I'm not sure, but maybe this is what has caused me to post less and less these past few years. I know I'm guilty of this at times too, but the constant negativity here is just exhausting. So much doom and gloom. The 'covid year' (9-16), I've pretty much discarded as an anomaly. We damned well know this isn't indicative of the program. Yes, it happened, but tons of circumstances were involved.
The St. Peters debacle.... as physically ill as it made me feel at the time, looking back over the years, how lucky have we been that something like this hadn't happened to UK in the tournament? It's happened to a lot of other top programs in college basketball. Sometimes more than once (Kansas w/Vermont and Northern Iowa, Dook w/Lehigh and Mercer). The more I think about it, the more I'm beginning to think that as far as this past tournament, maybe it was simply UK's 'turn'. All the bitching, whining and negativity here isn't going to change what happened.
Going forward, are there things that need to change? Of course there is. John Calipari isn't in the HOF for nothing. However, I think he's reached the point in his career where he can no longer be stubborn and refuse to adapt. I am remaining optimistic that he will. He simply has to see that the 'old way' isn't helping this program reach the levels of success it has enjoyed so many times throughout its history. He is far too competitive to simply accept what has happened and not make changes or approach things a bit differently.
With that being said, I truly hope that with this coming season and beyond, Cal will see that it's ok to use a zone defense once in awhile, especially when teams are having an easy time in getting to the basket. I hope he realizes that it's ok to use a timeout and set up a play in the waning seconds of a half or at the end of the game for that matter. I'm hoping that he will expand on the use of his roster...not just 7 or 8 guys.
Do I realize that that's certainly a lot of hopes? Of course I do. I'm going to stay on the path of optimism. Kentucky Basketball is not dying, yet so many here are acting like pallbearers.
The St. Peters debacle.... as physically ill as it made me feel at the time, looking back over the years, how lucky have we been that something like this hadn't happened to UK in the tournament? It's happened to a lot of other top programs in college basketball. Sometimes more than once (Kansas w/Vermont and Northern Iowa, Dook w/Lehigh and Mercer). The more I think about it, the more I'm beginning to think that as far as this past tournament, maybe it was simply UK's 'turn'. All the bitching, whining and negativity here isn't going to change what happened.
Going forward, are there things that need to change? Of course there is. John Calipari isn't in the HOF for nothing. However, I think he's reached the point in his career where he can no longer be stubborn and refuse to adapt. I am remaining optimistic that he will. He simply has to see that the 'old way' isn't helping this program reach the levels of success it has enjoyed so many times throughout its history. He is far too competitive to simply accept what has happened and not make changes or approach things a bit differently.
With that being said, I truly hope that with this coming season and beyond, Cal will see that it's ok to use a zone defense once in awhile, especially when teams are having an easy time in getting to the basket. I hope he realizes that it's ok to use a timeout and set up a play in the waning seconds of a half or at the end of the game for that matter. I'm hoping that he will expand on the use of his roster...not just 7 or 8 guys.
Do I realize that that's certainly a lot of hopes? Of course I do. I'm going to stay on the path of optimism. Kentucky Basketball is not dying, yet so many here are acting like pallbearers.
