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We don't have a guy that can go get a bucket. And that's what we were afraid of.

Lack of a "crunch time shot maker" was my biggest concern going into this season as well. But, let’s face it this isn't what Pope's teams will look like going forward. This is a pieced together bunch. They can get better but, I'm still thinking 19-20 wins is our regular season ceiling.
Don’t be to loud, a certain group will say your being overly critical and being miserable. But this is the concern and has been the entire time.
 
Don’t be to loud, a certain group will say your being overly critical and being miserable. But this is the concern and has been the entire time.
That's fine, let them name call all they like.
I was extremely vocal about my dislike for Calipari, his antiquated offense (or lack of any offense) and his lack of in-game adjustments. Pope doesn't get a pass because he's the new guy who had a nice career at UK. Coaches are well compensated to perform and now, so are many players. Which, to me makes them fair game for criticism when and where it is warranted.
 
We have one elite catch and shoot guy : Brea. Everyone else is just average from 3. Unfortunately no one on the team can create its own shot like Rob Dilly or Monk or Murray. That one player supposed to be Robinson but his handle is suspect to say the least.

So we are depending on running plays to get our guys open to shoot 3s… or getting shots in transition or via offensive rebounds but that means we should run a transition and rebo7nd the ball….which we don’t do consistently….

As other teams get more tape of Uk plays, the ability to run plays to get our guys open will decrease… sure Pope can make adjustments and tweaks but those will be also read in the next game,

This year we don’t have the high profile players so it’s normal to be on this trend.
Robinson is not in the same stratosphere with Murray, Monk or Rob.
He never was.
 
I hear what you are saying to a degree, but Clemson didn't win b/c they had a guy that was just creating the offense for Clemson.

So, if the logic is you have to have that to win, why did Clemson win?
You need it to consistently beat good teams. Can catch lightning in a bottle, but it will catch up to you. Probably the difference in this being a 5 loss team and a 10 loss team, especially given how much of a meat grinder the SEC appears to be.
 
He is more bj Boston/tyty Washington group, which is fine is there your second or third best player, not your best like Robinson is suppose to be for this squad
I said it a month or two ago, Jaxson Robinson can’t be the best player on a great, or even REALLY good team. No knock to him or the team. Good is fine for this group. I, like many others, probably overvalued the Duke win. The last few games have been a bit of a reality check.
 
Some of you crack me up. “No one to create their own shot.” That’s Cal coaching folks.

The game of basketball is played with an offense that creates shots off of designed ball movement. Open jumpers, screens, cuts…. We will be fine. Create ur own shot comes down to last second and no time to run a play.

We are a solid top 25 team with the potential to make noise come March. That’s us this year as my old eyes evaluate the team this year.
 
Some of you crack me up. “No one to create their own shot.” That’s Cal coaching folks.

The game of basketball is played with an offense that creates shots off of designed ball movement. Open jumpers, screens, cuts…. We will be fine. Create ur own shot comes down to last second and no time to run a play.

We are a solid top 25 team with the potential to make noise come March. That’s us this year as my old eyes evaluate the team this year.
I thought Pope's offense would have created more open twos near the rim (back cuts, lost defenders, etc) but I just have not seen that this year so far. Was wanting to rely on that to take and hold leads and open up the perimeter. Nothing we did last night opened up the perimeter except broken plays.

It makes me think he hasn't installed that yet or the personnel are not well suited for his offense. I don't blame him but it feels like we are going to be playing with a good hand of cards all year not a great hand or a hand Coach built to his liking.
 
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I thought Pope's offense would have created more open twos near the rim (back cuts, lost defenders, etc) but I just have not seen that this year so far. Was wanting to rely on that to take and hold leads and open up the perimeter. Nothing we did last night opened up the perimeter except broken plays.

It makes me think he hasn't installed that yet or the personnel are not well suited for his offense. I don't blame him but it feels like we are going to be playing with a good hand of cards all year not a great hand or a hand Coach built to his liking.
And there you have it. Our cuts are the weakness as of now when it comes to offense. Teams are going to play out on us. It's the cuts that pull them back in...followed by the Offensive Rebound by the one making the pass. The cutter always has the option to kick it back out. We get more of this and we become very dangerous. We are almost there...
 
