Please Explain to Me Why the Sky is Falling

[AGEE11]

• Our top two recruits we 1-18 for 5 points
• Our senior shot 28%
• One of the top 5 players in the nation went for a 20+/20+
• A guy averaging 1 ppg hits 5 threes and a career high 23 points
• Their second best player had a triple double
• We had no one taller than 6'8" play against one of the best big men in the game
• We had only 8 scholarship players

Read all that and you have to think we were beat badly. But we weren't. Everyone thought Kansas would roll us before the game, they didn't.

Dillingham had two horrible defensive possessions late, but shot the lights out early. Shep had a bad possession to end it, but was one of the best players on the court all night.

We got Reeves two really good looks for 3 to tie it in the last minute, but he missed. We actually ran plays for 3s on our last two possessions, we almost never do that. KU just jumped the lane on the double screen to Reeves so it went to the other side a Shep played like a freshman for the first time in the game on the forced 3.

We were right there to beat the supposedly best team in America down 3 players all at the same position. You play them with one of those 3, we win. Harris doesn't shoot the game of his life, we win. You play them with the same teams in a month, we win.

Even Cal showed some much need changes.

• We ran two plays for Reeves at the end.
• He played Shep late over the more highly rated DJ
• Ran some OOB plays, even had Thiero on the lob on one, but the inbounder missed him
• Had a good game plan to let Harris beat us, the guy just stepped up to the challenge
• Kept the offense flowing most of the game. I felt like we got tired late and we slowed down, but the offense only had 2-3 of those everybody stand and watch someone dribble possessions

I'm no Cal lover - so put away Ol' Reliable, been a UK fan since the Sutton era. There were a lot of bad in there too. Pulling Shep for one mistake, taking Dillingham out when he couldn't miss, giving DJ too much run. But many of the thing I and others have been upset at him over he improved on last night. I think the late stall ball was due to fatigue and Shep need a rest before the end was due to the same. We lost 20 points when he went out, but they have to have breaks at the pace we played.

Maybe I'm naïve, but I was very pleased with what I saw. I know that's not fitting with the tone of the board today, so bash away.

 

[UKWildcats1987]

I tend to agree. I'm concerned about edwards abd Wagner though as they haven't played well in all 3 games overall.

Reeves can't shoot 17 3s and only make 3 either. Ksu all over. He will proceed to hit 6 of 8 threes n next cupcake game though.

 

[MWes11]

All good points but this board wants to see results, as in W's. I, on the other hand, am happy as hell with how hard they battled all night. They just simply got worn down and it showed down the stretch. Once we get our full team together, it will help tremendously. No moral victories, obviously. But I am proud of those players that played their asses off and almost pulled off the upset.

 

[Gus Polinski]

Easy to explain why the sky is falling. CCC!!!

 

[Cowtown Cat]

So much to be excited about. This team just feels different. Just sucks to lose games we should absolutely win. Also sucks that Cal must play DJ/Edwards what seems like at all costs.

Really wish we would’ve had even one 7 footer. That 5 point swing at end of first half killed us. Love the potential of this team. Our ceiling is so much higher than a team like Kansas. They’re basically topped out, while we have the highest ceiling in the country IMHO.

 

[OmahaCats]

• Our top two recruits we 1-18 for 5 points
• Our senior shot 28%
• One of the top 5 players in the nation went for a 20+/20+
• A guy averaging 1 ppg hits 5 threes and a career high 23 points
• Their second best player had a triple double
• We had no one taller than 6'8" play against one of the best big men in the game
• We had only 8 scholarship players

Read all that and you have to think we were beat badly. But we weren't. Everyone thought Kansas would roll us before the game, they didn't.

Dillingham had two horrible defensive possessions late, but shot the lights out early. Shep had a bad possession to end it, but was one of the best players on the court all night.

We got Reeves two really good looks for 3 to tie it in the last minute, but he missed. We actually ran plays for 3s on our last two possessions, we almost never do that. KU just jumped the lane on the double screen to Reeves so it went to the other side a Shep played like a freshman for the first time in the game on the forced 3.

We were right there to beat the supposedly best team in America down 3 players all at the same position. You play them with one of those 3, we win. Harris doesn't shoot the game of his life, we win. You play them with the same teams in a month, we win.

Even Cal showed some much need changes.

