Observations from Pauley

[pascat]

(1) Pauley Pavilion is in fantastic shape. I've been to several games there through the years and can say that it was a bigger dump than the old LA Sports Arena for the last 25 years. Simply stated, it is a beautiful facility now. I can only imagine what that kind of facelift could do to Rupp. But there is just something so special about an on-campus arena. I would really like one at UK. Props to LA for really bringing their decrepit gyms (e.g., the Forum) into the 21st century. Will UK?

(2) There were about 500 empty seats. I complained to the UCLA fan next to me, saying that it is ridiculous that they can't sell that place out. His reply: "Traffic." My reply with one minute left in the game and those same seats were still empty: "They aren't coming are they?"

(3) There are two types of UCLA fans: "Old Glory Days" fans and skinny Asian pre-health and engineering students who have been to more women's games than men's games and who know nothing about basketball. In short, it's the exact opposite of the Maryland perpetual 20-something fanbase. I gotta give credit to the old timers: they love their Bruins and were very knowledgable.

(4) I'm not sure how they looked on TV, but UCLA's guards were plenty quick in person. Far quicker than Duke's guards. For once, Ulis did not look like he was overwhelmingly faster than the opponent. He was faster, just not that much faster.

(5) What a privilege it is to be a UK fan. To bring out stars like Oscar Robertson, Jerry West, Shaq, Wilkes, et al,--WOW. That is what it means to be the very best and even though we lost, everyone in the arena knows that we are the very best program in America right now. Wherever UK goes, electricity. The UCLA fan next to me was in tears when UCLA won. Mad respect for UK's program.

(6) Fans were kind: only had one incident while walking down Westholme when a car drove by and yelled at us "F Calipari!" Other than this, not a thing. Like I said, a very tame and classy fan base. Clown wasn't even going to the game--just driving home from work. After the game, no shenanigans, just happiness.

(7) There were a lot of UK fans present, but they were neutralized by two things: The fact that they were scattered and couldn't create much noise in unison, and the flow of the game prevented any kind of a UK run. I'd say there were about 1500 fans in all. We tried. My voice is shot from screaming, but Pauley had the energy tonight. Props to them.

(8) Passed the "look test" award: Derek Willis. During warmups, I noticed that his build was bigger than I had thought and his quickness on the floor was evident. Several Bruins fans were asking me where he came from. Jamal Murray also looked bigger in person that I was expecting.

 

[Kerry Kat]

Great write up!

I'm not as disappointed as our last loss - final four, of course but you could tell from the jump that something wasn't right with UK.

UCLA had a swagger and we play with just enough inconsistency across the board that allowed UCLA to beat us at every facet of the game.

Too many issues to get into here.

Nevertheless, I think Lee would have been the x-factor and all the fans that I came into contact with were an absolutely class act and not one expected to win this game. Very humble fan base! We could learn a lot from them.

Like you said, the facilities were beautiful, not a bad seat in the house and access to the campus, parking and Pauley were great.

I was five feet from Shaq and the fans adore him. Not sure why but one of the UCLA fans I was talking to after the game was berating Cal pretty bad. Saying he was too rough on the players and he just didn't appreciate how he talks to players and acts on the sideline. I don't care personally as long as we win but with class.

 

[BostonCat2001]

lee out with injury.
ulis wasnt 100%
skal was a complete no show
ucla hit everything (banked in 3s, fade away running jump shots, etc
refs called an uneven game

yeah if those things happen, its going to be hard to win games

 

[yoshukai]

lee out with injury.
ulis wasnt 100%
skal was a complete no show
ucla hit everything (banked in 3s, fade away running jump shots, etc
refs called an uneven game

yeah if those things happen, its going to be hard to win games

You gotta include Murray in there . Heck I was more let down by him than any of them . I didn't think there would ever be a stage too big for him but it appeared to be the case last night .

 

[tank2009]

Enjoy posts like the op.

Cal probably does need to tone it down notch or so on sideline. He gets really frustrated and really no point to it when you put a totally new team on floor each year. For his own health be better to chill slightly.

That said i cant imagine what pressure he puts on himself.

