ADVERTISEMENT

Respected basketball analyst’s takes on our lineups

You have no proof that is what people would do. You just choose to believe that they would do this because they don't slurp on Cal like you think everyone should. You also don't have any clue what cherry picking is. The fact Cal has played his BEST lineup less than 30 percent of the minutes invalidates any defense you try to put up for him.
Proof? People here complain about minutes when their faves plays 35-37 minutes of the game. What constitutes proof for you?

Choose what evidence to present is cherry picking. What do you think cherry picking is?

I don't know how such and such percent is suppose to prove what you say. Basketball doesn't have lines like hockey.
 
Proof? People here complain about minutes when their faves plays 35-37 minutes of the game. What constitutes proof for you?

Choose what evidence to present is cherry picking. What do you think cherry picking is?

I don't know how such and such percent is suppose to prove what you say. Basketball doesn't have lines like hockey.


Either respond to the original OP or makeup nonsense and then start arguments over it. You chose the latter.
 
  • Like
Reactions: catben
Reed played 35 minutes last night. But he didn't staaaaart!!

Dillingham would have played more but he won't stop fouling.

How many games has that expert won as a D1 coach?
You do understand that by spotting teams 7 points at the beginning of each half makes the game that much more difficult, right? You always start your best players that play together. Not rocket science and certainly shouldn't be hard to grasp for the "GOAT", haha!
 
NO! Reed defers to Dilly all the time when they play together. I guess we can let Dilly get his and flame out in March if you’d like. Dilly is a good guy/is good in spurts but Reed’s playmaking goes way down when they play together for an extended period.
Dilly’s FGA/minutes played is the highest in the Cal era. The offense tends to be Dilly-centric when he’s in the game. That is just the way it is … not necessarily a bad thing, but others are a bit less-involved.
 
If you watch the post-game press conference Cal spends a huge chunk of it pumping up Wagner and trying to defend his horrendous outside shooting since the injury. The fact he called the final play for Wagner is mind-boggling. Who knows what promises he made behind closed doors….but he won’t accept Reed is substantially better then DJ.
The unspoken element of that dynamic is that DJ is basically - or really - Cal's God-child. I refuse to look past the human factor there ...
 
Reed played 35 minutes last night. But he didn't staaaaart!!

Dillingham would have played more but he won't stop fouling.

How many games has that expert won as a D1 coach?
How many have you won?

That being said, this is one of the few or maybe the only post where I agree with you.

All this starting and lineups debate is foolish.
 
I don't get too caught up with who starts and who doesn't, but those numbers are inexcusable.

How we don't get 25 minutes minimum of those three is beyond ridiculous.

Edited: 14 SEC games before last night is 560 minutes, them getting 162 is only 28.9% of game time. I can't even describe how bad that is
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: Ron Mehico
I have a question for those who think lineup combinations don't matter...what if Cal started Ugo, Mitchell, Bradshaw, Z, and Burks? Would it matter then? I know that's an extreme example but if your answer is that it would be bad, then it follows that the combinations do matter with it only being a question of how much it matters.

And since I've already started ranting, pretty much nobody on this board has been complaing about how many minutes Sheppard has been playing. The vast majority of this board think Reeves, Sheppard, and Dillingham are clearly this team's THREE BEST players and that at least two of the 3 should be on the floor as much as possible in any close game, including the start of each half so our players don't always have the extra pressure of trying to dig out of holes.
 
why play them now. I hope he doesnt. Save it for tournament time when it counts and less tape for others to scout against.
 
Who are these “handlers” since you know such much about them? Are the the same “handlers” that weren’t gonna let Aaron Bradshhaw play, the ones who had Justin Edwards shutting it down a few weeks ago, or the ones who had DJ Wagner and others “faking” injuries.
My guess is that "handler" would be you....cradling Cal's nutsak.
 
Proof? People here complain about minutes when their faves plays 35-37 minutes of the game. What constitutes proof for you?

Choose what evidence to present is cherry picking. What do you think cherry picking is?

