Saw the weaknesses of our team against WKU

[TriangleUKCat]

I was pretty encouraged by the effort in a physical game where some of the pieces seemed off. Team responded when it mattered.

 

[B.B.H.]

Jaxson Robinson's shot selection, Williams body language and turnovers, and defensive rebounding are all legitimate concerns for ME. Against very physical teams and quick, athletic teams, it is going to be a struggle. Against any of the top SEC teams last night, that would have been a L. We are very good, exciting to watch, but depending on having to have a great shooting night is a dangerous game.
People can say WKU did this, WKU did that. WKU is NOT a good team, we struggled to rebound and contain. Everyone saying we had a off night and still won by 19. Well WKU shot it even worse. What could have happened if they shot their normal %'s ? And that is WKU, not Auburn, Tenn, Bama, and others. WKU only scored on back to back possessions 3 times all night, and with 12 minutes to go at home, it was a 6 point game. Not bashing the team at all, just stating concerns and that not everything is roses. Bash away, but remember this post later.

1.) You have to give our defense some credit. Every team we play happens to have their worst night offensively.
2.) I have no issues with Robinson’s shot selection. He’s going to make those shots. Pope wants opposing defense to be pressured into guarding sideline to sideline and he knows what Robinson is capable of.

 

[Runnin'Ramel]

The SEC is LOADED. It's unreasonable to expect this team to roll through the conference this season, even if they had John Wall running point. The road is going to be tough - gyms like Clemson's are no walk in the park, either, as we'll see next week.\

That said, this team isn't going to lose to random midmajor teams like Cal became accustomed to doing. They have enough experience paired with smart coaching to prevent that.

 

[anonymous_2011]

We were projected to finish 8th in the SEC. We are gonna struggle sometimes and loose some games.

Last night I think the issue was just the team was lackadaisical. The start time was weird and they just wanted to get the game over so they could visit with their families. It's human nature. The crowd at Rupp had the same energy and hell I just wanted the game to end while watching at home lol.

 

[ala_kat2]

I know the game was never in doubt. However, observation reminded me of our game against Oakland. It seemed the game plan was to take advantage of the inside superiority. So, the offense that has been spectacular by an inside out game reversed to outside in which led to bad passes and turnovers. I will always be convinced that Reed's bad game occurred because he was Cal coached to get that ball to the paint players. It seemed to be similar against WKU and it also explained the missed 3's as they were rushed without the typical perimeter passing we had seen before. I will keep my fingers crossed that these issues will be corrected but it is the first game where I could see us losing to good teams.

I think we went inside so much because WKU took our outside game off the table, so to speak. Much like Duke tried to do. This will be the blueprint for other teams going forward: take away the 3-point attempts. I’m just glad that not many teams will be as effective as WKU was in that regard.

 

[megablue]

Jaxson Robinson's shot selection, Williams body language and turnovers, and defensive rebounding are all legitimate concerns for ME. Against very physical teams and quick, athletic teams, it is going to be a struggle. Against any of the top SEC teams last night, that would have been a L. We are very good, exciting to watch, but depending on having to have a great shooting night is a dangerous game.
People can say WKU did this, WKU did that. WKU is NOT a good team, we struggled to rebound and contain. Everyone saying we had a off night and still won by 19. Well WKU shot it even worse. What could have happened if they shot their normal %'s ? And that is WKU, not Auburn, Tenn, Bama, and others. WKU only scored on back to back possessions 3 times all night, and with 12 minutes to go at home, it was a 6 point game. Not bashing the team at all, just stating concerns and that not everything is roses. Bash away, but remember this post later.

You are correct about WKU's very poor shooting last night. At one point in the second half, they were 2-19. With their quickness, they could get to the rim at will but couldn't finish. They were 4-26 on threes, with many of them bricks and they shot 31.8% for the game. Hopefully, our defense had a lot to do with their shooting woes, but I'm not certain of it. I absolutely never doubted that we would win the game, but it could've been much closer than it was, if they shot better.

