Takeaways from tonight's game

[Wall2Boogie]

First off, it's not raining in kentucky,It's just Karl Hess laughing so hard he's crying. Here's some noticeable problems from tonight's game. And no I'm not blaming the refs.

Take aways from tonight's game
1. Hawkins shouldn't be aloud to touch the ball period
2. Willis scores 10 his man scores 20 he's a complete liability as well as a situational player.

3. Skal is useless unless he shoots the ball 15 feet out
4. Whoever made lee an all american should consider a career change
5. Poythress started off well then cheap fouls took him and the rhythm of the game away.
6. Ulis and Murray are the only two bright spots on this team
7. Briscoe needs to learn to play more within himself rather than forcing himself to make a play.
8. This team lacks heart as a team. Some players have it most don't.
9. What the hell is Humphries on the team for if he won't contribute till 2019?
10. Lastly, if waynard isn't going to play or contribute why have him sit the bench like he's some secret weapon cal will unleash at any given time?

I don't normally bash the team nor will I go over the edge like some and hand in my fan card, but what I witne tonight was pitiful. Our defense and rebounding is atrocious and we have a bunch of softies who lack the killer instinct of grabing a rebound much less taking it strongbto the basket.


Like someone mentioned, ulis please come back! Play on a team you deserve to be on that has a legitimate shot of winning a title and will give you help and not mediocre play.

 

[true blue1]

W2B, you hit the nail on the head!

 

[Wall2Boogie]

Lol I call em like I see em and this team tonight would of been smoked by auburn again. Just a sad performance. If nuts on a rail guy would of been at TBA tonight he might of got us fired up and in the game

 

[assistbyhawkins]

Murray???? I hope you are talking offensively because hes an absolute POS defensively. Hes embarrassed himself the entire season on defense and tonight was arguably his worst defensive game of the season. And thats saying a lot.

 

[JerseyCat84]

Murray's defensive lapses at the most critical times have cost us the last 2 games.

 

[BluCroo]

Murray, 20 shots, 21 points. 3-12 from 3 point range. The next closest player took 10 shots. Murray need to embrace the concept of an assist a bit more regularly.

 

[sambowieshin]

Murray is just not that quick, laterally speaking, on defense. Same as Poythress, Lee and Willis. That is why they pick up so many cheap fouls and why teams drive non-stop into our interior....where our bigs are a nonfactor. Offensively, Murray and Ulis are exhausted from carrying the offensive load. I think that is why Murray is misfiring...tired legs.

 

[OHIO COLONEL]

Murray is just not that quick, laterally speaking, on defense. Same as Poythress, Lee and Willis. That is why they pick up so many cheap fouls and why teams drive non-stop into our interior....where our bigs are a nonfactor. Offensively, Murray and Ulis are exhausted from carrying the offensive load. I think that is why Murray is misfiring...tired legs.

So many posters yell and scream every game about the refereeing, but I think sam, you see what I see. You just named 4 or our 5 starters who are not quick enough to stop drives and stay in front of their man...thus the fouls. There's a reason other than the occasional bad ref that we are ranked 273rd in Div.1 in personal fouls per game.

 

[BourbonBalz]

So many posters yell and scream every game about the refereeing, but I think sam, you see what I see. You just named 4 or our 5 starters who are not quick enough to stop drives and stay in front of their man...thus the fouls. There's a reason other than the occasional bad ref that we are ranked 273rd in Div.1 in personal fouls per game.

All of this is 100% true, but we have been on the bad end of some ridiculously bad calls the last few games. I mean calls that were laughably bad.

 

[Graves51]

Murray???? I hope you are talking offensively because hes an absolute POS defensively. Hes embarrassed himself the entire season on defense and tonight was arguably his worst defensive game of the season. And thats saying a lot.

His defense is AWFUL!

 

[OHIO COLONEL]

All of this is 100% true, but we have been on the bad end of some ridiculously bad calls the last few games. I mean calls that were laughably bad.

Can't disagree.

 

[BBNinSC]

Murray seems as if he's just waiting for his draft selection at this point.

 

[Wall2Boogie]

I agree with the Murray assessment, yes his defense was subpar last night but it's not a constant. He also started shooting better in the 2nd half. But that doesn't happen every game to Murray, he's not always a defensive liability and that's not a willistslam

 

[rodserling]

First off, it's not raining in kentucky,It's just Karl Hess laughing so hard he's crying. Here's some noticeable problems from tonight's game. And no I'm not blaming the refs.

Take aways from tonight's game
1. Hawkins shouldn't be aloud to touch the ball period
2. Willis scores 10 his man scores 20 he's a complete liability as well as a situational player.

3. Skal is useless unless he shoots the ball 15 feet out
4. Whoever made lee an all american should consider a career change
5. Poythress started off well then cheap fouls took him and the rhythm of the game away.
6. Ulis and Murray are the only two bright spots on this team
7. Briscoe needs to learn to play more within himself rather than forcing himself to make a play.
8. This team lacks heart as a team. Some players have it most don't.
9. What the hell is Humphries on the team for if he won't contribute till 2019?
10. Lastly, if waynard isn't going to play or contribute why have him sit the bench like he's some secret weapon cal will unleash at any given time?