I don't know how such and such percent is suppose to prove what you say. Basketball doesn't have lines like hockey.
Give it up. Many people aren't that bright. They fail to understand the following:
I think we can all agree our best group is when the 3 R's are in there together. Maybe there is some debate who should be the 4 & 5 with those 3, but those 3 are a consensus agreement.
BUT...we only have 1 other guard (that we can play). AND those 3 all need rest to perform at their best, especially Dillingham who plays with so much energy, but also Dillingham because just like last night he gets into foul trouble way too much. In 10 of his 27 games he has been in foul trouble (4-5) fouls, and that does not include games like last night where he got 2 quick ones early and had his minutes limited for that reason even though he finished with 3 fouls. Rob leads the team in fouls, 16% more than the 2nd most; and is the first guard to lead the team in fouls since Andrew in 13-14 season. So, the max amount you would want Reed and Reeves playing is 35min. And while you would like 35 from Rob, I think he hits his wall at 30min, and due to fouls the average could be as low as 25min, but let's assume he can figure out a way to not foul out in 30min. You don't want 2 of them going to the bench at a time, leaving you with Wagner and only 1 good shooter. Thus if you sub them out 1 at a time, then that is 25 minutes with 2 of the 3 on the court, and only 15 minutes with all 3 R's on the court.
I will say that Cal is playing (like the start of games) some minutes with only 1 good shooter, and we can all see that doesn't work / isn't good.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Big Foot 275
Noticed you left out the “all 3 together minutes”

Nobody is denying there are situations where dudes have to come off the floor. The issue has been a season long trend where you rarely get the best 3 guards on the floor together for the majority of the minutes bc we have forced lineups w JE at the 3 or Wagner getting starter minutes when he should probably be closer to 15 and backing up foul trouble.
He pushed Bradshaw out there and at an odd time. Im pretty sure Cal wanted to play him more mins. so he could say at the end, see, just like Edwards, I told you he would bust through, I told you.

His dedication to Edwards, DJ and somewhat still Bradshaw is transparent. I have nothing against any of the 3 and cheer for them, but not sure why Cal makes things so hard for our good players.
 
He pushed Bradshaw out there and at an odd time. Im pretty sure Cal wanted to play him more mins. so he could say at the end, see, just like Edwards, I told you he would bust through, I told you.

His dedication to Edwards, DJ and somewhat still Bradshaw is transparent. I have nothing against any of the 3 and cheer for them, but not sure why Cal makes things so hard for our good players.
Yeah I know Z needed a break and the tv timeouts were right there but it was surprising to see Bradshaw be the one he rolled out there knowing how physical their bigs were. On that situation you would have assumed it would be Ugo giving the breather for 2-3 min.

Odd decision but with that said, Bradshaw managed himself better in that stretch than he had early in the game or more recently in other games
 
Last edited:
NO! Reed defers to Dilly all the time when they play together. I guess we can let Dilly get his and flame out in March if you’d like. Dilly is a good guy/is good in spurts but Reed’s playmaking goes way down when they play together for an extended period.
Stats above say otherwise
 
I don't remember which it was but there was a gameshow that polled the audience of hundreds of people. While individual opinions don't mean much, when 85% of people believe something there might be something to it.
Family Feud
 
There is also the issue of playing from behind most of the time because you start the game with one shooter . Also if Reed starts he can get his give minutes of rest after the first eight Minutes in each half 2 minutes or so in each .

What is going on now s both bizarre and coaching malpractice which should be cause to void Cals contract .

You always have a good faith duty to comply with the terms of a contract . For instance in this case to try and win ball games for UK your employer NOT to have a side understanding (deal?) with a particular player or agency . You owe your employer total loyalty for the nine million you are getting . Anything less is cause for dismissal .
 
  • Like
Reactions: ukjenning44
Proof? People here complain about minutes when their faves plays 35-37 minutes of the game. What constitutes proof for you?

Choose what evidence to present is cherry picking. What do you think cherry picking is?

I don't know how such and such percent is suppose to prove what you say. Basketball doesn't have lines like hockey.
Cmon man. I’m no Cal hater but the lineup he starts anyone can see has dug us a hole 85-90% of the games we have played. Someone listed the deficits in SEC play and it was staggering. You MUST be ready to start a game. I don’t know if Reed and/or Dilly/Z starting would change that. I DO KNOW the current starters DO NOT COME OUT READY TO PLAY. That is backed up by staggering statistics. Yes Reed came in early and played a lot. Because we were down 14 to 3.
 
Reed played 35 minutes last night. But he didn't staaaaart!!

Dillingham would have played more but he won't stop fouling.