 

[megablue]

I think we went inside so much because WKU took our outside game off the table, so to speak. Much like Duke tried to do. This will be the blueprint for other teams going forward: take away the 3-point attempts. I’m just glad that not many teams will be as effective as WKU was in that regard.

WKU could not match up with our height. Often, especially on switches, Carr, Garrison and Williams had guys on them that didn't reach their armpits. WKU was extremely quick, but lacked height. To my view, it made sense to go inside.

 

[Mike-McD]

Jaxson Robinson's shot selection, Williams body language and turnovers, and defensive rebounding are all legitimate concerns for ME. Against very physical teams and quick, athletic teams, it is going to be a struggle. Against any of the top SEC teams last night, that would have been a L. We are very good, exciting to watch, but depending on having to have a great shooting night is a dangerous game.
People can say WKU did this, WKU did that. WKU is NOT a good team, we struggled to rebound and contain. Everyone saying we had a off night and still won by 19. Well WKU shot it even worse. What could have happened if they shot their normal %'s ? And that is WKU, not Auburn, Tenn, Bama, and others. WKU only scored on back to back possessions 3 times all night, and with 12 minutes to go at home, it was a 6 point game. Not bashing the team at all, just stating concerns and that not everything is roses. Bash away, but remember this post later.

What if, what if, what if.

Jeez.

What if we hadn't missed 13 FTs.

Nobody here thinks we're going 40-0.

I will definitely remember this post, and your wobbly knees, later.

 

[catsfanbgky]

Posters are saying we had a off night ? WKU shot 21/66 for 32% and 4/26 for 15%. Our defense was not the cause. We only generated 11 turnovers, not physical defense, WKU just missed shots. Henry their best player shot 3/16 and 1/7. Another leading scorer lander shot it even worse, 1/12 and 0/5. A TON of open misses. 3 point defense is a useless stat. For any team. Right behind free throw line defense lol. I do agree effort was off, but also contend that playing that finesse against teams more physical than WKU will not end well. UNLESS we shoot 50% from 3 and make 12-15. WKU averages committing 12 turnovers per game, that is against Wichita State, Grand Canyon, Campbellsville, Lipscomb and Jax. State. UK only forced 11.

 

[IowaMuse]

There’s stuff to glean from this game, sure, and stuff that reflects where we might make have some gaps and where we can improve. But there’s also the typical overreaction, which for this game has surprised me. Too many good folks applying way too many red flags.

We see this with teams who are trying to just make things as ugly as possible with no objective of winning but rather just to keep scores respectable.


Gonzaga faced this against Arizona St, Auburn against Kent St, Kansas against Oakland, etc. it happens.

We will know more about UK when they go on the road at Clemson next week.

 

[ala_kat2]

Tremendous quickness and defensive pressure bothers our team in many ways. That appears to be our weakness, the ability to handle much quicker opponents. When we're on offense, their quickness affects ball-handling, passing, hurries shooting and creates stress and fatigue. That fatigue also manifests itself when we're on defense, as it takes more energy to play a quicker team man-to-man. Fatigue begets fatigue ... and fatigue affects everything.

We will win a helluva lot of games this season, but matching up against quickness will be our toughest challenge. Good teams that can tightly defend us without fouling, especially if they're scoring well, will be tough for us to defeat ... especially if we are struggling to get good looks for three-pointers and aren't hitting them. Butler's and Oweh's ability to move with the ball, get to the rim, score and/or get fouled, will be very important for us in these types of games.

That's how I see it, right now.

“Butler's and Oweh's ability to move with the ball, get to the rim, score and/or get fouled, will be very important for us in these types of games”.

Exactly, and coupled with Carr’s toughness inside and ability to make shots in the paint.

 

[catsfanbgky]

WKU could not match up with our height. Often, especially on switches, Carr and Williams had guys on them that didn't reach their armpits. WKU was extremely quick, but lacked height. To my view, it made sense to go inside.