I don't normally bash the team nor will I go over the edge like some and hand in my fan card, but what I witne tonight was pitiful. Our defense and rebounding is atrocious and we have a bunch of softies who lack the killer instinct of grabing a rebound much less taking it strongbto the basket.


Like someone mentioned, ulis please come back! Play on a team you deserve to be on that has a legitimate shot of winning a title and will give you help and not mediocre play.

I agree with most of what you say with a couple exceptions.
Hawkins should never see the floor except to hold the ball till time runs out. I know Ulis NEEDS a break occasionally but Hawkins is not the answer.

Willis may not be the fastest player we have but I think he gives more effort than everyone except Ulis and Briscoe. Teams have to respect his shot which opens up the lane. I would never have thought I'd say this at the beginning of the year but Willis makes us better.

Skal is wasted minutes. Not his fault. He's just not ready or capable.

Poy is either all american or awol. Have to admit though, he gets ZERO calls. I still pull hard for him. For some reason he is one of my favorites for 4 years.

I like Briscoe. If he could shoot free throws, he would be there with Ulis. Maybe best rebounder and great at attacking the basket. But the free throws......

For the rest that play, if you can't say anything good, don't say anything.

My biggest dislike is there are people on the bench that don't get a chance. Obviously, they must not practice well but they do any worse than some of the production we get from a couple guys on occasion.

I think I have come to terms with the fact that this is not our year. We may have 5 more losses or maybe run the table. My bet is it will get ugly before its over. Thats OK. If there were never down years you could never appreciate the good years.

 

[rodserling]

First off, it's not raining in kentucky,It's just Karl Hess laughing so hard he's crying. Here's some noticeable problems from tonight's game. And no I'm not blaming the refs.

Take aways from tonight's game
1. Hawkins shouldn't be aloud to touch the ball period
2. Willis scores 10 his man scores 20 he's a complete liability as well as a situational player.

3. Skal is useless unless he shoots the ball 15 feet out
4. Whoever made lee an all american should consider a career change
5. Poythress started off well then cheap fouls took him and the rhythm of the game away.
6. Ulis and Murray are the only two bright spots on this team
7. Briscoe needs to learn to play more within himself rather than forcing himself to make a play.
8. This team lacks heart as a team. Some players have it most don't.
9. What the hell is Humphries on the team for if he won't contribute till 2019?
10. Lastly, if waynard isn't going to play or contribute why have him sit the bench like he's some secret weapon cal will unleash at any given time?

I don't normally bash the team nor will I go over the edge like some and hand in my fan card, but what I witne tonight was pitiful. Our defense and rebounding is atrocious and we have a bunch of softies who lack the killer instinct of grabing a rebound much less taking it strongbto the basket.


Like someone mentioned, ulis please come back! Play on a team you deserve to be on that has a legitimate shot of winning a title and will give you help and not mediocre play.

I agree with most of what you say with a couple exceptions.
Hawkins should never see the floor except to hold the ball till time runs out. I know Ulis NEEDS a break occasionally but Hawkins is not the answer.

Willis may not be the fastest player we have but I think he gives more effort than everyone except Ulis and Briscoe. Teams have to respect his shot which opens up the lane. I would never have thought I'd say this at the beginning of the year but Willis makes us better.

Skal is wasted minutes. Not his fault. He's just not ready or capable.

Poy is either all american or awol. Have to admit though, he gets ZERO calls. I still pull hard for him. For some reason he is one of my favorites for 4 years.

I like Briscoe. If he could shoot free throws, he would be there with Ulis. Maybe best rebounder and great at attacking the basket. But the free throws......

For the rest that play, if you can't say anything good, don't say anything.

My biggest dislike is there are people on the bench that don't get a chance. Obviously, they must not practice well but they do any worse than some of the production we get from a couple guys on occasion.

I think I have come to terms with the fact that this is not our year. We may have 5 more losses or maybe run the table. My bet is it will get ugly before its over. Thats OK. If there were never down years you could never appreciate the good years.

 

[wildcatsboston1984]

Murray, 20 shots, 21 points. 3-12 from 3 point range. The next closest player took 10 shots. Murray need to embrace the concept of an assist a bit more regularly.

Ulis would have had more field goal attempts if he hadn't drawn as many shooting fouls. Those are technically field goal attempts, they just don't count as an FGAs for stats.

 

[TTTblue24]

I'd like to see a more structured offense for this crew, especially since we lack a lot on this team with the bigs. Poy, lee, & mostly Willis depend in dribble penetration to get them shots because they are not capable of creating their except poy on rare occasion. Maybe it would create more options for them, like some screens away from the ball for the bigs to cross the lane or flash to the high post on occasion. Frustrating to see the bigs just standing around waiting for ulis Murray or briscoe to try to create something.

 

[docholiday51]

It is difficult to make any accurate observations about this team,there seems to be one thing that you can point to and know it will happen;

Tyler Ulis will play hard and make good things happen.