• We ran two plays for Reeves at the end.
• He played Shep late over the more highly rated DJ
• Ran some OOB plays, even had Thiero on the lob on one, but the inbounder missed him
• Had a good game plan to let Harris beat us, the guy just stepped up to the challenge
• Kept the offense flowing most of the game. I felt like we got tired late and we slowed down, but the offense only had 2-3 of those everybody stand and watch someone dribble possessions

I'm no Cal lover - so put away Ol' Reliable, been a UK fan since the Sutton era. There were a lot of bad in there too. Pulling Shep for one mistake, taking Dillingham out when he couldn't miss, giving DJ too much run. But many of the thing I and others have been upset at him over he improved on last night. I think the late stall ball was due to fatigue and Shep need a rest before the end was due to the same. We lost 20 points when he went out, but they have to have breaks at the pace we played.

Maybe I'm naïve, but I was very pleased with what I saw. I know that's not fitting with the tone of the board today, so bash away.

Agree that Wagner had no business being out there at tge very end of the game.
Good take !

 

[AGEE11]

Agree that Wagner had no business being out there at tge very end of the game.
Good take !

Honestly Cal not having him out there probably gave me more hope than anything. Shows he's not just going to put the highest rated guys out there.

 

[Cowtown Cat]

Btw, not everyone thought Kansas would roll us. I thought since the game was scheduled that we would win this game, and we absolutely should have.

 

[ManitouDan]

Because we just keep losing . There is only 1 important thing . Scoreboard . Period .

 

[BigBlueManSouthCentralKY]

Every loss hurts our seeding. Makes it harder to be national champions.

 

[UK90]

I don’t think anybody’s claimed “the sky is falling” … so this thread is kinda operating from a false opening premise.

But consistently losing these sort of games has gotten quite old. We’re 1-6 in this event over the last seven years. Kentucky basketball having a 1-6 stretch in anything should not sit right with any UK fan.

 

[ULisnotmyman]

Probably because it was the same frustrating shit that we’ve been witnessing the past 7 years and there are no signs of it changing.

 

[blackcat714]

Agree that Wagner had no business being out there at tge very end of the game.
Good take !

Cal put him in to play defense on that dude that kept hitting all those wide open 3’s

 

[CincyUKFan]

Sky isn’t falling. But this is another team that will go nowhere if Cal doesn’t tinker with the lineups and distribution of minutes.

Fans are rightly concerned that:

1) Wagner has been been given the lead guard role rather than earned it and his playing that role will not make us the best team we can be.
2) Edwards is soft as charmin and will come nowhere close to reaching his potential while in a UK uni - but will play a ton of minutes nonetheless
3) Reeves is the same guy he’s always been. A dude that just can’t hang with legit competition more often than not.
4) Cal is showing favoritism to the detriment of the team. Again.

 

[CatPhight]

 

[YardCat]

We were right there to beat the supposedly best team in America down 3 players all at the same position. You play them with one of those 3, we win.

I don’t know which one of the 3 you are talking about that would have stopped Dickinson without fouling out. This is a reach in my opinion.

 

[stereonut]

OP, please don’t come to this board and make a sensible post.

 

[YardCat]

Tonight’s winner is A. Reeves, another repeat of last year’s NCAA game.

 

[bbncal02]

Every loss hurts our seeding. Makes it harder to be national champions.

If the NCAA screws us solely on a 5 point neutral court loss to KU where we, let's be honest, dominated them at times, screw them. If that's CBB's No. 1 team? Nobody scares me this year. No one.

I'm still pissed about choking that one away, but let's regroup and see how the next month goes.

Wagner and Edwards have to remove their heads from between their thighs and we will be in really good shape.

Freshman mistakes killed us last night.

1. Dillingham going under those screens.
2. Reed with that bad turnover and then really bad hero ball three
3. DJ and Edwards giving us nothing.

I think we're going to be ok. But, I have tempered my expectations a bit. Lets see how we do against Miami and UNC. But nobody really scares me at this point.

 

[Rockfly78]

Probably because it was the same frustrating shit that we’ve been witnessing the past 7 years and there are no signs of it changing.

Elaborate on that. The style of play we saw last night was not what we had been seeing. Cal didn't grind the game down at the end either. They made a few more plays than we did down the stretch and had a reliable inside presence. So, what are you referring to?

 

[Cowtown Cat]

I don’t know which one of the 3 you are talking about that would have stopped Dickinson without fouling out. This is a reach in my opinion.

Lulz so you think HD has 27 and 21 with another 7 footer checking him, let alone 3 of them?! I HIGHLY doubt it.

 

[LineSkiCat14]

I was told this game wasn't a must win by any means, because we were without our bigs, and we almost freaking won. We almost actually blew them out with our guard play but they clawed back and were able to expose our injuries quite nicely.