WKU's tallest player was Faye. 6-7 and weighs 175 pounds. Lander is 6-2, Henry 6-2, Thedford 6-4 and he abused us inside. He shot 10 free throws. He attacked us at will. Several times guys let him get them on his hip and BEHIND him driving to the rim. I screamed several times, stay in front of the player, not try and defend from behind.

 

[Cawood86]

Sometimes shots just aren't falling. 13 missed FTA didn't help either.

Those games happen. Teams are trying to figure out Coach Pope and his style. WKU had some talented players. They pressured Butler aggressively. They had a good plan.

 

[Fox2monk]

Even some of our best modern teams (1993, 1995, 1997, 2017) would not come out unscathed with the upcoming SEC schedule. When we lose, it will be because other teams are just that good, and we'll be facing them on the road.

I think UK going 13-5 in the SEC would be a good record actually. 12-6 is reasonable. 11-7 and I still wouldn't be panicking given the probably eight or nine tournament teams we'll be facing, many on the road.

Yeah I believe 13-5 contends for the title depending on how the schedule checks out for each team.

 

[megablue]

Those games happen. Teams are trying to figure out Coach Pope and his style. WKU had some talented players. They pressured Butler aggressively. They had a good plan.

Yes, they had a good plan. They pressured Butler and I thought he handled it well. I thought Kriisa and Robinson, in particular, struggled mightily with the ball against pressure ... constantly pushing off with their left arm. It was never called, but could've been a few times. Honestly, it was surprising, if not alarming and telling.

 

[KentuckyCat420]

Don't forget about Butler, he's probably the best we have at creating and getting to the basket.

He was really impressive last night, I agree.

I think his offensive confidence is really growing under Pope after spending years at San Diego State where you’re literally playing in the slowest paced / methodical offense that there is.

He’s definitely more talented offensively than I expected him to be.

 

[megablue]

He was really impressive last night, I agree.

I think his offensive confidence is really growing under Pope after spending years at San Diego State where you’re literally playing in the slowest paced / methodical offense that there is.

He’s definitely more talented offensively than I expected him to be.

Butler reminds me of those two (2) guards Texas A & M had last year ... fwiw

 

[megablue]

WKU's tallest player was Faye. 6-7 and weighs 175 pounds. Lander is 6-2, Henry 6-2, Thedford 6-4 and he abused us inside. He shot 10 free throws. He attacked us at will. Several times guys let him get them on his hip and BEHIND him driving to the rim. I screamed several times, stay in front of the player, not try and defend from behind.

Thedford is a Freshman. Yes, he is very quick and adept with the ball. He reminded me of what I've seen out of Boogie Fland.

 

[Digger-Cat]

Yes, they had a good plan. They pressured Butler and I thought he handled it well. I thought Kriisa and Robinson, in particular, struggled mightily with the ball against pressure ... constantly pushing off with their left arm. It was never called, but could've been a few times. Honestly, it was surprising, if not alarming and telling.

Kerr got called for an offensive foul last night as he was bringing the ball across the timeline. He definitely pushed the guy off him, it was an easy call.

 

[UKBB4Ever]

This team doesn’t really have any weaknesses.

We are not an overall quick team so quickness will bother us some. We are not a slow team though. This team and coach can adjust to that and did last night. Did against Duke also.

They are still learning the system and each other. Only getting better.

The coaches will learn who to trust in situations too.

We may not have a take over the game guy but we don’t have a weak link either.

My only concern with this team is defensive rebounding. Pope says he’s addressing that and I’m sure he is.


You can already see the Pope influence in Garrison. He made some post moves last night that were straight from the scouting Mark Pope playbook when he played.

Pope is going to help our bigs more than Kenny Payne did.

We will probably take some losses since I doubt we’re going undefeated. But I can’t see who beats us when we’re clicking.

