"This Team Wants it More Than Last Year's"
- Thread starter KYtotheCore
- Start date
I LOVE your board name. I wish you had an applicable avatar. I have a picture of a girl gagging on a corn dog that would be perfect!
Perception is like beauty. Both are gauged by the eyes of the beholder.
You are reading too much into it. A. > B. Does not mean B = 0. B could be very large and A = B+ 1.
If they want to win, its going to take a lot of skill and smarts to make it happen.
You got the whole season to keep proving yourself, then the conference tourney, then the ncaa tournament... I want us to do as best as we can. But, sometimes you got to realize that staying healthy is more important than the amount of wins we want in the reg. season. We should want to be in the top 25 polls, but what really matters is having the strength towards the end of the season to really turn on the pressure against our opponents. Go Big Blue!
You got the whole season to keep proving yourself, then the conference tourney, then the ncaa tournament... I want us to do as best as we can. But, sometimes you got to realize that staying healthy is more important than the amount of wins we want in the reg. season. We should want to be in the top 25 polls, but what really matters is having the strength towards the end of the season to really turn on the pressure against our opponents. Go Big Blue!
Last year's team wanted it.
I don't think they realized what it takes. When you have near 100% freshman group, and the juniors aren't workhorse...you aren't getting the repetition and work needed to achieve the goal.
Quade, PJ, and NR all failed and recognizes their mistake. All 3 look to have physically matured, mentally matured, and skill matured. Now they are driving the talented young group to also become great.
I don't think they realized what it takes. When you have near 100% freshman group, and the juniors aren't workhorse...you aren't getting the repetition and work needed to achieve the goal.
Quade, PJ, and NR all failed and recognizes their mistake. All 3 look to have physically matured, mentally matured, and skill matured. Now they are driving the talented young group to also become great.
Granted it helps with experience, but ugh, last years team. Yes I may get ripped and “we know he’s going to be a good pro”, but I hated Knox at Kentucky. Like most of the team last year: no fight and if he wasn’t scoring points, he wasn’t going to give you anything else.
You can see a difference this year and yes it’s probably experience, but you can see a difference, even with out freshmen
You can see a difference this year and yes it’s probably experience, but you can see a difference, even with out freshmen
Not anymore and really the 2nd game can be very hard sometimes . It was for the 38-1 team against Cincy for much of the game. Hell even a 1 seed has won now . But yes being a 1 or 2 seed is much easier then being a 4 seed.
This is a great post. THEY WERE ALL FRESHMEN. You cannot win ever at the highest level with all freshmen . Nothing against last year's team as at the end of the season they were a legit top 10 team but you need SOME experience. You need your Terrace Jones , Darius Miller , Patterson , Willis ect . This year we have PJ , Richards , Quade and Travis . That is alot of experience mixed with a ton of young talent. That is why we will be a 38-2/ 37-3 team.
I forget what game it was but we turned the ball over, its was one on one vs Knox and he basically quit, didnt challenge, and gave up a layup. This happened twice in the same game. I'm glad he had success in summer league, but there were a lot of times where he simply didn't compete at UK.
Bad comment on PJs part. Missing 12 free throws against K-State was on him. They lost by 3. They win that game, and who knows how it plays out. Kentucky was playing really good ball at that time.
Maybe that was a knock on 1 or 2 individuals, but I’m sure most guys wanted it.
Maybe that was a knock on 1 or 2 individuals, but I’m sure most guys wanted it.
It's not like we were .500 and lost in the first round of the NIT. There's only so much a team that young, the youngest Pomeroy ever charted, can be.
Yes, he missed a bunch of free throws, but I think we kinda knew that we weren't good enough to win it all. He played his ASS off in the final game of the season. Knox just wasn't very good defensively, and if he wasn't scoring he wasn't contributing much of anything else. PJ seems like he did what he needed to do in the off season and I believe his free throws will improve.
Devil’s advocate:
If they brought it harder, the free throws don’t kill us.
It’s August and these guys are playing hard every play. We’ve had teams that didn’t start going hard all game long until March.
Cal often cites having to coach effort, he won’t with this bunch.
What does missing free throws have to do with wanting it, giving effort, and competing?
Last year's team was passive and a bit immature. This year's team has know exactly what it wants from the second they got here. Last year's team worked hard but this year's bunch is just on another level as far as work ethic, maturity, and mindset.
The only thing that makes me nervous is free throws especially with pj. He gets mock cheers in the Bahamas for making them. I know they are trying to build his confidence but come tournament time he will have to hit them or he won’t be playing at the end
of tight games
of tight games
Defense is the difference..last years team couldn't guard ..this year we have dogs as they say...IQ, Hagans, and KJ are going to hound guys...Plus PJ,QG and Nick are all back and better..
