Why is anybody surprised Calipari keeps losing?

[Woodsmoke]

When he was at Memphis, he was ahead 9 points in the NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP game with 2:12 remaining in the game and LOST!!!! The most important game in his career and he wasn’t good enough to close it out. Same thing with the John Wall team and the 38-1 team. He’s a terrible basketball x’s and o’s coach. Bottom frickin’ line. Great recruiter though!!!

 

[TOMCATS1990]

We aren’t surprised anymore at least I’m not. My only surprise is BBN thinking he is finally going to put the round peg in the round hole.

 

[SmorgusKilos96er]

Who is surpised he’s losing? It’s all he does.

Cal has admitted winning isn’t the priority. His own AD had to come to out and correct
his statements because of the blow back concerning the statement.

Calipari’s players have said straight faced he doesn’t give a shit about winning.

Oh right now? He’s starting to care a little more because he’s gonna end up fired and lose his entire legacy, or what’s left of it. But I’ll tell ya this, if he can’t do it, if he can’t win decently again, he’ll drag this place down on his way out. I’ve said it for years and nothing has changed. He will damage this institution if we don’t have a smart and quick exit strategy. And I fully believe the program gatekeepers are fully aware of it.

 

[SmorgusKilos96er]

Oh and he’s an okay recruiter. Ok well, he’s a great recruiter, but, he’s a very overrated recruiter especially these days. Nike, NIL cash, TV money, and prestige make it impossible for UK not to recruit well. He cannot recruit with Duke these days at all, it’s nearly gotten to the point where we don’t even try to recruit against them. That’s not great recruiting in my book.

Kentucky has never had a coach get his ass handed to him recruiting against Duke like he has. He’s overrated sorry.

 

[CincyUKFan]

Based on the prediction thread, I don’t think too many are surprised. Lots of people picked KU.

 

[Woodsmoke]

Based on the prediction thread, I don’t think too many are surprised. Lots of people picked KU.

It was a rhetorical question.

 

[JHannibalSmith]

Before the game, in another thread, I said that I could live with a close loss, being without 3 7-footers, against the #1 team in the country, that is led by a dominant post player. But, I was wrong. The way the game played out, particularly blowing a 14 point lead, really pissed me off. I’ll give Calipari credit for the first 30 minutes or so. We had great ball movement & shot it very well in building the lead. We were solid, defensively, & held our own on the boards, too.

But, to then watch the lead evaporate so quickly as Wagner & Edwards chucked brick after brick was infuriating. Almost as infuriating as seeing Dillingham get yanked in the midst of an unbelievably hot streak with something like four made 3s & an assist in 5 straight possessions. Calipari also seemed to forget about Sheppard for long stretches, as well, who was also hot & playing very well on both ends.

Just like Tubby, Calipari has always had a habit of benching guys while they were on fire. And, he’s also had another bad habit of giving far too much rope to players who were OBVIOUSLY having an off night &, unsuccessfully, trying to shoot their way out of it, possession after possession, at the expense of the team. Last night’s episode with Wagner & Edwards had serious Brandon Boston vibes, IMO.

Shit like that is what really makes me question his intentions. Was it more important for his two most hyped prospects to salvage their games in front of scouts than it was for the team to win the game behind two other guys who were hot & playing extremely well? It’s a damn shame that question has to even be asked. Watching him blow late game leads & repeatedly lose to any team with a pulse is really old, too.

I thought we were at a significant disadvantage going into the game last night & I probably wouldn’t have been too upset with the loss if things had played out differently. But, instead of feeling optimistic after giving KU all they wanted, while playing short-handed, I’m still left doubting that he can close out any good team or big game, OR, if winning is even his top priority.

I’m so sick of losing, seemingly, every big game we play. Especially, when it’s bc certain players shoot us out of leads while guys who were obviously playing better, watched from the bench. You’d think it was a sin to go with the hot hand & sit your favorites when they don’t have it. Promises, promises.

 

[WildcatforLife1965]

Nothing surprises me much anymore. Even up 14 I figured he would coach his way to a loss. Some nights certain guys don’t have it. Why play a dude in a spotlight game that couldn’t make a shot if his life depended on it? Does he think by leaving a bricklayer out there the whole game makes the kids stock go up? 1-12 and the one make was a layup. I’m sure most of the crowd, Kansas fans included were wondering wtf is this guy doing?

 

[Runnin'Ramel]

Find me one person who is actually surprised. This board and X are a collection of people who are sick and tired of it, because it's the same pattern every loss.

I sent a group text when UK got up 14: "16 minutes to go, let's see how Cal blows this one." It was a tie game with over 10:00 to play.

Disgusting but equally predictable.

 

[Rockfly78]

Literally no one is surprised we lost the game.

 

[blackcat714]

I always expect a loss in big games with Cal coaching

 

[cats2010]

Find me one person who is actually surprised. This board and X are a collection of people who are sick and tired of it, because it's the same pattern every loss.

I sent a group text when UK got up 14: "16 minutes to go, let's see how Cal blows this one." It was a tie game with over 10:00 to play.

Disgusting but equally predictable.