How many games has that expert won as a D1 coach?
How many has Cal won? Zero, Zilch, Nada, None. The players win the games and Cal basically thinks about Little House episodes.
 
  • Like
Reactions: ukjenning44
The unspoken element of that dynamic is that DJ is basically - or really - Cal's God-child. I refuse to look past the human factor there ...
That’s a very good point….and explains why he was willing to bench Bradshaw for players who are better performing. But won’t do the same to DJ.
 
Like the Benny lineup last year. And the moron barely played them together the whole year. Genius.
Yes & that lineup was not only the most efficient in the country on both sides of the ball, but, it had been the most efficient lineup, on both sides, of any team in the last 5 years. It was complete lunacy to not play them together as much as possible.

Same for this year’s team. It absolutely matters who starts, who finishes & who plays together. It should be every coach’s objective to play their best unit together as often as they can. But, that’s under the assumption that they care about winning. It’s insane that fans have to beg a coach to maximize the potential of his team. I’ve been closely following sports for 45 years & have never seen anything like it.
 
Talk about missing the forest for the trees. The issue is Reed/Dilly/Reeves should be starting and playing 30 plus minutes TOGETHER unless there is foul trouble. No one is upset about Reed’s minutes here.
Bingo. These guys on the floor at the same time for long enough stretches to feed of each other is the key. Puts added pressure on the defense to defend three scorers on the perimeter which also opens up the paint for drives and dishes. All we have to do is look back to the first month of the season to see how lethal these are together
 
I was on the edge of a furious rampage though when Wagner got the ball, looked at Shep who had his hands up ready for a pass, and then decided to dribble. The ultimate choice to defer saved some electronics at my abode
Yes Wagner did not want to throw it to Reed but he had no other option after he messed up his dribble
 
These slow starts with the wrong players causes two issues. First, it makes the players have to play way harder and risk tiring themselves out trying to get back into it. Second, it adds even more pressure on the players because of it. If we start the right players, we likely come out and play the opponent even or maybe even take the lead early and put the pressure on them.

With this team, who starts is very important to our success. There's no way we lose 8 games if Cal had stopped playing favorites. He does this every year. We all saw what were the best lineups in recent years and he just refused to play them out of spite. He hates when the "bennies" are right and he is forced to play the right lineups.
 
These slow starts with the wrong players causes two issues. First, it makes the players have to play way harder and risk tiring themselves out trying to get back into it. Second, it adds even more pressure on the players because of it. If we start the right players, we likely come out and play the opponent even or maybe even take the lead early and put the pressure on them.

With this team, who starts is very important to our success. There's no way we lose 8 games if Cal had stopped playing favorites. He does this every year. We all saw what were the best lineups in recent years and he just refused to play them out of spite. He hates when the "bennies" are right and he is forced to play the right lineups.
Additionally on the road we take the crowd out of the game if we go ahead first .
 
Yes & that lineup was not only the most efficient in the country on both sides of the ball, but, it had been the most efficient lineup, on both sides, of any team in the last 5 years. It was complete lunacy to not play them together as much as possible.

Same for this year’s team. It absolutely matters who starts, who finishes & who plays together. It should be every coach’s objective to play their best unit together as often as they can. But, that’s under the assumption that they care about winning. It’s insane that fans have to beg a coach to maximize the potential of his team. I’ve been closely following sports for 45 years & have never seen anything like it.
Nobody should argue against the part I bolded but some are so brainwashed they still do it.
 
  • Like
Reactions: JHannibalSmith
How many have you won?

That being said, this is one of the few or maybe the only post where I agree with you.

All this starting and lineups debate is foolish.
Foolish, how so?

With cal who starts the game also starts the 2nd half. Cals starting lineup is one of our worst lineups we have that play together. That’s 6-8 minutes of game time with a bad lineup on the floor. Outscored by at least 10 points at state as has been the norm all year. So by saying this is foolish, you are saying it is quite fine if we just spot the other team 10 points at the start of the game.

Playing your best lineups throughout the game is also how you win the game at any sport. Are you winning football games by starting your 2nd string QB and letting your 3rd string QB get some action too all while your 1st string QB is perfectly fine to play game in and game out? You play your best players as much as they can play. It’s definitely a balancing act in basketball but it’s not rocket science.
 
I would love to see this starting lineup against Arkansas Saturday. Bigz at the five and Mitchell at the four with Reeves Dillingham and Sheppard
 
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT