What move or two would you make ?

[ManitouDan]

Me ? I'd try to go much more up tempo and press more and play more people .. Hump and Willis both would get many more minutes . I'd play Hawkins more as well. No , not some total platoon but how much would lose playing those guys more ?

I know I might get flamed for this but I don't see why the love affair with Briscoe . A 6'3 slasher that cant shoot a lick . I mean a total dud from outside , so he drives and gets fouled and shoots 40% from the line .. He has to be on the floor with 4 scorers or we become entirely easy to guard in the half court . With our roster we need to get shots up quick and play in the 80's .. this team isn't made for 1/2 court sets at all. .. We deseperately needed skal's presence inside but we all know whats going on there .

 

[aceman509]

Briscoe is also the best perimeter defender on this team, and one of a handful of guys that plays with toughness. He also has been the most consistent by far of all the freshman, today was really his first bad game scoring wise all season.

 

[ManitouDan]

I agree he is tough and gritty , but we need O , not back court D . I've always thought Hawkins was a lock down defender but he cant any minutes to gain any rhythm or confidence .

 

[CBBCrazy]

I would try sitting Skal for the a few minutes to start and let him see the flow of the game. Not that it will make any difference but at this point you try anything imo. Nothing from the 4 & 5 spots means we lose a lot of games by years end.

 

[westerncat]

I would try sitting Skal for the a few minutes to start and let him see the flow of the game. Not that it will make any difference but at this point you try anything imo. Nothing from the 4 & 5 spots means we lose a lot of games by years end.

^ This

 

[aceman509]

I agree he is tough and gritty , but we need O , not back court D . I've always thought Hawkins was a lock down defender but he cant any minutes to gain any rhythm or confidence .

I actually do think Hawkins should get a few more minutes. He only got 2 today and thought he was pretty solid. However, saying we should play Hawkins for Briscoe because we need O instead of D is laughable. The only time Hawkins will and should see the court is for his perimeter defense. The only offense he looks capable of providing is 3 point shooting and he has yet to prove in his career that he can knock those down. Briscoe's total lack of a jump shot and inability to make a free throw is frustrating, but he is a great passer (he made a fantastic pass to set up the Poythress 3 today) and fantastic in transition/near the rim.

 

[rolaid]

I would play a 8 man rotation with Humphries starting and Poythress Willis and Skal coming off bench.

 

[ck-2]

Put Skal on the bench. Hire a new strength coach because we are as weak with the ball as any team I've ever seen. maybe install an offense that uses motion and setting screens instead of just driving the lane. And start playing guys that hustle not just based on how many stars are beside there name.

 

[RKulmer]

Briscoe is not allowed to shoot outside 5ft.
Murray has the green light when he gets past midcourt.
Willis and Humphries needs more court time.

 

[YaySports]

Trade skal for ben simmons. Is that possible?

 

[Yahtzee43]

I too am concerned that we may have some fools gold with some of these new players and I wonder what is going to happen when we have a logjam next year when none of these players goes pro.

 

[ManitouDan]

I didn't mean to insinuate Hawk gets Briscoe's minutes , was just saying I'd like to see DH in the game a tad more . Briscoe does finish in the lane better but If DH got Briscoe's minutes I wonder what his stats would look like ?

 

[RKulmer]

I too am concerned that we may have some fools gold with some of these new players and I wonder what is going to happen when we have a logjam next year when none of these players goes pro.

LOL. here comes the Blue/White Platoon. Please god. Noooooooo.

 

[K_TIME]

1. Ullis 28 MPG/ Briscoe goes to backup PG for 12 MPG
2. Murray plays 35 MPG at SG/ Briscoe can get 5 MPG here
3. Willis 26 MPG at SF...Matthews/Mulder split the 14 MPG...
4. Poythress 30 MPG at PF
5. Lee 28 MPG at C
6. Cut Skal back to bench and get him 18 MPG

Really Skal and Briscoe are killing the team's offensive flow. Skal is obvious. But Briscoe's man is basically playing off him so much...no drive lanes and post up guys have an easy double down. I love his defense and he's helping on boards...but 40% FT and 20% 3pt shot is totally cluttering up the offense.