I said before the season I thought we would win the SEC and that’s still my opinion.

I also said we would be top 10 by January.

Little ahead of schedule on that one.

Just a really good team and a joy to watch!🏀

 

[megablue]

Kerr got called for an offensive foul last night as he was bringing the ball across the timeline. He definitely pushed the guy off him, it was an easy call.

Thanks ... I did not recall it, but am not surprised. Pressure bothers him quite a bit.

 

[B.B.H.]

Posters are saying we had a off night ? WKU shot 21/66 for 32% and 4/26 for 15%. Our defense was not the cause. We only generated 11 turnovers, not physical defense, WKU just missed shots. Henry their best player shot 3/16 and 1/7. Another leading scorer lander shot it even worse, 1/12 and 0/5. A TON of open misses. 3 point defense is a useless stat. For any team. Right behind free throw line defense lol. I do agree effort was off, but also contend that playing that finesse against teams more physical than WKU will not end well. UNLESS we shoot 50% from 3 and make 12-15. WKU averages committing 12 turnovers per game, that is against Wichita State, Grand Canyon, Campbellsville, Lipscomb and Jax. State. UK only forced 11.

Every single team we have played has had an “off night shooting.” Every single team has failed to make 40% from the field. What is the common denominator in all those off nights?

 

[bowfreak]

I was happy with the game. It wasn't a perfect game and we still almost ran them out of the gym.

Lets not forget that kids are looking forward to the holiday too.

 

[Dontworryboutit23]

We’re going to take some L’s.

Oweh is really the only guy outside of maybe Carr that can create a shot for himself when the offense isn’t flowing due to good defensive pressure from the opponent.

We saw it against Duke, they played fantastic defense against us in the 1st half. We were just able to ramp up our defense in the 2nd half and it created offensive opportunities to win that game.

I think we’ll drop 5-6 games when it’s all said and done. However, I don’t see us losing games to bad teams or having any games where we’re not very competitive to the very end.

Robinson can I watched him do most of last year, he just needs to get his confidence back

 

[Rockfly78]

False

There’s no crying on the yacht

 

[megablue]

Every single team we have played has had an “off night shooting.” Every single team has failed to make 40% from the field. What is the common denominator in all those off nights?

We are currently 20th in the country in FIELD GOAL PERCENTAGE DEFENSE ... fwiw:

NCAA College Men's Basketball DI current team Stats | NCAA.com

Discover the current NCAA Division I Men's Basketball leaders in every stats category, as well as historic leaders.

www.ncaa.com

 

[wardlow]

Every single team we have played has had an “off night shooting.” Every single team has failed to make 40% from the field. What is the common denominator in all those off nights?

It has nothing to do with UK for sure. All UK does is leave 3 point shooters wide open and let people get them on their hip for wide open drives.

If I didn’t watch the game I would have though we lost by reading the board today.

WKU came out trying to prove they could hang with UK. They couldn’t. If if if if if if if

 

[Digger-Cat]

We are currently 20th in the country in FIELD GOAL PERCENTAGE DEFENSE ... fwiw:

NCAA College Men's Basketball DI current team Stats | NCAA.com

Discover the current NCAA Division I Men's Basketball leaders in every stats category, as well as historic leaders.

www.ncaa.com

WKY definitely improved their free throw percentage defence last night. 😂

 

[uk78]

I love the posters who think when you point out observations that don't follow their agenda that makes you "nervous." Plus, some comments are making it sound like WKU was a great team. Same team that got beat by top 10 Grand Canyon U, and won by 5 points against Lipscomb.

 

[catzcan]

The weave triggered my ptsd.

 

[WeWant9]

I said in the game thread, but last night will give the staff a lot of game footage to show where guys can improve and what needs to be worked on.

 

[ukfan1622]

Every single team we have played has had an “off night shooting.” Every single team has failed to make 40% from the field. What is the common denominator in all those off nights?