Also love what he is doing and we are still loaded for the season.....just gonna take some time to hit on all cylinders....

 

[kyrx]

Last night was another Wisconsin game, where they had revenge on their minds. They hit shots, got all the lucky bounces, and probably will lose their next game when their shooting % goes down and they don't get those lucky bounces.
Case-in-point: that tall white dude who kept hitting 15 footers; do you think he's good for 20/10 again?

 

[Bluewest]

Last night was another Wisconsin game, where they had revenge on their minds. They hit shots, got all the lucky bounces, and probably will lose their next game when their shooting % goes down and they don't get those lucky bounces.
Case-in-point: that tall white dude who kept hitting 15 footers; do you think he's good for 20/10 again?

 

[Bluewest]

I think Kentucky will be fine.....it's December.

 

[Seckatz]

Some of the fans I was around were pretty much jerks. I have lived in LA area for thirty years and always run into many jerky UCLA fans. Their following is a joke. They are a blip on the radar in LA sports market.That said I watch many USC football games and love it when they beat the ruins. Props to them they just kicked us pretty easily.Hopefully we will blast them next year in Rupp.

 

[denhunter]

This game will become relevant in March. If you think this game isn't used for the argument to give some school a higher seeding than UK, resulting in Kentucky playing about a 1000 miles from Lexington, you have no memory. Horrible loss. These kids got punched in the mouth the first 30 seconds, and folded like an accordion. Last year, we were throwing the punches. Now we are just the bag.

 

[docholiday51]

Lee's injury was a big factor,not only considering what he might have brought to the table the rest of the game but maybe Poy doesn't get into foul trouble quite as quickly.The rotation of players would have changed as well.Based on how the game went down we probably wouldn't have won it but we might have been in it at some point after the first 10 minutes.

Until/unless we get more out of Skal we will have several more games that look like this one(not all will be losses but they will be dog fights)Humphries did some good things and may progress more quickly than Skal,he doesn't have the tools that Skal does but he may make more progress toward his full potential in a years time.

Murray's shot selection needs to improve,he has to better understanding where his shots should come from.
Willis needs to make the simple shot and not try to make shots more difficult than they are,(you don't get extra points for style or degree of difficulty)

Matthews is finding his role on the team and will be a bigger factor as the year goes on.

We have a few days between now and the next game,it will be interesting to see how the team responds to this game.We have games on the 9th and 12th what(if any) difference we see will tell us something about this team

I don't think this was as big of a surprise to some here as it might seem(although not too many will be willing to admit it)

 

[Smashcat]

Passed the "look test" award: Derek Willis. During warmups, I noticed that his build was bigger than I had thought and his quickness on the floor was evident
Not hard to see who took S&C really, really seriously over the summer. Willis and Briscoe. Not a coincidence they both played hungry last night.

 

[Mojocat]

lee out with injury.
ulis wasnt 100%
skal was a complete no show
ucla hit everything (banked in 3s, fade away running jump shots, etc
refs called an uneven game

yeah if those things happen, its going to be hard to win games

All true. Plus, the biggest factor, i think we just didn't show up. Only second time I recall thinking that in the 7 years Cal has been here. For whatever reason. So, even if the above list wasn't real, maybe we lose anyway....

I'm tossing this one out - it's a fluke, an outlier. We clearly have work to do, but this game and result aren't indicative. If I hadn't seen the Duke game, I'd be far more worried. Who knows, maybe that was the imposter UK and this is the real UK. But I have no reason to believe that....

 

[DodgerDukie1985]

Case-in-point: that tall white dude who kept hitting 15 footers; do you think he's good for 20/10 again?

I'm going to say yes. Thomas Welsh was a four-star McDonald's All-American, so he wasn't just some scrub out of high school. Also watched UCLA some against UNLV last week in Hawaii and he was hitting those shots consistently. Plus he's only a sophomore.

 

[DodgerDukie1985]

(2) There were about 500 empty seats. I complained to the UCLA fan next to me, saying that it is ridiculous that they can't sell that place out. His reply: "Traffic." My reply with one minute left in the game and those same seats were still empty: "They aren't coming are they?"