Without Butler, we have no game. And that's a bit concerning.

Season's not over. But we have some very serious, but fixable, flaws. Got to get them fixed and now. Or the SEC will be brutal.
Who was that go-to guy on the 2003 team?

Bogans? Not likely. Even when he was healthy, he was not a primary scorer. He was very good, but often his "shot creation" consisted of putting his head down and bullying his way to the basket.

How about 2011? Knight? He was so on and off that even when he matured, he could hardly be counted on.

We've had good teams in the past who didn't have anyone close to the level of a Malik Monk or Antonio Reeves, and still managed earning high seeds and advancing with them.

We have some guys who can create in Carr, Oweh, and Butler. I'm not concerned. It was a nasty road environment that most of our guys have never encountered, and UK missed at least ten open threes.

You put the 2003, 2004, 1999, 2005, 2011, and a host of other historically solid UK teams in that environment, and they're all walking out of there with an L.
 
Who was that go-to guy on the 2003 team?

Bogans? Not likely. Even when he was healthy, he was not a primary scorer. He was very good, but often his "shot creation" consisted of putting his head down and bullying his way to the basket.

How about 2011? Knight? He was so on and off that even when he matured, he could hardly be counted on.

We've had good teams in the past who didn't have anyone close to the level of a Malik Monk or Antonio Reeves, and still managed earning high seeds and advancing with them.

We have some guys who can create in Carr, Oweh, and Butler. I'm not concerned. It was a nasty road environment that most of our guys have never encountered, and UK missed at least ten open threes.

You put the 2003, 2004, 1999, 2005, 2011, and a host of other historically solid UK teams in that environment, and they're all walking out of there with an L.
Not saying you're wrong. But the sport has changed a great deal since then too.

I just don't want what I saw last night to be the way our season ends come March.
 
I said it a month or two ago, Jaxson Robinson can’t be the best player on a great, or even REALLY good team. No knock to him or the team. Good is fine for this group. I, like many others, probably overvalued the Duke win. The last few games have been a bit of a reality check.
They should have gone all out Robinson and Will Riley and let of Krisa or Almanor go somewhere else
 
Amari Williams limited game is not fixable. Krissa being an unreliable liability at backup PG is not fixable. Garrison having a low basketball IQ and exhibiting why as a McDonald’s American he has no NBA future is not fixable. Carr being a terrible defender and inconsistent offensive player is not fixable.
A player with a "low basketball IQ" doesn't average 3 assists a game from the 5 spot. Bring it better than that. Garrison will be fine.
 
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A player with a "low basketball IQ" doesn't average 3 assists a game from the 5 spot. Bring it better than that. Garrison will be fine.
Pope's 5 spot is not the same as most 5 spots. Amari has an extremely poor A/TO ratio for someone who handles the ball as much as he does. He and Garrison aren't ideal 5 men for Pope's system. Neither shoot well from the perimeter and both call their own number WAY too much putting it on the floor from the top of the key backing down.

For reference, Amari's A/TO ratio is 1/1.15. He has 13 more total TO's than ANYONE on the roster. The entire team has 83 TO's and 23 of them belong to Amari. That ain't good and would lend to question his decision-making/IQ.
 
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They should have gone all out Robinson and Will Riley and let of Krisa or Almanor go somewhere else
Idk if they ever really had a shot at Riley. They were late to the party there. I think that's why Pope built the roster the way he did. Portal guys with experience were gettable, and difference making freshmen weren't gettable. That business model has been used by guys taking over P5 teams. Gates/Mizzou and Otzelberger/Iowa St come to mind immediately. I think it was Pope's philosophy to try to compete immediately while having time to go get some serious prep talent for 25-26.

