Remember Joe B.'s January slumps?

[Cychologist]

Seems like every year once conference play began we would have a couple of bad games, even an unexpected loss or two. Than we would settle down and match or exceed the effort the other teams brought to the games.

Things haven't changed, it appears.


.

 

[docholiday51]

Yes, I have thought about that a couple of time this week.what we have done so far in the SEC is classic Joe B slump(except we didn't lose)Usually the trip to Vandy got us early.Even his good teams did it

 

[TNCatfanforever]

Awe always had the January slide. I think great teams sometimes realize how good they are and start coasting until tourney time.

 

[Cawood86]

Yep. I mentioned it earlier today. I remember them well. I'm hoping these Cats have got theirs out of the way without losing.

 

[bigbluelou]

I thought about this several times this week.

 

[jackcarlson]

Joe Hall CONTINUALLY wasted more talent than Bobby Knight ever had!!

It was always so frustrating to see us lose games for which there was absolutely no excuse. Hall was a terrible coach. A game like today, you would have guaranteed that UK would lose, if Hall was coaching.....

 

[Cawood86]

Originally posted by jackcarlson:
Joe Hall CONTINUALLY wasted more talent than Bobby Knight ever had!!

It was always so frustrating to see us lose games for which there was absolutely no excuse. Hall was a terrible coach. A game like today, you would have guaranteed that UK would lose, if Hall was coaching.....

Nope. Hall was a very good coach. 3 FF's and a NC. Bad coaches don't accomplish things like that.

 

[Chuckinden]

Originally posted by jackcarlson:
Joe Hall CONTINUALLY wasted more talent than Bobby Knight ever had!!

It was always so frustrating to see us lose games for which there was absolutely no excuse. Hall was a terrible coach. A game like today, you would have guaranteed that UK would lose, if Hall was coaching.....

I disagree wholeheartedly with that.

 

[Ripcord65]

God forbid that we should see a return of Joe B. Hall type coaching.

 

[retiredcat]

The officiating is so different and slanted the players think they have changed the rules.

 

[jackcarlson]

oh, he could recruit. he won when he won because of talent, not because of coaching expertise. And, under him, they lost many games they should have won.

 

[Cawood86]

Originally posted by jackcarlson:
oh, he could recruit. he won when he won because of talent, not because of coaching expertise. And, under him, they lost many games they should have won.

Wow. Hard to argue with such a well thought out and intellectual post like that.

 

[uky8unc5]

What everybody is forgetting is that our team started 2 months early (August). That's why we peaked in November/early December. Happens all the time in the NBA...when teams appear to throw games trying to get through the meaningless mid/late season. I think we'll be reborn when February rolls around.

 

[jackcarlson]

cawood you are right. the truth is painful sometimes. And wisdom often comes in small packages....

I realize you were attempting sarcasm, but in doing so, you found yourself stumbling into the truth.
This post was edited on 1/10 9:44 PM by jackcarlson

 

[Cawood86]

Originally posted by jackcarlson:
cawood you are right. the truth is painful sometimes. And wisdom often comes in small packages....

I realize you were attempting sarcasm, but in doing so, you found yourself stumbling into the truth.

This post was edited on 1/10 9:44 PM by jackcarlson

Hard to argue with such a wise man. Do you give lectures I could attend or perhaps DVD's? Need to hear more about how a coach wins 275 games at the D1 level at the most prestigious college basketball university in the country all the while being a horrible coach.

 

[Digital Bath]

How was Joe B. not a good coach?

Why was he a good one, in your opinion? What were his strengths/weaknesses? More guard or big man oriented (just overall). Any examples/personal accounts are encouraged.

I'm just curious, this coming from a guy that did not see Joe B. actually coach a game. Only heard the odd story or anecdote about or concerning him.
TIA!

 

[childe]

Originally posted by uky8unc5:
What everybody is forgetting is that our team started 2 months early (August). That's why we peaked in November/early December. Happens all the time in the NBA...when teams appear to throw games trying to get through the meaningless mid/late season. I think we'll be reborn when February rolls around.

This makes a lot of sense to me.