I'm just annoyed that Cal can't seem to win these games in November and December anymore, and that's another issue. But this team is going to be fine.

 

[BigBlueManSouthCentralKY]

If the NCAA screws us solely on a 5 point neutral court loss to KU where we, let's be honest, dominated them at times, screw them. If that's CBB's No. 1 team? Nobody scares me this year. No one.

I'm still pissed about choking that one away, but let's regroup and see how the next month goes.

Wagner and Edwards have to remove their heads from between their thighs and we will be in really good shape.

Yeah, if only this is our only loss we should have won. Wonder how many more we will take and shouldn't? It's when you lose several that you should have won that will hurt the seeding.

 

[CROCAT]

Agree that Wagner had no business being out there at tge very end of the game.
Good take !

Too bad the 9 million man doesn't see it that way. 5 stars and future Green Room attendees get unlimited leash, not the guys who would actually put UK in the best position to win at that particular moment (Sheppard etc.)

 

[AGEE11]

Probably because it was the same frustrating shit that we’ve been witnessing the past 7 years and there are no signs of it changing.

Let me copy and paste 5 HUGE changes from the last 7 years that I posted earlier

• We ran two plays for Reeves at the end.
• He played Shep late over the more highly rated DJ
• Ran some OOB plays, even had Thiero on the lob on one, but the inbounder missed him
• Had a good game plan to let Harris beat us, the guy just stepped up to the challenge
• Kept the offense flowing most of the game. I felt like we got tired late and we slowed down, but the offense only had 2-3 of those everybody stand and watch someone dribble possessions

If you can't see the changes we made from the last couple of years, you just hatin' for the sake of hatin'

 

[bbncal02]

Yeah, if only this is our only loss we should have won. Wonder how many more we will take and shouldn't? It's when you lose several that you should have won that will hurt the seeding.

I don't think this group is gonna have too many of those. Might take a ding or two at Arky and UT. But outside of that?

 

[AGEE11]

Too bad the 9 million man doesn't see it that way. 5 stars and future Green Room attendees get unlimited leash, not the guys who would actually put UK in the best position to win at that particular moment (Sheppard etc.)

But the $9 million dollar man did see it.

He put Shep in over DJ for the last 2 minutes.

 

[AGEE11]

I don't think this group is gonna have too many of those. Might take a ding or two at Arky and UT. But outside of that?

You are correct. Not many Ls this year. Especially when we get some size back.

I wish Cal would hold a press conference everyday about Big Z to pressure the NCAA idiots to let him play

 

[BigBlueManSouthCentralKY]

I don't think this group is gonna have too many of those. Might take a ding or two at Arky and UT. But outside of that?

This group is different. More talented and fighters. But a coach can cost us several games worrying about individuals instead of team. Hoped he had changed in that way with all the heat he has taken. Yet another game a guy gets a lot more minutes over another guy playing better.

 

[CROCAT]

But the $9 million dollar man did see it.

He put Shep in over DJ for the last 2 minutes.

Exactly, he deserves credit for that. I was referring to DJ playing 25 minutes to Sheppard's 16.

 

[YardCat]

Let me copy and paste 5 HUGE changes from the last 7 years that I posted earlier

• We ran two plays for Reeves at the end.
• He played Shep late over the more highly rated DJ
• Ran some OOB plays, even had Thiero on the lob on one, but the inbounder missed him
• Had a good game plan to let Harris beat us, the guy just stepped up to the challenge
• Kept the offense flowing most of the game. I felt like we got tired late and we slowed down, but the offense only had 2-3 of those everybody stand and watch someone dribble possessions

If you can't see the changes we made from the last couple of years, you just hatin' for the sake of hatin'

I agree we did make changes but the outcome was still the same. Sometimes you have to move on from the one making the calls because the changes still end with another loss. I’m tired of almost won the game and the “If’we had our bigs” excuses.

 

[St.PatterSoN-54-]

All good points OP. I wonder if you'll make a similar list explaining things away when we lose a close game to Tennessee, or Georgia?

 

[LineSkiCat14]

All good points OP. I wonder if you'll make a similar list explaining things away when we lose a close game to Tennessee, or Georgia?

You can mark this post.. I'm not sure we're losing many games to the Tennessees and Georgia's of the world. I saw a team that wasn't quite ready to play the #1 team, with 3 guys out. But I can't see any team that's markedly better than we are.

We will drop games for sure, but Dilly is the real deal. And the rest of the guys are all pretty solid too. And just imagine when DJ and Edwards get going.

