Memphis he had no dominant big men but at UK his two team's that have really struggled both had a lack of an even decent low post scorer. And in 2011 our growth as a team coincided with Harrelson's growth as a low post offensive option. This is a bummer because unless Skal turns it around we simply aren't going to have a low post scorer on this team this year. Second you can't have a playing rotation where only 2 guys can shoot at all. Mulder finally got some run last night as Cal had to FINALLY emphasize offense over defense. Going forward we have to recruit guys that can shoot on a college level even if that mean's giving up a little length and athletism in the process. Having three guys on the team in Briscoe, Matthews, and Hawkins that all can't shoot at all but are excellent defenders is redundant and bad roster construction. Finally I think we have to admit that the pressure of playing at UK is destroying Skal, Briscoe, and Pothyress mentally. Cal favorite quip is "not everybody can play here" and those guys are cracking under the pressure.

Agreed. If Cals teams don't have a rim protector it's over before it starts. And he doesn't adjust to anything so..... He'll just sink with it.

He had Joey Dorsey at Memphis who was 10 times better than any big we've got now. He wasn't very skilled but he was an alpha. Cal cannot win big without alphas in the paint. Noel went down we went to the Nit.

 

[The_Answer1313]

As I posted in another thread this team's struggles are primarily the result of very poor roster construction. Which is a product of some questionable recruiting evaluation. It appears at least so far that Cal's team MUST have a low post threat in order for his offense to run correctly. I understand that at Memphis he had no dominant big men but at UK his two team's that have really struggled both had a lack of an even decent low post scorer. And in 2011 our growth as a team coincided with Harrelson's growth as a low post offensive option. This is a bummer because unless Skal turns it around we simply aren't going to have a low post scorer on this team this year. Second you can't have a playing rotation where only 2 guys can shoot at all. Mulder finally got some run last night as Cal had to FINALLY emphasize offense over defense. Going forward we have to recruit guys that can shoot on a college level even if that mean's giving up a little length and athletism in the process. Having three guys on the team in Briscoe, Matthews, and Hawkins that all can't shoot at all but are excellent defenders is redundant and bad roster construction. Finally I think we have to admit that the pressure of playing at UK is destroying Skal, Briscoe, and Pothyress mentally. Cal favorite quip is "not everybody can play here" and those guys are cracking under the pressure.

I agree with the poorly constructed part but I don't see how Cal could have realized it would be like this. I mean people were saying Skal was a top pick. That was Cal's low post threat. In 2011, he figured he was gonna have Enes. When that didn't work out, Josh had some work to do but figured it out by the end of the year. Maybe Skal doesn't turn it around. Maybe this is a rare Cal miss. But how many highly recruited players like that don't pan out? I don't know. It's just hard for me to blame Cal for going with Skal.

Same thing with Briscoe. Maybe he was a poor shooter in HS. Maybe the signs were there. But I can't believe he's THIS poor of a shooter.

All of this and maybe these kids just need one thing........more time.

 

[The_Answer1313]

Post like his are why UK's seen an the juggarnaut that it is. It's why dick vitale rattled on about us giving us, essentially giving us free program advertisement for the last few decades. A winners only mentality actually makes this program what it is.

Some posters understand what cal was trying to accomlish at UK, and he still can. But acting like you got some no name coach who walked in and performed way above expectation is being dishonest. When Calipari walked through the door, he was expecting a broader legacy, not something other men have done over and over. Cal has underachieved to some degree and there's nothing wrong with saying it. When he came to UK world wide Wes claimed what was about to happen to UK would be "unprecedented". We've had a marvelous run thus much in, but so far it isn't unprecedented. Lots of coaches win a title.

He's got plenty of time to but you cannot win championship recruiting misses on OAD players and guards who have zero offensive skill. He should understand that.