 

[Rolf Russman]

Just about all of the pundits were saying that the UofL game was likely the last game we had a chance to lose. So, after winning that game, our guys collectively took their foot off the gas pedal. They've been coasting since. Energy just isn't there like it was prior to UofL game. My $0.02.

 

[Cawood86]

Originally posted by Digital Bath:
How was Joe B. not a good coach?

Why was he a good one, in your opinion? What were his strengths/weaknesses? More guard or big man oriented (just overall). Any examples/personal accounts are encouraged.

I'm just curious, this coming from a guy that did not see Joe B. actually coach a game. Only heard the odd story or anecdote about or concerning him.
TIA!

Hall was known for his recruiting, his conditioning program, and innovative 1-3-1 zone defense just to name a few things. His conditioning program was a key ingredient for 65-66 Rupp's Runts team when he was an assistant for Rupp.

He leaned more toward having an inside out offense. His two more well known teams are of course the '78 team that won the title that featured two very good big men in Robey and Phillips and big James Lee off the bench was a just a bull of a man. The other is the '84 team featuring the Twin Towers of Bowie and Turpin that made it to the FF.

 

[Baldcat1]

A couple of years J.B. would have his kid's lift weights before coming out and it was hilarious to see them shoot the first few minutes. they over shot everything. I believe that was when Charles Hurt and that group played. We are notorious for a slump every year.

 

[zwynn10]

Good point Rolf. I would add that these are college kids and are still on semester break with a lot of free time on their hands to sit around and watch tv and play video games. Once the semester starts and they get back into regular routine of getting up and going to class, doing class work, having one practice/filming session per day, etc., I think you will see the energy and focus return to pre-break levels.

 

[Swimcat20]

I'm a Joe B fan and I always defended him at the time, but when we lost the semi final to Georgetown in 84. I wanted throw the TV through the wall.That was a loaded senior team and we should have that banner hanging from Rupp.

 

[mdlUK.1]

Yes, I remember the infamous January slump. And it almost always coincided with our first SEC road trip.

 

[BoulderCat]

When you think about it January is sort of a slump period. Most plants and tree's are dormant. Animals change their behavior as well, some of them hibernating. I think it affects us human's to. For most of our existence the world has revolved around the change in seasons. Still does in many ways. So having a January slump isn't all that unexpected. All week long it seemed a lot of people are suffering from the post holiday blah's. Maybe the team is as well. It might actually help when school starts again and the guys get back into the overall routine they are used to.

 

[jackcarlson]

Joe B could not make adjustments during the game. We either won or lost based on the game plan we had going in. Usually it was good, and our talent was always superior, but if the other team threw a curve at us, Hall did not know how to answer...

 

[TnKat]

Originally posted by jackcarlson:
Joe B could not make adjustments during the game. We either won or lost based on the game plan we had going in. Usually it was good, and our talent was always superior, but if the other team threw a curve at us, Hall did not know how to answer...

I don't know where Joe B. got his philosophy, it couldn't have been from Rupp. He recruited race horses and then wouldn't let 'em run. Played an old slow down half court style that certainly didn't let his players live up to their potential. Made close games out of what should have been blowouts and yes, had a lot of success in spite of it.

 

[TnKat]

Originally posted by jackcarlson:
Joe B could not make adjustments during the game. We either won or lost based on the game plan we had going in. Usually it was good, and our talent was always superior, but if the other team threw a curve at us, Hall did not know how to answer...

I don't know where Joe B. got his philosophy, it couldn't have been from Rupp. He recruited race horses and then wouldn't let 'em run. Played an old slow down half court style that certainly didn't let his players live up to their potential. Made close games out of what should have been blowouts and yes, had a lot of success in spite of it.
PS I don't remember ever NOT having the January slump during his tenure. Seems like that was the norm,

 

[anon_q409idbs5m40a]

As I recall, the January Slump always began with a trip to Alabama or Tennessee, two notoriously difficult places for UK to play at the time. Bama always had good talent and played well at home. Tennessee was in the old Stokely Coliseum and Kentucky simply could not buy a win there for about a dozen years. I think the those two venues had a lot to do with the "Slump".