 

[AGEE11]

Exactly, he deserves credit for that. I was referring to DJ playing 25 minutes to Sheppard's 16.

Would have loved to have those numbers flipped. But for now DJ is the starter and will get more minutes. I hope if they keep playing like last night we'll see them flip.

Hopefully Shep will keep playing like that, but DJ can turn around.

 

[Disappointed Cat]

• Our top two recruits we 1-18 for 5 points
• Our senior shot 28%
• One of the top 5 players in the nation went for a 20+/20+
• A guy averaging 1 ppg hits 5 threes and a career high 23 points
• Their second best player had a triple double
• We had no one taller than 6'8" play against one of the best big men in the game
• We had only 8 scholarship players

Read all that and you have to think we were beat badly. But we weren't. Everyone thought Kansas would roll us before the game, they didn't.

Dillingham had two horrible defensive possessions late, but shot the lights out early. Shep had a bad possession to end it, but was one of the best players on the court all night.

We got Reeves two really good looks for 3 to tie it in the last minute, but he missed. We actually ran plays for 3s on our last two possessions, we almost never do that. KU just jumped the lane on the double screen to Reeves so it went to the other side a Shep played like a freshman for the first time in the game on the forced 3.

We were right there to beat the supposedly best team in America down 3 players all at the same position. You play them with one of those 3, we win. Harris doesn't shoot the game of his life, we win. You play them with the same teams in a month, we win.

Even Cal showed some much need changes.

• We ran two plays for Reeves at the end.
• He played Shep late over the more highly rated DJ
• Ran some OOB plays, even had Thiero on the lob on one, but the inbounder missed him
• Had a good game plan to let Harris beat us, the guy just stepped up to the challenge
• Kept the offense flowing most of the game. I felt like we got tired late and we slowed down, but the offense only had 2-3 of those everybody stand and watch someone dribble possessions

I'm no Cal lover - so put away Ol' Reliable, been a UK fan since the Sutton era. There were a lot of bad in there too. Pulling Shep for one mistake, taking Dillingham out when he couldn't miss, giving DJ too much run. But many of the thing I and others have been upset at him over he improved on last night. I think the late stall ball was due to fatigue and Shep need a rest before the end was due to the same. We lost 20 points when he went out, but they have to have breaks at the pace we played.

Maybe I'm naïve, but I was very pleased with what I saw. I know that's not fitting with the tone of the board today, so bash away.

We keep losing game after game you keep making excuses and seeing great things in the future. Don't you think it is time to face reality? Count the times that Cal has had a lead late in a big game and blown it in the last 8 years. Now count the times he has trailed late in a big game and won it in the past 8 years. See my point?

 

[AGEE11]

All good points OP. I wonder if you'll make a similar list explaining things away when we lose a close game to Tennessee, or Georgia?

Maybe for Tennessee, but not Georgia. We lose to them and the sky might really be falling.

Not even an optimist like myself could do that. Unless they throw the whole team out or something

 

[CatPhight]

 

[bbncal02]

Hard to say if those 9 minutes would have changed anything or not. Reed had a couple of bad moments last night too; he played really well over all though. Just like everyone else though, he got tight at the end and made some very un-Reed like mistakes. I'm sure Jeff will be talking to him about it too. Only time I got mad at him was that really bad three he attempted. The rest of the game he played really good.

DJ probably had the worst night of his life playing wise.

Just gotta keep getting better.

 

[AGEE11]

We keep losing game after game you keep making excuses and seeing great things in the future. Don't you think it is time to face reality? Count the times that Cal has had a lead late in a big game and blown it in the last 8 years. Now count the times he has trailed late in a big game and won it in the past 8 years. See my point?

Which team from the last 8 years has the talent of this one? None Edit: 2017 did

We got good recruiting rankings on quantity, not quality.

We relied more on transfers we wouldn't have recruited out of HS for the most part, not impact freshmen.

This team is not like the others. Maybe 2017, 2019 and 2020 can compare and they were very successful

I'm just optimistic by nature and thought this undermanned team looked better than the supposed best team in the country last night. Fatigue and lack of height hurt.

 

[ukcatz12]

I think it's pretty clear to anyone who doesn't have an agenda this team can be special. Feels like a one of Cal's old teams. Missing three key guys and they went blow to blow with the #1 ranked team in the country. Always disappointing to lose a game you led by 14, but teams like Kansas will always make a second half run. For the most part our guys took a few punches and responded well. A little sloppy to end the game but the game was decided on a play or two. This year will be fun.