Cal right now is closer to Joe B without the NBA stars than a program maker like Rupp. Cal sells it brilliantly. He's the best at this. But he's underachieving on the court and he's capable of loads more. I pray he doesn't sell himself short and walk out of here wishing he'd have done and few things different.

Lots of coaches win titles. Not many have gone to four final fours and three title games in 6 years tho.

I don't think he's underachieved at all.

When he came here, I figured one to two titles depending on how long he stays. I still feel the same way.

Anyone expecting a UCLA 70s type run is just being unrealistic IMO.

 

[.S&C.]

I agree with the poorly constructed part but I don't see how Cal could have realized it would be like this. I mean people were saying Skal was a top pick. That was Cal's low post threat. In 2011, he figured he was gonna have Enes. When that didn't work out, Josh had some work to do but figured it out by the end of the year. Maybe Skal doesn't turn it around. Maybe this is a rare Cal miss. But how many highly recruited players like that don't pan out? I don't know. It's just hard for me to blame Cal for going with Skal.

Same thing with Briscoe. Maybe he was a poor shooter in HS. Maybe the signs were there. But I can't believe he's THIS poor of a shooter.

All of this and maybe these kids just need one thing........more time.

As I've said and was crushed around a year ago for saying, Memphis people have said Skal was not UK material for a while. This was not a quiet recruitment in Memphis. Freakin Gerald Hamilton was involved.

So how do high school coaches and parents know Skal is overrated but an evaluator like Cal ignored all of that and banked on him. Remember, cal has connections in Memphis he doesn't have anywhere else. He's got ears to the ground here.

I don't "blame" him for recruiting him i guess, but there's more to it than just citing a scouting service miss.

 

[yoshukai]

That's fair. Willis looked absolutely lost trying to guard Simmons.

True but , you can say the same thing about 90% of the players in college basketball.

 

[.S&C.]

Lots of coaches win titles. Not many have gone to four final fours and three title games in 6 years tho.

I don't think he's underachieved at all.

When he came here, I figured one to two titles depending on how long he stays. I still feel the same way.

Anyone expecting a UCLA 70s type run is just being unrealistic IMO.

I agree and disagree. But if cal walks out of here with 1 chanpionship, it will be underachieving and history will reflect it. Dean Smith won 2 titles and is seen by hardened NCAA watchers as an underachiever to an extent. It can happen.

 

[The_Answer1313]

As I've said and was crushed around a year ago for saying, Memphis people have said Skal was not UK material for a while. This was not a quiet recruitment in Memphis. Freakin Gerald Hamilton was involved.

So how do high school coaches and parents know Skal is overrated but an evaluator like Cal ignored all of that and banked on him. Remember, cal has connections in Memphis he doesn't have anywhere else. He's got ears to the ground here.

I don't "blame" him for recruiting him i guess, but there's more to it than just citing a scouting service miss.

Yeah but Cal wasn't the only person on Skal. He was highly rated in Rivals, Scout and ESPN. If this is indeed a miss (and I'm not ready to say it is yet), then others failed as well

 

[The_Answer1313]

I agree and disagree. But if cal walks out of here with 1 chanpionship, it will be underachieving and history will reflect it. Dean Smith won 2 titles and is seen by hardened NCAA watchers as an underachiever to an extent. It can happen.

It will be in the eyes of many simply because all people care about is titles but it's not easy to win 6 games in a row in March.

The favorites usually have a 25%-30% chance of winning. So even if Cal has the most talented team in 10 years, most likely he'd only win 2-3.

Once people understand the likelihood of winning a title, I think his record so far has been pretty much what I expected it to be. I mean we are 50% in title games in the 6 seasons. That's impressive.

 

[Primedfor9]

You can't really say anything about the almighty cal around here without being clowned on. Fact remains it would have been REALLY hard not to win the title in 2010 and last year ... and we managed to lose.

All the great coaches in college basketball today have had teams like that who didn't win the title, it happens. Name me one that didn't. I would say going to 4 freaking final fours in five years with a title is pretty "mighty" in today's age.