As to other things;

1.No lead is safe
2.We will be in some sort of foul trouble
3. Briscoe won't make clutch free throws
4.We won't play a zone.
5.Certain players that we thought we would see in the rotation will not play
6.Any game on the schedule is a potential loss

 

[The_Answer1313]

My takeaway is simple

When we dont foul and have our starters on the court we are a pretty good team capable of beating anyone.

When we get into foul trouble and have to go to our bench, we are an NIT team.

Sad thing is it's not like Kansas and UT are even good at drawing fouls. UGA, South Carolina and Vandy (which we already know about since they had a 25-6 advantage in FTs at Rupp) are all much better at this than KU or UT

 

[rodgerblue]

1. Murray is half a bright spot. Defensively he leaves much to be desired.
2. The comments about Humphries and Wynyard are laughable.

 

[KMKAT]

I have a simple question on the offensive end..........if we have guys who hit FTs when they are fouled, why aren't we going to these guys more? I have seen too many times Murray simply ignoring the post man with a pass, and driving to the basket, forcing Lee or Skal to get out of the way. At that point, they're out of position to do anything.

My above comment points to Willis & Poythress. I have no problem with Poy dropping the ball, losing it going up for the basket. But the more you give it to him and Willis, the better our offense is IMO.

Too many times, its a 3 guard loop trying to find a seem.

Saying all that, Tennessee should NEVER score 84 points and 30+ points on FTs. Total lack of effort there.

I know Cal says if you don't play defense, you don't play. Well, I beg to differ in Murray's situation, and if I'm guarding Briscoe or Lee, they never get a clean look at the basket.

But, saying all that, we'll be ready for Florida which should be a good thing.

 

[docholiday51]

I have a simple question on the offensive end..........if we have guys who hit FTs when they are fouled, why aren't we going to these guys more? I have seen too many times Murray simply ignoring the post man with a pass, and driving to the basket, forcing Lee or Skal to get out of the way. At that point, they're out of position to do anything.

My above comment points to Willis & Poythress. I have no problem with Poy dropping the ball, losing it going up for the basket. But the more you give it to him and Willis, the better our offense is IMO.

Too many times, its a 3 guard loop trying to find a seem.

Saying all that, Tennessee should NEVER score 84 points and 30+ points on FTs. Total lack of effort there.

I know Cal says if you don't play defense, you don't play. Well, I beg to differ in Murray's situation, and if I'm guarding Briscoe or Lee, they never get a clean look at the basket.

But, saying all that, we'll be ready for Florida which should be a good thing.

How can you say we will be ready for Florida,who knows,we could be up 25 and lose the game

 

[sefus12]

I have a simple question on the offensive end..........if we have guys who hit FTs when they are fouled, why aren't we going to these guys more? I have seen too many times Murray simply ignoring the post man with a pass, and driving to the basket, forcing Lee or Skal to get out of the way. At that point, they're out of position to do anything.

My above comment points to Willis & Poythress. I have no problem with Poy dropping the ball, losing it going up for the basket. But the more you give it to him and Willis, the better our offense is IMO.

Too many times, its a 3 guard loop trying to find a seem.

Saying all that, Tennessee should NEVER score 84 points and 30+ points on FTs. Total lack of effort there.

I know Cal says if you don't play defense, you don't play. Well, I beg to differ in Murray's situation, and if I'm guarding Briscoe or Lee, they never get a clean look at the basket.

But, saying all that, we'll be ready for Florida which should be a good thing.

I agree with this. Willis hit a 3 w/13 mins left last night and didn't get a look (may not have even touched the ball on the offensive end) after that. If our offense is struggling, why not run something to get him a look closer to the basket/try and pick up a foul . The guy shoots 94% from the line. Or try and get Alex flashing across the middle/posted up down low. Just SOMETHING to differ from the "you bigs stand in the corners and let Murray try and get off a 3" offense that failed us the last 10 mins of the game last night.

 

[Wall2Boogie]

I meant to mention, was Wayne chism and Dane Bradshaw hurt last night?

 

[chroix]

Is like to see two guards and bring Briscoe off the bench. Ulis, Murray, Willis, Poythress and Lee. Subs Skal, Briscoe, Matthews and Hawkins as needed. Might keep our guards fresher and give us a little more size. The three guard set is maybe better on defensive end but more limiting offensively.

 

[catsfanbgky]

Funny bashing Briscoe when he is playing pretty damn solid. And his defense is much needed. Who else is fearless enough to drive it at the bigs and score inside ? everyone else not named Tyler just stands back and clanks jumper after jumper because they are not tough / skilled enough to go into the trees and score or get fouled. By the way, Briscoe because we have nothing inside with AP out, has to be in because he is tough enough to rebound. One of our better / efficient scorers, one of if not best rebounder, best defensive player.
from the guard spot. yeah bash him. he is our most needed guy other than #3.

Praising Murray when he is a selfish gun, turnover machine, and couldn't guard a statue.

Please stop.

 

[Icecoldbrewdoggy]

Murray seems as if he's just waiting for his draft selection at this point.

Murray isn't lazy, he just doesn't know how to play defense. He's trying, he just isn't getting it done. It's hard to watch because he has endless energy, but uses it poorly.