Robinson's metrics have never been great. I'd never seen him play enough to fully understand why, but it's obvious now. His handle is suspect and he's soft. Not a great recipe for a guy needing to be the dude that can go get you a bucket. It's not the end of the world. This team is just going to be far more reliant on the 3 ball going down that I first thought they would be.
 
I hear what you are saying to a degree, but Clemson didn't win b/c they had a guy that was just creating the offense for Clemson.

So, if the logic is you have to have that to win, why did Clemson win?
Winner Winner Chicken Dinner

Down the stretch they didn't have just one guy take over they had multiple guys step up and make free throws, make a basket, a defensive stop, get a rebound or anything else they needed at that time to get the win. Everyone is listening to Matt Jones say you have to have a guy who can get a basket at the end and we don't have that but if you listen to Pope he wants guys who trust the offense to get someone open not just have guys try to play hero ball.
 
I’m going to say something I bet some people won’t want to hear. I see all the complaints about shot selection when guys shoot those extremely deep threes. I think we are probably going to really need to increase those. That’s how you put pressure on defenses that want to play us off the line when you don’t have individual blow by guys and shot creators.
 
Lack of a "crunch time shot maker" was my biggest concern going into this season as well. But, lets face it this isn't what Pope's teams will look like going forward. This is a pieced together bunch. They can get better but, I'm still thinking 19-20 wins is our regular season ceiling.
You really think this team goes 13-10 the rest of the way?
 
Winner Winner Chicken Dinner

Down the stretch they didn't have just one guy take over they had multiple guys step up and make free throws, make a basket, a defensive stop, get a rebound or anything else they needed at that time to get the win. Everyone is listening to Matt Jones say you have to have a guy who can get a basket at the end and we don't have that but if you listen to Pope he wants guys who trust the offense to get someone open not just have guys try to play hero ball.

The other thing is, I'm not sure Clemson finishes this game with that much energy and poise, if not for the home crowd dragging them across the finish line (and let's be honest, some home officiating as well). I'll hand it to their fans, they were the 6th man last night. I've watched Duke play there to more quiet crowds (go figure).

I don't think Clemson has the wherewithal to win that game on a neutral site and surely not at Rupp. The crazy thing is, we make our free throws and we win. For as bad as we looked during actual game action, and for as good as they looked.. we win if we make some more free throws.
 
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You really think this team goes 13-10 the rest of the way?
I don't think they lose 11 regular season games, but I also don't think it's completely out of the question. The SEC is going to be BRUTAL. Lunardi currently has 12 SEC teams in the tourney and LSU is in the first four out. There's a reason the conference went 9-1 against the ACC last night. I still think what I thought at the beginning of the year, 8-10 losses, top 1/3 of the SEC, and a 4-6 seed. After the Duke game I got caught up in the hysteria over that win and overvalued it. The last three games, and also the Duke game, have offered somewhat of a scouting playbook. Now it's time for Pope and the Cats to get busy working on improving against defensive pressure and trusting in the system on offense.
 
Buttersdad isnt a UK fan, hasnt been around at all since we landed our recruits proving him wrong. Any real UK fan would have been around during the preseason up through our 7 wins and not just poking around to be all negative after our first loss to a quad 1 team on their court with ACC officials.
 
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We were never going undefeated lol, why is a loss such a reason to panic. This is still an entirely new group of guys learning a new system in the first few games of the season. We are not a finished product. Do I expect this team to compete for a title? Unlikely. But who cares? This year is a complete pass for Pope, with an entirely cobbled together roster he's already doing things Cal couldn't do.
 
There is a reason Pope is trying to recruit the best of the best HS players. He understands that the portal is not going to regularly have a “Dude” who can “Get” you buckets. Even if it does, it could turn out like Lanier where they already have ties or favorite schools.

So, you get some “Dudes” from the HS ranks who can be augmented with really good portal players. You run a system that allows really good portal players to shine until you need pure athleticism/talent to get you over a hump. Then, you run sets that are designed to allow for individual creativity.

Some want Rome to be built in a day. There are steps on the ladder. We are a really good team. We are not a great team. We have to play to our strengths.