Willis gives us our best 3pt shot at the wing and his length gives us enough rebounding/shot blocking to make up for his foot speed deficiencies. The offense is way better when Willis is in the game and I can live with his defensive shortcomings vs. a total brick layer from Briscoe at the SF minutes. Besides....Ullis/Murray handle the ball most of the time they are in the game.

 

[LmdCat]

I would give Mulder some playing time and increase playing time for Willis even if it meant playing some zone defense. I would also stop being so predictable. Sometimes just a simple change in defense or offense is enough to cause college players problems. You can't let the opponent become comfortable on the court. You have to do some things to make them think which is typically not a good thing for inferior opponents. OSU player's were as comfortable on the court as they would have been playing in their practice facility.

 

[LmdCat]

Briscoe is not allowed to shoot outside 5ft.
Murray has the green light when he gets past midcourt.
Willis and Humphries needs more court time.

Humphries is softer and slower than Skal. He doesn't bring much of anything to the table.

 

[UK2005_24]

Let Murray play with ball in his hands much more..

 

[Play some D]

I would like to see Cal play Willis at the 3 spot. Let Brisco relieve Murray & Ulis when they need it. I would never let Skal & Lee on the floor at the same time. I've noticed when they're both in there together, our interior defense & rebounding suffers. Plus that makes 2/5's of the line-up that can't score. I think Willis could help with scoring with another outside shooter on the floor. It's not like this is a very good defensive team any way. He's as good on defense as any of the other guys. I would like to see Murray shoot more from the outside.

 

[RKulmer]

Humphries is softer and slower than Skal. He doesn't bring much of anything to the table.

the argument that Skal just needs more time can be made with Humphries IMHO. He's at least a space eater.

 

[KyMaster]

It's about time to play pick and pop or roll with Jamal and Skal. This worked great with the Knight Jorts team and I think Skal would be more comfortable on the perimeter than getting pushed around down low.

 

[4UK]

I think this team has too many deficiencies to be elite, but in an attempt to get them decent I would: a) turn the offense entirely over to Murray. He should be the focal point from the opening tip, not just when we get down. Minimum of 20 shots a game; the more the better.

b) Briscoe should only get minutes at PG. He's simply too much of a liability shooting to have on the wing. Since he isn't going to take Ulis' spot, that means coming off the bench. He can make an impact up top with the ball in his hands, but on the wing, you have to be able to hit something to keep the defense honest.

c) Start Willis at the 3. And save the stupid "fanboy" comments. I could care less who it is; we just need someone on the wing who will make defenses at least think we're capable of hitting a jumper. I think Willis is the best option we have to do that, especially if he knows he can play through misses. But if it's Mulder, Matthews, whomever I don't care. But it's not Briscoe.

d) Skal only plays 5-10 minutes a game unless he earns it. There isn't anyone else on the team who could play as poorly has he's played and still get 20 minutes. Lee and Poy start. Tai and Humphries are in the mix. If Skal comes in and plays well, ride it. If not, he should be a bit player, spelling those guys when they need a breather or get in foul trouble.

 

[Yahtzee43]

Their weakness is their front court. They are publicized as very good with Onuaku, Mathiang, Spalding and Johnson. However, their Offensive production and ball handling is very poor.

I would put the largest line up and beefiest at 4 and 5 spots. Skal will get pushed around by them. I think we need to play bigger bigs. I think we should start Humphries at the 5 and Poythress at the 4. I know that sounds crazy but UofL bigs are not that mobile and I think we need more Defense and rebounding than Offense. Anyway, Skal has not given us much Offense anyway.

I would put Marcus Lee at the 3 on Damian Lee and that would create match up problems for them, as well as rebounding advantage for us. The length of Marcus Lee would put pressure of a 6'10 guy with 7' length on their best 6'6" shooter. He has struggled against length in his face.

 

[qwesley]

1. Ullis 28 MPG/ Briscoe goes to backup PG for 12 MPG
2. Murray plays 35 MPG at SG/ Briscoe can get 5 MPG here
3. Willis 26 MPG at SF...Matthews/Mulder split the 14 MPG...
4. Poythress 30 MPG at PF
5. Lee 28 MPG at C
6. Cut Skal back to bench and get him 18 MPG

Really Skal and Briscoe are killing the team's offensive flow. Skal is obvious. But Briscoe's man is basically playing off him so much...no drive lanes and post up guys have an easy double down. I love his defense and he's helping on boards...but 40% FT and 20% 3pt shot is totally cluttering up the offense.