Being a fan of an LA based team (Dodgers), I can attest to the fact that LA fans have two reputations. First is that of a crowd that arrives late and leaves early and second is that of frontrunning fans. They'll love a winner as much as anyone but are quick to bail when things aren't going so perfectly. Which brings me to...

I have lived in LA area for thirty years and always run into many jerky UCLA fans. Their following is a joke. They are a blip on the radar in LA sports market.

You starting in the LA area 10 years post John Wooden. They haven't been the same in basketball since he left and they've never had anywhere near that success in football.

 

[king of cali]

Last night was another Wisconsin game, where they had revenge on their minds. They hit shots, got all the lucky bounces, and probably will lose their next game when their shooting % goes down and they don't get those lucky bounces.
Case-in-point: that tall white dude who kept hitting 15 footers; do you think he's good for 20/10 again?

He may not get 20 and 10 again, but he has been hitting that shot consistently this season. Him making them was not a fluke.

 

[FFWhite]

I could see this coming. Same team as played against Illinois State. Cal may be able to get their attention now.

 

[UKWildcats#8]

Murray shot great from 3, poorly from 2. I'll take 5/11 or 5/12 or even 5/13 from 3 any night. He took some bad 2's and missed a couple he should have hit for sure.

 

[Smashcat]

I'm going to say yes. Thomas Welsh was a four-star McDonald's All-American, so he wasn't just some scrub out of high school. Also watched UCLA some against UNLV last week in Hawaii and he was hitting those shots consistently. Plus he's only a sophomore.

Two big tests coming up at Gonzaga and at UNC.

 

[KWilt43atbuzz]

This game will become relevant in March. If you think this game isn't used for the argument to give some school a higher seeding than UK, resulting in Kentucky playing about a 1000 miles from Lexington, you have no memory. Horrible loss. These kids got punched in the mouth the first 30 seconds, and folded like an accordion. Last year, we were throwing the punches. Now we are just the bag.

Terrible post with no foresight.
Lee played 5 min. And got smacked in the face.
Ulis still ailing.
Poy still recovering from maj knee surgury.
Wynard not playing until after Christmas.
A bunch of Freshman playing first road gm of college career.
If you think this team is a punching bag you just give this team another month or two.
Punching bag my ass.

 

[Seckatz]

Being a fan of an LA based team (Dodgers), I can attest to the fact that LA fans have two reputations. First is that of a crowd that arrives late and leaves early and second is that of frontrunning fans. They'll love a winner as much as anyone but are quick to bail when things aren't going so perfectly. Which brings me to...



You starting in the LA area 10 years post John Wooden. They haven't been the same in basketball since he left and they've never had anywhere near that success in football.[/QU you may be correct they were big in late 60's and 70's the

Being a fan of an LA based team (Dodgers), I can attest to the fact that LA fans have two reputations. First is that of a crowd that arrives late and leaves early and second is that of frontrunning fans. They'll love a winner as much as anyone but are quick to bail when things aren't going so perfectly. Which brings me to...



You starting in the LA area 10 years post John Wooden. They haven't been the same in basketball since he left and they've never had anywhere near that success in football.

 

[Seckatz]

That what I was getting at Dodger. UCLA really is of no consequence right now. They beat us just like we lose to some SEC teams on the road just about every year.In LA if you are basketball team not named the Lakers you are not really relevant. LA is a very front running town but ticket demand and the love of the Lakers is still very strong.

 

[KMKAT]

I don't think this game determines who goes further by the end of the year.

Both teams could figure it out, but its UCLA who doesn't know how to handle teams they are supposed to be able to beat.

We may take 5 or 6 more hits, as out end-of-year stretch is brutal.

Improvement can come from everyone who got minutes last night, and it won't take much to show that improvement. Just quit wasting possessions when we have the ball. We threw up lots of junk last night that had zero chance of going in. One example: Willis on a fast break, just after a big dunk, and a chance to give us late momentum. Well, he decided to do some under the rim motion instead of taking on the contact. If I shot FTs as well as he did, I'm taking a hit every time.