 

[.S&C.]

Yeah but Cal wasn't the only person on Skal. He was highly rated in Rivals, Scout and ESPN. If this is indeed a miss (and I'm not ready to say it is yet), then others failed as well

But that scares me. Cal can't miss that like if he's going to recruit OAD's To the extent he does. You can't do it when you don't have a decent bench of returnees.

Cal does use the services to recruit and we are getting to see why you shouldn't do that. Local people(in Cals own backyard)had the right call on Skal. There was no reason to miss

 

[UKWildcats#8]

I agree with others the problem is this year's team just does not have the general makeup of a Cal team at UK. This is the first team (other than 2011) that didn't have a good bigman downlow (2010 Cousins/Patterson, 2012 Davis/Jones, 2013 Noel when healthy 2014 WCS/DJ/Randle, 2015 Towns/Dj/WCS/Lyles). All the players I listed are WAY better than the best bigman on this year's UK team which I guess by stats is Poy or Lee, idk. Big dropoff. And of course 2011 had Harrelson and he played gritty/great down the stretch and we'd all take him on this year's team over any big man on the roster I'm sure.

Would a DJ help that much this year? I think he would have helped a lot, but I'm not sure he is enough of a gamechanger that we'd be undefeated or something like that right now. I'd say there is a fair chance we beat OSU and maybe UCLA with him....not sure about LSU as they just kicked our butts and toyed with us regardless b ut he would have helped some. The problem is you have these guys that feel like they gotta get the money now instead of come back for a 3rd year and move up in a weaker draft. I know the argument against it is year earlier means year earlier out of rookie contract...but what if they do not get another contract? That is the great debate.

Honestly as crippling as some of our players leaving have been in terms of volume, I'm shocked Cal has done as well as he did in 2011. He did not do that well in 2013 after it happend and so far 2016 is closest to 2013 based on remaining schedule. This team will make the NCAA though IMO, but probably be out by the first weekend. People are gonna bash Cal for that as they think because he signs "the best players" every year he should be in the NCAA FInal FOur EVERY year. It just does not work like that. The problem for Cal is how does he get some of these guys back to help a legit contender next season?

I can argue everone should come back minus Murray (Just can't make that argument but I'm sure some of u will), but they all have flaws and it is hard to see where anyone other than Ulis would for sure start. With Matthews, Willis, Hump and Hawkins we have a decent bench lined up already. Honestly I'd take Skal, Ulis and/or Murray back in an instance, but not sure how much Poy, Lee and Briscoe would help or even do as far as playing time next year.

 

[Poetax]

Not sure if I'll respond to your answers here, but anyways here we go....

1. Lack of a 3 point threat
2. Dribble Drive Motion Offense
3. Lineup/Substitutions

***I believe most of these statistics are before tonight's game***

3 Point Shooting:

• At 11.9 Minutes Per Game, Derek Willis is shooting .355 from deep
• Derek Willis attempts 2.6 per game
• At 33.5 Minutes Per Game, Jamal Murray is shooting .382 from deep
• Jamal Murray attempts 6.8 per game
• At 35.4 Minutes Per Game, Tyler Ulis is shooting .288 from deep
• Tyler Ulis attempts 4.9 per game

Obviously, we don't have the kind of legit threat from the outside this year. When you look at years when we have made a deep run, Cal has had a legitimate threat from the outside, if not more than one:

• Devin Booker on just 3.6 attempts per game shot .411 from deep, and that includes a horrific slump towards the end of the season.
• Doron Lamb(2012) on 4.075 attempts per game shot .466 from deep
• Darius Miller on 3.725 attempts per game shot .376 from deep
• Kyle Wiltjer on 2.025 attempts per game shot .432 from deep
• Doron Lamb(2011) on 3.68 attempts per game shot .486 from deep

The other 2 seasons(12-13 and 09-10), we did not have a single "shooter" other than Josh Harrelson/Jon Hood(Whom only shot 19 3s in total) shoot above the .385 mark.

This year is another example of not having that consistent, can always rely on, the guy who makes the shots when we don't ABSOLUTELY need them, but the guy who makes the shot when we could use a run so to speak.

Guys like Dairus Miller and Doron Lamb seemed to be "that guy"

The Dribble Drive Offense:

• Let's be honest here, this system only works with an outside threat
• Briscoe is a PG, not an off-ball threat.

Briscoe is a bull. He works best when bringing the offense to his cadence. He needs to have the ball in his hands at the start of the offensive set or he is otherwise useless.

• 3 Guard lineup is killing the offensive flow when 3 guards(Ulis, Murray, Briscoe) start

Murray and Ulis are too "hot & cold" from deep. They're lack of an outside presence showed tonight as they were unable to find separation inside the three point line.

• There needs to be a threat to keep defenses honest so they cannot just, simply, pack the middle
• Where are the plays designed for specific players?

Each and everyone of these players has an individual skill set. Why are we not running plays that maximize the talents of Poythress(Inside/middle as he did against UofL), 8-12ft baseline shots for Skal, setting picks for Murray to create, etc....

Lineup/Subs:

• Substitutions are killing some players' confidence
• Willis is immediately subbed out for any wrongdoing --> killing his confidence and ruining his rhythm on the offensive end.
• Briscoe's playing time off the ball is only hurting his natural abilities as Cal did with Archie. They are by no means the same type of player, yet Cal has forced them to be contrived of their abilities(driving/ FT shooting). I understand Briscoe has been much worse at the line, but he is being misused in a similar fashion that Archie had been
• Skal needs an Enforcer when in the lineup. A "Goon" if you will. If he is going to play this soft, we cannot rely on Poythress to make up for that(We've seen enough of Poythress to see he is not going to bring that mentality game in and game out).

Mulder or Willis need to be a starter. It does not matter which one, but we need to abandon this 3 guard lineup that cannot consistently create a threat from deep. Otherwise, the dribble drive is doomed.

Anyways, just my thoughts. Have at it boys

I guess you want responses. So 3 pt shooting, do you really know what you have until the lights come on? Everyone thought we would be a good outside shooting team but you play the game inside and that's not been great. Did Cal worry, sure that's why he brought in Mulder. And remember Booker had a horrible start last year. DDMO, it's there but for it to work you need bigs who will fight on the boards for put backs, this has been a problem especially in away games. Lineups Subbing, honestly I have never understood fully Cal's way if subbing but in Willis's case stop. Among the same mistakes over and over again. We saw at the end of the game how Willis's defense was abused by Simmons, that can't happen with a starter. I thought Mulder played a lot more last night and hustled well. Matthews was never into the game for some reason. In the end if the subs don't get it done when they are in the game you stick with your starters and hope they pick their game up.

 

[The_Answer1313]

But that scares me. Cal can't miss that like if he's going to recruit OAD's To the extent he does. You can't do it when you don't have a decent bench of returnees.

Cal does use the services to recruit and we are getting to see why you shouldn't do that. Local people(in Cals own backyard)had the right call on Skal. There was no reason to miss

FWIW I'm not sure this is a miss just yet. We have been so spoiled by great players here the past 6 seasons that we feel like freshman are supposed to come in and immediately perform. When it doesn't happen, we feel what the heck is going on. It could be that Skal is just on a normal freshman learning curve. Or maybe longer.

 

[Primedfor9]

But that scares me. Cal can't miss that like if he's going to recruit OAD's To the extent he does. You can't do it when you don't have a decent bench of returnees.

Cal does use the services to recruit and we are getting to see why you shouldn't do that. Local people(in Cals own backyard)had the right call on Skal. There was no reason to miss

Wtf.. He's been to four final fours in five years and you say he can't afford to miss like that? His success here along with all the players that's been drafted pretty much craps all over this post.

 

[yoshukai]

If I could change one thing about Cal , I wish he would put more emphasis on shooting. It's probably cost him at least 2 championships.

 

[.S&C.]

I guess you want responses. So 3 pt shooting, do you really know what you have until the lights come on? Everyone thought we would be a good outside shooting team but you play the game inside and that's not been great. Did Cal worry, sure that's why he brought in Mulder. And remember Booker had a horrible start last year. DDMO, it's there but for it to work you need bigs who will fight on the boards for put backs, this has been a problem especially in away games. Lineups Subbing, honestly I have never understood fully Cal's way if subbing but in Willis's case stop. Among the same mistakes over and over again. We saw at the end of the game how Willis's defense was abused by Simmons, that can't happen with a starter. I thought Mulder played a lot more last night and hustled well. Matthews was never into the game for some reason. In the end if the subs don't get it done when they are in the game you stick with your starters and hope they pick their game up.

When you recruit players like Goodwin and Briscoe who are known to be bad shooters, I'd say you don't have to wait until the lights come on to know, you're gonna have shooting problems. Mulder was never shooting insurance because cal is not going to bench a borderline 1st round OAD to play him. As for Booker , he had a streaky year last year. The board overrates what he was for a freshman.

 

[.S&C.]

Wtf.. He's been to four final fours in five years and you say he can't afford to miss like that? His success here along with all the players that's been drafted pretty much craps all over this post.

I'm not going to go back through the pumpers talking points. If you don't understand by now what people are getting at its your fault.

 

[Primedfor9]

I'm not going to go back through the pumpers talking points. If you don't understand by now what people are getting at its your fault.

Lol you have no valid point to make.

 

[The_Answer1313]

If I could change one thing about Cal , I wish he would put more emphasis on shooting. It's probably cost him at least 2 championships.

really?

Signed
Devin Booker and Doron Lamb

 

[Poetax]

When you recruit players like Goodwin and Briscoe who are known to be bad shooters, I'd say you don't have to wait until the lights come on to know, you're gonna have shooting problems. Mulder was never shooting insurance because cal is not going to bench a borderline 1st round OAD to play him. As for Booker , he had a streaky year last year. The board overrates what he was for a freshman.

Goodwin was never recruited as a shooter nor was he supposed to run the team but when your PG is awol you do what you can with what we had. Briscoe did win a 3 pt shooting contest at one of the all star games so I'm sure a lot of fans were mislead by that. If you think Cal recruited Mulder for anything else but for his 3 pt shooting I'm surprised, why do you think he recruited Mulder?

 

[yoshukai]

really?

Signed
Devin Booker and Doron Lamb

Exactly, Cals best teams have at least 1 great shooter . He was a good shooter away from winning a championship with the Wall/Cousins team and his Memphis team that lost in the finals .

 

[.S&C.]

Goodwin was never recruited as a shooter nor was he supposed to run the team but when your PG is awol you do what you can with what we had. Briscoe did win a 3 pt shooting contest at one of the all star games so I'm sure a lot of fans were mislead by that. If you think Cal recruited Mulder for anything else but for his 3 pt shooting I'm surprised, why do you think he recruited Mulder?

You made my point o Goodwin. As to the other comment, do you really believe cal would bench a borderline 1st round, 5 star prospect for a juco dead eye screen shooter? Honestly, like you, I'd be suprised if you actually believed that.

As to your question, I have no idea anymore why he recruits juco's. It's a mystery to me all together.

Practice?

 

[.S&C.]

Exactly, Cals best teams have at least 1 great shooter . He was a good shooter away from winning a championship with the Wall/Cousins team and his Memphis team that lost in the finals .

What some of us are saying isn't all that hard to understand, but one has to stop being so sensitive towards cal critiques to understand it.

FOIR FINAL FOURS IN 5 YEARS!!!!!!!!!!!!

yea, we know.