We were just lucky they were cold. If they'd been hot it would have been bad defense. I guess if we hold people to 40% for the year we'll be the luckiest team of all time.

 

[john4uk]

Remember with Pope offense they do not target inside or outside for an opponent. They game will decide how many shots we get and where. That is straight from Pope. He does not say because of team A we are going to put it in the post. A basketball game is a living entity and the offense will determine how we play. Last night we hit our Freethrows and we win by 25 plus points and score 100 again. We had an off night shooting. Our weakness was Amari last night. He probably should have played less minutes. He was not into last night. Bad body language, bad passing, bad offense, stopped the ball more than moving the ball. It will be a good coaching moment on film today. One more game and we get into a week of games that will tell us where we are at as a team. Look for a shortened bench next week maybe.

Bad passing kept Western in the game, along with poor shooting, and horrible foul calls on both sides.
It seemed as if the game would never end with all the fouls being called.

 

[B.B.H.]

We were just lucky they were cold. If they'd been hot it would have been bad defense. I guess if we hold people to 40% for the year we'll be the luckiest team of all time.

Yep, i think it’s fair to point out some of the team weaknesses (there are a few), but some people read weaknesses ex nihilo. I can’t tell if it is sad fan anxiety or just people waiting until it was time to pounce on Pope. We are at the point where you will start seeing who the real supporters are. Wolves gonna come out of the dark all of a sudden.

 

[ukfan1622]

Yep, i think it’s fair to point out some of the team weaknesses (there are a few), but some people read weaknesses ex nihilo. I can’t tell if it is sad fan anxiety or just people waiting until it was time to pounce on Pope. We are at the point where you will start seeing who the real supporters are. Wolves gonna come out of the dark all of a sudden.

I'm pretty sure this is the 1st time in maybe 20 years reading this board that somebody used a word or phrase I had never heard before and had to look up. Kudos!

 

[B.B.H.]

I love the posters who think when you point out observations that don't follow their agenda that makes you "nervous." Plus, some comments are making it sound like WKU was a great team. Same team that got beat by top 10 Grand Canyon U, and won by 5 points against Lipscomb.

I will always be happy to read legitimate criticism. I think it is fair to question our rebounding prowess. I think it is fair to question our lack of athleticism at some positions. I do think people who make up flaws will draw questions about their intentions. The “we can’t guard” and every team is having an “off night” veers into troll territory potentially. It is what it is.

 

[WallMashKyBall]

Don't forget about Butler, he's probably the best we have at creating and getting to the basket.

Yeah, he can get to the basket, the problem is he's probably going to have a better average shooting threes than making layups.

 

[Blue wood]

What if, what if, what if.

Jeez.

What if we hadn't missed 13 FTs.

Nobody here thinks we're going 40-0.

I will definitely remember this post, and your wobbly knees, later.

At least it took 6 games before people started freaking out and we still haven't lost. Wait till we do lose, some of these people will need a safe space

 

[Cawood86]

Yes, they had a good plan. They pressured Butler and I thought he handled it well. I thought Kriisa and Robinson, in particular, struggled mightily with the ball against pressure ... constantly pushing off with their left arm. It was never called, but could've been a few times. Honestly, it was surprising, if not alarming and telling.

Butler will be the one in control in tight games and with teams that pressure like that. Robinson and Kerr will need to work on their ball handling cause teams will use this more.

 

[gracetoyou]

Even some of our best modern teams (1993, 1995, 1997, 2017) would not come out unscathed with the upcoming SEC schedule. When we lose, it will be because other teams are just that good, and we'll be facing them on the road.

I think UK going 13-5 in the SEC would be a good record actually. 12-6 is reasonable. 11-7 and I still wouldn't be panicking given the probably eight or nine tournament teams we'll be facing, many on the road.

Agree! If we beat Zags on the road it might change my thinking on SEC road games but right now I'm thinking 14-4 is a ceiling on SEC record & 11-7 is the floor.