 

[denhunter]

Terrible post with no foresight.
Lee played 5 min. And got smacked in the face.
Ulis still ailing.
Poy still recovering from maj knee surgury.
Wynard not playing until after Christmas.
A bunch of Freshman playing first road gm of college career.
If you think this team is a punching bag you just give this team another month or two.
Punching bag my ass.

Yammer yammer blah blah blah. Excuses, excuses, excuses. You didn't watch the game. The kids came out got smacked upside the head. They were down, what, by 7 in the first 2 minutes? Skal is timid. Skilled, but timid. He NEVER expected that there would be a crowd cheering against him, and another player that would contest him. He was bitch slapped and quit. Almost immediately. His response to being whipped was to yell at the coaches and wave his arms in the air. Bilas caught it. The world caught it. You missed it.

UK just folded as a team. They looked and acted like a 50th ranked team. UCLA had no business winning that game, except that they wanted to, and UK was scared shitless. You go ahead and blame injuries, refs, the crowd, whatever. UK just failed the smell test from the get go.

Wynard is not Jesus Christ. He is coming out of high school a few days before he gets here. He will be third off the bench in his position. Counting on this kid to turn the team around is just foolish.

And the selection committee doesn't care about your excuses (which is the point of the post). UK lost a road game to a far poorer, lesser skilled team. That will be the mantra of the ACC representatives all year long until selection Sunday. Bad, bad loss. Worse showing. Someone stole their testicles. Until they find them, it's a long year.

 

[aikenite4uk]

I was quite impressed with UCLA. Anyone that thinks their win was a fluke is living in a dream world. They have size inside and Alford and Welsh are clever and efficient scorers. Holiday is a very good guard as well. They look like a 4-6 seed NCAA tournament team.

 

[Wildcat-in-STL]

Watch what happens at UNC... for once I'm going to laugh when a team gets shafted by refs at the Dean Dome.

 

[ukfan79]

Yammer yammer blah blah blah. Excuses, excuses, excuses. You didn't watch the game. The kids came out got smacked upside the head. They were down, what, by 7 in the first 2 minutes? Skal is timid. Skilled, but timid. He NEVER expected that there would be a crowd cheering against him, and another player that would contest him. He was bitch slapped and quit. Almost immediately. His response to being whipped was to yell at the coaches and wave his arms in the air. Bilas caught it. The world caught it. You missed it.

UK just folded as a team. They looked and acted like a 50th ranked team. UCLA had no business winning that game, except that they wanted to, and UK was scared shitless. You go ahead and blame injuries, refs, the crowd, whatever. UK just failed the smell test from the get go.

Wynard is not Jesus Christ. He is coming out of high school a few days before he gets here. He will be third off the bench in his position. Counting on this kid to turn the team around is just foolish.

And the selection committee doesn't care about your excuses (which is the point of the post). UK lost a road game to a far poorer, lesser skilled team. That will be the mantra of the ACC representatives all year long until selection Sunday. Bad, bad loss. Worse showing. Someone stole their testicles. Until they find them, it's a long year.

Give it a break. It wasn't a great loss looking at how UCLA has played to date. But they are a team that will finish about 20-11 and be in the tournament. And the committee never looks at a road loss to another tourney team as a bad loss.

Plus the Duke win will trump this loss and we have plenty of time to make the ground back up that this loss may have set us back for now.

 

[ukfan79]

Watch what happens at UNC... for once I'm going to laugh when a team gets shafted by refs at the Dean Dome.

What do you mean watch what happens at UNC?

 

[ukfan79]

I was quite impressed with UCLA. Anyone that thinks their win was a fluke is living in a dream world. They have size inside and Alford and Welsh are clever and efficient scorers. Holiday is a very good guard as well. They look like a 4-6 seed NCAA tournament team.

No way they are going to be a 4-6 seed. They'll make it in at like 20-11 but be in the 8-11 seed range.

 

[Wildcat-in-STL]

never mind I thought the game was at the dean dome. ......

 

[ukfan79]

never mind I thought the game was at the dean dome. ......

Its the game before we play Ohio State in Brooklyn. I'll be there in 2 weeks cheering on the Bruins then the Cats!!

