Kentucky now co favorite to win the title along with Kansas after last night
- Thread starter Kentucky2022
- Start date
It's like people recognized that despite losing, Kentucky is a very good team with a lot of room for growth.
Yeah, but Calipari will work on that.
True!
When Calipari actually has elite talent, the teams improve a ton from November to March.
When he doesn't have elite talent, we usually aren't happy with the results in March.
This team has elite talent. It just needs refining.
Forcing DJ in the starting lineup is what will kill this team.
This team is going to be really good eventually. How far we go is ultimately up to Cal and his decision making
Maybe.
I thin DJ is a really good basketball player. Most recruiting people did as well. He was a top 10 recruit on all of the recruiting websites. I'm not here to argue that playing time should be dictated by stars. But I do think a kid that was so highly rated isn't a bust 3 games into the season.
He had a really bad game last night. Damian Lillard has had some bad games this season, but went onto play better.
I'm not saying DJ is Damian Lillard, but if someone as good as Lillard can have a bad night after a decade in the NBA--A freshman in his 3rd game having a bad night doesn't mean he's terrible.
If he plays that way all season and Cal doesn't bench him, then yes, that will be our undoing. I doubt he'll be that bad.
Well, I think they love the people betting on Kansas too.
In general, taking a particular team vs the field is a losing bet.
But Vegas is smart. We were already in the top 4 or 5 to start the season.
I don't know that we're going to have a productive discussion without you resorting to name calling, so I'll refrain from going down this rabbit hole. Have a good day.
Still say we are better than KU. They had THREE guys have career nights and still should’ve lost. Lulz
Cal just is not a good bench coach.It is what it is.
There's a lot we can learn from, Cal included, and clean up.
But man, HD and Harris both had to have career games. And we were still within 3 at the end of the game with multiple chances to tie.
We got nothing from the two top recruits--guys that will almost surely play better as the season goes on.
A fool and his money are soon parted. As true today as in the 1500s.
Little more difficult to coach this UK team than it is the KU team we played last night.
Kansas has a definite go to guy who is a senior.
He only has one freshman starter
The five starters are head and shoulders above their bench so there's no experimenting with lineups.
No one sitting out with injuries.
I'll take UK all day long.
UK did not have the personel to take away KU's #1 option but they will down the road.
Would love to be in KU's bracket come march.
And Wagner and Edwards have games too bad to be true. Yeah, play the game 10 times even without our three bigs and we win it 6 out of 10.
That's why I'm not worried.
But that's the choice Cal has made.He has chosen to go with freshmen his whole time at UK so he can't make excuses about being young when it's what he wanted.
Edwards
Dillingham
Sheppard
Wagner
Bradshaw.
We had six of the best eight on the floor last night.
As far as DJ goes, he had a rough game but Cal isn't doing anything different with him early in the season than Portland is with Scoot Henderson.
If you draft a guy #3, you have to let him play through growing pains until you see what you have.
Same with Edwards.
Cal doesn't give a damn that he took that loss last night he's trying to figure out what he has and getting everyone better.
Coaching is a little more difficult when you are building a brand new team.
No sense is acting like we were playing for the Championship last night
Well if Cal doesn't give a damn that he lost last night he needs to find another job.He was hired to win.
Too soon to say that. But it looks like he's willing to plug in reed at the point. Massive game last night and he gave the point to reed when it mattered most.
It's the right choice for him.
The portal has not been a recipe for success even though he has signed some talented players.
Travis
Sestina
Sarr
Mintz
Toppin
Oscar
Grady
Reeves
Fredrick
Mitchell
That's a pretty good haul over the years but it hasn't paid the dividends that the elite HS talent.
While I don’t disagree, Cal out coached Self last night. Probably not a popular take, but whatever. He really did. IMO anyway.
Agreed, but we’ve not seen DJ or Edwards play to the potential that we are expecting. At this point it may be purely theoretical and never show itself. In the end a player is what he does in the court.
Been plenty of 5 stars that were the cat’s meow and we never heard of them once they got to college.
Ages ago, there was a USENET group, rec.sport.basketball. It got broken into 2 groups. rec.sport.basketball.pro and rec.sport.basketball.college. Despite initial misgivings, the division helped and both flourished.
I'd like to split RR into two groups. One devoted to Calipari hatred and one that isn't. And never the twain shall meet.
I'd like to split RR into two groups. One devoted to Calipari hatred and one that isn't. And never the twain shall meet.
What did he actually lose?
Are their any season goals that are out of reach now?
I guess 40-0 is off the table
He has a lot harder job than Self as all he has to do is manage the game.Their rotations is set. Their offensive and defensive philosophy is set
Cal has to build the pieces into a team and all the pieces aren't available yet.
Problem is, he doesn't have to play that way all season to be our undoing. He just has to play that way in crucial games and have Cal let him do so. This isn't the NBA. You don't get 7 chances. If we lose several key games because Cal lets him jack shots, resulting in a poor seed, and then he gets to jack up shots against a 1 seed in the Sweet 16, oops. Season over.
You guys keep saying excuses like excuses are bad or evil.
There is such a thing as a legitimate excuse. You miss school or work when you have the flu. That's an excuse. You don't play sports with a broken leg. That's an excuse.
There's a reality here, that freshmen have growing pains.
There's a reality that Hunter Dickinson is going to have a career day when you don't have any of your 3 7 footers.
Call them excuses. But they're valid.
My bet is the kid finds his way.
You're talking a bunch of hypotheticals. If he sucks the next handful of games vs cupcakes, call him a bust and sit him. If he starts making shots and finishing at the rim, maybe call it a bad game.
I thought Cal had the right game plan, and outside of the 1st 4 minutes and the last 4 minutes--we executed it really well.
Our inexperience got us down the stretch. Kansas's experience pulled them through.
My thoughts exactly ... Calipari will happen.
How is Wagner elite? He can't hit the broad side of an aircraft carrier and he can't beat his man. He makes me miss Hagans.
How is Edwards elite? He looked lazy and lost and airballed a wide open three after missing a gimme dunk. How tall is he, 6'8"? SMH
He started Quade over Shai then made a change.
He started Whitney then went with Quick in a three guard lineup.
What makes you think DJ won't get yanked if Rob and Reed produce more?
To the naked eye, Cats look good
To those that SEE, It was the same ole BS
During a commercial break they showed Cal mumbling a play confusing even himself
To those that SEE, It was the same ole BS
During a commercial break they showed Cal mumbling a play confusing even himself
No
No he won't be as bad as he was last night but honestly that is the part that sucks the most. He will be just good enough and have some games where he feast against bad teams judt enough to justify Cal giving him 30 min a game even though to anyone who knows a thing about basketball can see Reed contributes more to winning.
It's three games in.
I trust that each has elite potential and I'll need a bigger sample size than 3 games before I'll admit that they are not.
I'm not saying that won't happen because I've seen many a bust in 40 years watching college and pro basketball.
I'm sure your sample size includes the next three cupcake games.
Thanks you just popped everyone’s balloon with that comment. Cal’s decision making dooms us every time.