1. Butler has to stay out of foul trouble.
2. Jaxson and Koby in particular have to fight through the physical contact and when held, bring attention to it. Screens don’t work if you are not busting your ass around them.
3. We have to develop Brandon and start getting him more minutes or the defense is just going to sag off of Amari. If not for this year, for next. He is better on the offensive end anyway.
4. Kriisa needs to limit his three attempts or at least get them from the flow of the offense, not off the dribble.
5. Fans need to support this team. There are going to be some rough spots regardless of what you thought before last night. The league is brutal this year and the road games are at best pick-em games.
 
Leave it to this board to over analyze and go into doom and gloom mode after every loss.

This board is definitely consistent.

Overreact win or lose.

I’m pretty pleased that this team (which has been together only about 6 months) played fairly well in their first road game against a team with a ton of veterans, most of them returning from an Elite Eight team. I always give the home team +4. So, we played them even.

So I don’t understand those who are nitpicking and looking for reasons to throw in the towel on this season.

The smart posters on here told everyone that this was a good, not great, team. There will be ups and downs.

We beat Duke and suddenly people are expecting 40-0. LOL!

We lose on the road to Clemson and all of the sudden we are going to be lucky to make the NIT. LOL!

Some of y’all need to get a grip and meet me in the middle. A place we call reality.

I’ve said it before, we are likely a Sweet Sixteen level team. If we get lucky, we could make a Final Four. If the ball doesn’t bounce our way, we exit the first weekend.

As I see it, the Duke game didn’t change that and this game doesn’t change that.
 
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Without Butler, we have no game. And that's a bit concerning.

Season's not over. But we have some very serious, but fixable, flaws. Got to get them fixed and now. Or the SEC will be brutal.
Yeah we do. They just didn’t score. You have 3 guys who can get to the basket. We honestly looked like a cal coached team last night. No spacing not real adjustment. Pope was stressing late. If Oweh hits one of those 2 3 pointers there we are probably talking today of how we have a guy blah blah blah. A. Pope had a terrible game plan. He’s gonna have to learn how to use his depth to wear down opponents. I can’t believe he didn’t go a 7 min stretch of 40 min or hell or some serious pressure defense. B. Our team played like they are entitled to be the 4th ranked team. Loose balls, rebounds there is a lot of ball watching happening. This team is missing a lot fundamentally that becomes evident when they are under pressure. Amari Williams idk at times he’s none existent. I wasn’t happy with our team but we stunk more than “we don’t have “ was the issue. Pope has to work Oweh some at pg if Krissa is gonna headcase. Oweh is the best most complete player on the team . He just missed last night.
 
Leave it to this board to over analyze and go into doom and gloom mode after every loss.

This board is definitely consistent.

Overreact win or lose.

I’m pretty pleased that this team (which has been together only about 6 months) played fairly well in their first road game against a team with a ton of veterans, most of them returning from an Elite Eight team. I always give the home team +4. So, we played them even.

So I don’t understand those who are nitpicking and looking for reasons to throw in the towel on this season.

The smart posters on here told everyone that this was a good, not great, team. There will be ups and downs.

We beat Duke and suddenly people are expecting 40-0. LOL!

We lose on the road to Clemson and all of the sudden we are going to be lucky to make the NIT. LOL!

Some of y’all need to get a grip and meet me in the middle. A place we call reality.

I’ve said it before, we are likely a Sweet Sixteen level team. If we get lucky, we could make a Final Four. If the ball doesn’t bounce our way, we exit the first weekend.

As I see it, the Duke game didn’t change that and this game doesn’t change that.
Well said!
 
Jaxon reminds me of Darius Miller. Frustrating because hes not that aggressive as he should be.
 

I think Butler and Oweh are very good at that.
Totally agree.

Having said that, I'd much rather NOT just give someone the ball and say go get us a bucket :)

Players have got to trust the system, and continue to PASS the ball, and move without the ball, and stop ball watching, rather than shift into ISO mode when games are tough.
 
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