You are 100% correct but I’m sure someone ran in to say every team Cal has wanted it just as bad as this team even if Pj said no.
Last year some of our guys had to think their way thru on floor basketball situation as those situations came up,so far this year these guys seem to be able to anticipate situations.This team is young to be sure, but they seem to be able to think and "see" things a move or two ahead of last year.
Think it's easy to bash a team/players when they are gone. Last year's team was so young and while older guys were present, they weren't significant contributors outside of Gabriel-and by end of '17 season he was relegated to Nick Richards '18 season treatment. So you had guys figuring it out on their own which is hard...and some weren't self motivated/needed to be pushed to fight. That makes coaches job harder and is draining. Coaching effort and pleading with team to fight is hard and can be impossible depending on type of players/young men you have. That's why Cal always states "they are great kids"--because it's not kids not wanting to fight, they just haven't been asked to at the level needed.
'18 won the SEC Tournament, made Sweet 16 when everyone in media had them losing to Davidson as their "sure pick" for an upset, then losing to Arizona, but they handled business away from limelight in Boise....and honestly think all of us who watched that group thought the Sweet 16 was their likely outcome. How bracket unfolded and final game ended was sour, but overall I thought it was Cal/Staff's best coaching job. You don't win games like WVU comeback if you have guys who "don't want it".
My take on difference, is this group has guys who seem to play well together no matter what group is on the floor and young or experienced, that is a rare thing. Last year certain lineups were poor, and this team is more flexible when things happen (fouls, injuries, etc...). They are more enthusiastic and genuinely excited for each other which is why coaches have been leaking to media how special they are. It's stuff like that which doesn't happen each year at any program and when you have it, it's a fun year for all involved.
'18 won the SEC Tournament, made Sweet 16 when everyone in media had them losing to Davidson as their "sure pick" for an upset, then losing to Arizona, but they handled business away from limelight in Boise....and honestly think all of us who watched that group thought the Sweet 16 was their likely outcome. How bracket unfolded and final game ended was sour, but overall I thought it was Cal/Staff's best coaching job. You don't win games like WVU comeback if you have guys who "don't want it".
My take on difference, is this group has guys who seem to play well together no matter what group is on the floor and young or experienced, that is a rare thing. Last year certain lineups were poor, and this team is more flexible when things happen (fouls, injuries, etc...). They are more enthusiastic and genuinely excited for each other which is why coaches have been leaking to media how special they are. It's stuff like that which doesn't happen each year at any program and when you have it, it's a fun year for all involved.
Everybody wants to do well. But if you don’t work you can’t do the things in game consistently enough.
If you want to play tough defense, you have to condition yourself off the court. These guys are doing just that at 5 am each day. This is gonna be fun
If you want to play tough defense, you have to condition yourself off the court. These guys are doing just that at 5 am each day. This is gonna be fun
I agree, 1 player last year was given a compliment for going for loose balls. His response was, it's tournament time. You should go hard all year.
I agree...but last year I don’t recall Cal mentioning effort. There were the Baker/Vanderbilt undercover comments about their status, but I can’t remember an effort comment.
Agree. He was a beast. I just think most guys really did give effort. Not quite sure who he was implying to.
I get your point, but I just think it’s uncalled for to say this team wants it more unless you’re going to say who the problem was. I think last years team was good, just really young at most positions.
I just looked at it like don’t call me out for my effort when you could’ve hit your free throws to advance us in the tourney.
Side note: PJ is looking really good from the stripe in the Bahamas.
This. The leap in effort required is substantial from high school to elite college.
I believe 100% that they thought they were playing as hard and working as hard as they could last year but it took them until the end of the year to get it.
This is where experience matters the most. You have elite, critical pieces to the puzzle that have a better grip on what's required now that are able to set the tone combines with some high energy freshman that are feeding off it and giving it back.
Excellent post as usual.
Really appreciate you being here to help give proper perspective.
We weren’t really playing THAT well. We hadn’t really been challenged by a decent team in the tourney due to Zona shitttting the bed
The freshman class this year seems to be a bunch of "gym rats" from what I have heard. These guys won't have to be pushed to give effort because they seem to understand that you have to "bring it everyday or you'll lose playing time" and they seem to enjoy basketball. We have complained in the past about not have any gym rats but these guys are in the gym until late at night working from what I've heard in interviews.
Knox was extremely passive. His, Green’s, and Richard’s youth really showed. PJ thought playing tough meant flexing. Diallo played not to get hurt and Vanderbilt played not to play.
Depth, health, experience, and physicality goes a lonnnnnnng way.
Depth, health, experience, and physicality goes a lonnnnnnng way.