Willis gives us our best 3pt shot at the wing and his length gives us enough rebounding/shot blocking to make up for his foot speed deficiencies. The offense is way better when Willis is in the game and I can live with his defensive shortcomings vs. a total brick layer from Briscoe at the SF minutes. Besides....Ullis/Murray handle the ball most of the time they are in the game.

My exact thoughts.

 

[KWilt43atbuzz]

I too am concerned that we may have some fools gold with some of these new players and I wonder what is going to happen when we have a logjam next year when none of these players goes pro.

Transfer

 

[truebluewildcat]

Humphries starts for Skal...

it is very apparent that we need a big, broad, physical body down low...

absolutely need to see what Tai has...if he is showing any signs of being an animal that can get rough and grab rebounds in practice...play him now...

would move skal to a 3/4 hybrid face the basket player...he may be more finesse, and that's fine...see if he can't become some sort of mid range scoring threat...right now he is getting mauled in the paint...opposing players are moving him around and out of the way with ease...

 

[bigbluedon]

There are some good points on here. One thing I would do is play Humphries much more. Play Skal at forward with Humphries. we needs some scoring punch. If Cal had asked everyone in this thread for advice, He would never do any of this regardless if he thought it was right or not. He is very stubborn and his stubbornness has cost us some games ..He let's his five stars play through mistakes and wild shots but not guys like Willis or Mulder.
He needs to develop a better zone offense because that is all we are going to see this year..We have a horrible set offense and this year we are not very hard to guard at all. Not scoring options are the cause.

Well that is enough.. I know none of this matters because CAL won't change. Merry Christmas to all on this board.

 

[3 fan]

Never play Hawkins. Complete waste of minutes
Play Humphries some every game

Tell all the bigs: whoever can show they can create offense plays. Rest of you sit

And run run run run run. With our bigs being worthless it kills half court game

 

[marshalfan]

I would try sitting Skal for the a few minutes to start and let him see the flow of the game. Not that it will make any difference but at this point you try anything imo. Nothing from the 4 & 5 spots means we lose a lot of games by years end.

Humphries is not the answer. He is not ready to play. We need to open up the lanes if we are going to dribble drive. Poythress and Lee are an excellent offensive rebounders when they crash from the weakside.

 

[bigbluedon]

Dribble drive doesn't work when other team is playing matchup zone or just packing everything below the FT line.

 

[stoneycat_20]

Stop the dribble drive..Its not workking with no outside shooting...Well Briscoe should drive because thats all he can do, but drive and kick to Murray or Ulis for 3..

 

[JonathanW]

I think until Skal can start producing, I would not just bring him off the bench, but only play him when you have to (so maybe 5-10 mpg). He is currently not helping on either end of the court. And (I wouldn't have said this 8 days ago) I would start playing Humphries as much as you can (say 20 mpg). Humphries has some learning to do and some limitations, but he also provides some benefits.
Like Humphries, I would play Willis when you can, which I think Cal does somewhat.

Until our other players start making some shots, I don't think we can afford to play Hawkins much. He is NO threat offensively!

 

[aikenite4uk]

We need offense. Here is the depth chart:

PG - Ulis 30 MPG- Briscoe 10 MPG
SG- Murray 35 MPG - Briscoe 5 MPG
C - SKAL 30 MPG - Lee 10 MPG
PF Poythress 25 MPG Lee 15 MPG
SF Willis 25 MPG- Matthews 15 MPG

I completely disagree with those who say sit Skal. Yes he played terrible today. However, he is a highly skilled player with huge upside. It would be silly to sit him....let him take his lumps and get the basketball experience he needs. He's a raw, inexperienced player. But he's talented and can hit free throws. Ulis and Murray are both better than Briscoe. Murray should play until his tongue is hanging out.

We need offense at the SF position. Let Willis and Matthews duke it out and see who deserves the PT. Lee and Poythress are limited players offensively who should never sniff the SF position. Let the others fight for the scraps.