 

[DodgerDukie1985]

Two big tests coming up at Gonzaga and at UNC.

Yep. I'm interested in seeing how he does in those games. Gotta think he'll see a lot of Brice Johnson and Domantas Sabonis on him since I'm sure Parker will be taken by Karnowski and Kennedy Meeks. You guys lost your best matchup on him when Lee got hurt.

 

[docholiday51]

Yep. I'm interested in seeing how he does in those games. Gotta think he'll see a lot of Brice Johnson and Domantas Sabonis on him since I'm sure Parker will be taken by Karnowski and Kennedy Meeks. You guys lost your best matchup on him when Lee got hurt.

I'm not yet convinced that UCLA is quite as good as we made them out to be.Even with the win over the Cats they are 5-3.It will be interesting to see if they can maintain that level of effort,intensity and focus for more than 1 game.They may be able to do that but that remains to be seen.They deserve major props for that game but can/will they back it up

 

[KWilt43atbuzz]

Yammer yammer blah blah blah. Excuses, excuses, excuses. You didn't watch the game. The kids came out got smacked upside the head. They were down, what, by 7 in the first 2 minutes? Skal is timid. Skilled, but timid. He NEVER expected that there would be a crowd cheering against him, and another player that would contest him. He was bitch slapped and quit. Almost immediately. His response to being whipped was to yell at the coaches and wave his arms in the air. Bilas caught it. The world caught it. You missed it.

UK just folded as a team. They looked and acted like a 50th ranked team. UCLA had no business winning that game, except that they wanted to, and UK was scared shitless. You go ahead and blame injuries, refs, the crowd, whatever. UK just failed the smell test from the get go.

Wynard is not Jesus Christ. He is coming out of high school a few days before he gets here. He will be third off the bench in his position. Counting on this kid to turn the team around is just foolish.

And the selection committee doesn't care about your excuses (which is the point of the post). UK lost a road game to a far poorer, lesser skilled team. That will be the mantra of the ACC representatives all year long until selection Sunday. Bad, bad loss. Worse showing. Someone stole their testicles. Until they find them, it's a long year.

Injuries are part of the game.
Ulis, Lee and Poy were banged up.
If you dont think that determined the outcome of the game then I dont know what to tell you.
You being worried about 1 early Dec loss and the selection committee tells me all I need to know.

 

[Bodvar Bjarki]

I hope UK gets another shot at this UCLA team. It will not be pretty if we do.

 

[aikenite4uk]

No way they are going to be a 4-6 seed. They'll make it in at like 20-11 but be in the 8-11 seed range.

So what do you make of our chances ? You must be firmly in the camp that this loss was a complete fluke?

 

[catntn]

I think Kentucky will be fine.....it's December.

Same here. Long way to March but Cal needs to get some animals around the basket. Am a little concerned in that regard.

 

[denhunter]

.
You being worried about 1 early Dec loss and the selection committee tells me all I need to know.

Well, historically, that was proven to be very little a long time ago...shoo now.

 

[Cats192]

There were so many different things--if one of them goes differently we maybe still steal a win.

Lee goes out. He's probably your best defender for the pick and pop at this point. That hurts.

Ulis dings his arm. Maybe he's more effective down the stretch.

Murray had horrible shot selection. Seems like a theme early on. He really needs to calm down on the trigger.

Skal IS soft, as several others have said. Gotta rebound more. Especially with Lee out.

Willis missed a couple of easy open looks from 3.

In a game where you cut the lead to 10--another make here or there, another rebound to stop UCLA here and there--and you swing the momentum and perhaps things go differently.

All of that said, we looked very bad and didn't deserve to win.

A small bright side--we shot well from the FT line

 

[ganner918]

Murray shot great from 3, poorly from 2. I'll take 5/11 or 5/12 or even 5/13 from 3 any night. He took some bad 2's and missed a couple he should have hit for sure.

5/11 is good overall, but after hitting his first 2 he missed 4 straight and pretty much disappeared from the game until hitting 3 more in the final 5 minutes when the outcome was no longer in doubt.