 

[billoliver40]

me???????
I would play Skal limited minutes similar to what WCS and Jorts did their first years. He just is not strong enough and I think there's a danger that he completely loses any enthusiasm he has as he keeps getting pushed around and outplayed minute after minute.
Stick with three guard two forwards and just play hard. This team doesn't have the shooting ability to play half court. Teams will sit in zone or a box and one if Murray is hot and say go ahead and throw it up there. Get in a transition game.

just me though. Lord knows I've been tons wrong before.

 

[chroix]

1. Ullis 28 MPG/ Briscoe goes to backup PG for 12 MPG
2. Murray plays 35 MPG at SG/ Briscoe can get 5 MPG here
3. Willis 26 MPG at SF...Matthews/Mulder split the 14 MPG...
4. Poythress 30 MPG at PF
5. Lee 28 MPG at C
6. Cut Skal back to bench and get him 18 MPG

Really Skal and Briscoe are killing the team's offensive flow. Skal is obvious. But Briscoe's man is basically playing off him so much...no drive lanes and post up guys have an easy double down. I love his defense and he's helping on boards...but 40% FT and 20% 3pt shot is totally cluttering up the offense.

Willis gives us our best 3pt shot at the wing and his length gives us enough rebounding/shot blocking to make up for his foot speed deficiencies. The offense is way better when Willis is in the game and I can live with his defensive shortcomings vs. a total brick layer from Briscoe at the SF minutes. Besides....Ullis/Murray handle the ball most of the time they are in the game.

Ditto this.

 

[brianpoe]

Me ? I'd try to go much more up tempo and press more and play more people .. Hump and Willis both would get many more minutes . I'd play Hawkins more as well. No , not some total platoon but how much would lose playing those guys more ?

I know I might get flamed for this but I don't see why the love affair with Briscoe . A 6'3 slasher that cant shoot a lick . I mean a total dud from outside , so he drives and gets fouled and shoots 40% from the line .. He has to be on the floor with 4 scorers or we become entirely easy to guard in the half court . With our roster we need to get shots up quick and play in the 80's .. this team isn't made for 1/2 court sets at all. .. We deseperately needed skal's presence inside but we all know whats going on there .

Run more, but with a slower, less athletic big and play another guard with even less offensive skills than what we already have playing...

What good is 80 shots if you miss 60 of them?

 

[oldsports_]

I hope Cal is reading this!!. I've always wondered where Cal got all his coaching skills, and low and behold, he must be a long time Rupp Rafter reader!

 

[trueblujr2]

I know Cal wants a 7-8 man rotation in general, but he only played 6 for the most part today. Hawks 2 minutes don't count.

Humphries, Willis and Matthews need to play. I'm not saying they all need 20+ minutes per game, but Willis should easily be getting 10-12 mpg and Humphries about the same. I can halfway understand that Humphries might have suffered a bit against OSU's athleticism, but Mathews wasn't a matchup issue with anyone today and he plays solid defense, so I don't know why he didn't spell Briscoe at times today, when Briscoe is struggling, Matthews should be one of the first to replace him because there wouldn't be as much of a defensive drop off. Willis should have played in the first half when we couldn't hit the broad side of a barn.

 

[ManitouDan]

Hey Poe , I didn't mean play Hump 30 minutes , just give him more than his current 2-4 MIN . If we actually played Willis more in place of Poy some and play Hawk in place of Briscoe some we might see a more efficient offense. As others have stated Briscoe is currently playing like a 6'3 power forward . Something has to give , our offense is gosh awful. More points out of Tyler would help also , hasn't seemed the same since the elbow injury .

 

[brianpoe]

Hey Poe , I didn't mean play Hump 30 minutes , just give him more than his current 2-4 MIN . If we actually played Willis more in place of Poy some and play Hawk in place of Briscoe some we might see a more efficient offense. As others have stated Briscoe is currently playing like a 6'3 power forward . Something has to give , our offense is gosh awful. More points out of Tyler would help also , hasn't seemed the same since the elbow injury .

Ok i cant argue too much with that, but I cannot get on board with Hawkins, he is our worse offensive player. 4 on 5 when he is in the game.

 

[ManitouDan]

He might be , just my opinion he hasnt got the time to prove that one way or the other . Kid was good enough to start a few games for us over the past 2 years , and those teams far far far faaaaaaaar above this group . He plays with fire and passion, something not too obvious about the team so far this year .