That was a horrid stretch of play and toward the end of that stretch our players were gassed. Of course.cal being the tactician he is called zero timeouts during that stretch to help us regroup. 14 point lead gone from 16:23 to play to 11:53, not even 5 minutes of action and not a single thing cal did to try and stop it. In fairness I Guess he would have to know how too to even try,

 

[Gus Polinski]

I'm not. CCC has made a career of losing the close ones. I actually expect it now.

 

[Lazlo7]

Hope springs eternal
But reality is time tested

Step 1: Enter season highly ranked with Final 4 and National Championship aspirations (CHECK)
Step 2: Lose first highly ranked matchup of the season (Usually Duke, Michigan State, this season Gonzaga) and potentially get upset by a non-ranked team (YOU ARE HERE)
Step 3: Continue to play lifeless basketball through November and early December
Step 4: Beat highly ranked opponent in December/January, team is starting to look decent
Step 5: Win some tough games against ranked SEC teams (rarely are the wins against Tennessee), lose some away SEC games to terrible teams, but overall team is looking decent to good for March
Step 6: Enter March Madness with legitimate Final 4 hopes
Step 7: Lose to a lower ranked seed in a game where the offense looks terrible
Step 8: Lose at least half the team to the NBA
Step 9: Repeat!

 

[CincyUKFan]

Before the game, in another thread, I said that I could live with a close loss, being without 3 7-footers, against the #1 team in the country, that is led by a dominant post player. But, I was wrong. The way the game played out, particularly blowing a 14 point lead, really pissed me off. I’ll give Calipari credit for the first 30 minutes or so. We had great ball movement & shot it very well in building the lead. We were solid, defensively, & held our own on the boards, too.

But, to then watch the lead evaporate so quickly as Wagner & Edwards chucked brick after brick was infuriating. Almost as infuriating as seeing Dillingham get yanked in the midst of an unbelievably hot streak with something like four made 3s & an assist in 5 straight possessions. Calipari also seemed to forget about Sheppard for long stretches, as well, who was also hot & playing very well on both ends.

Just like Tubby, Calipari has always had a habit of benching guys while they were on fire. And, he’s also had another bad habit of giving far too much rope to players who were OBVIOUSLY having an off night &, unsuccessfully, trying to shoot their way out of it, possession after possession, at the expense of the team. Last night’s episode with Wagner & Edwards had serious Brandon Boston vibes, IMO.

Shit like that is what really makes me question his intentions. Was it more important for his two most hyped prospects to salvage their games in front of scouts than it was for the team to win the game behind two other guys who were hot & playing extremely well? It’s a damn shame that question has to even be asked. Watching him blow late game leads & repeatedly lose to any team with a pulse is really old, too.

I thought we were at a significant disadvantage going into the game last night & I probably wouldn’t have been too upset with the loss if things had played out differently. But, instead of feeling optimistic after giving KU all they wanted, while playing short-handed, I’m still left doubting that he can close out any good team or big game, OR, if winning is even his top priority.

I’m so sick of losing, seemingly, every big game we play. Especially, when it’s bc certain players shoot us out of leads while guys who were obviously playing better, watched from the bench. You’d think it was a sin to go with the hot hand & sit your favorites when they don’t have it. Promises, promises.

This is an excellent post.

One of the best on the board at the moment.

 

[BGCATFAN2012]

The only thing I'm surprised at is me not putting my paycheck on Kansas knowing Cal can't win a big game if it was rigged.

 

[Bluesbrother]

When he was at Memphis, he was ahead 9 points in the NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP game with 2:12 remaining in the game and LOST!!!! The most important game in his career and he wasn’t good enough to close it out. Same thing with the John Wall team and the 38-1 team. He’s a terrible basketball x’s and o’s coach. Bottom frickin’ line. Great recruiter though!!!

Maybe that's why he claims that winning isn't the highest goal but changing generational poverty. He can't coach.

 

[Soupbean]

There is no question the odds just arent very good betting on Cal in a close game outcome anymore. The problem is he lets them coach themselves through those situations a lot and is just watching like we are and hoping alot of the time. In his post game comments last night he said "We have to learn how to handle these situations better". Who's We? Does that include him, or is he just hoping the guys learn what to do and how to do it better next time?

I know he knows basketball I just once the game starts he would take off his motivator, mentor, therapist hat and put on his strategist hat just for at least 20 of the 40 minutes.

The end of the half was a perfect example. He said Rob got caught in a bad situation and made a lazy pass. Why in the world were we trying to run anything with 15 seconds left. Any other coach would have had his guard 35 feet away holding that thing to make sure we didnt leave any time left on our shot.

 

[Cats192]

Everyone was predicting we were going to lose. Nationally we weren't being picked by anyone. On this board, most people had us losing. KSR writers pretty much all picked Kansas to win.

Not sure anyone should feel surprised we lost when almost no one said they thought we would win.

 

[bookerfan66]

Everyone was predicting we were going to lose. Nationally we weren't being picked by anyone. On this board, most people had us losing. KSR writers pretty much all picked Kansas to win.

Not sure anyone should feel surprised we lost when almost no one said they thought we would win.

That's kind of the problem.In big games anymore you can never pick UK.

 

[Cats192]

That's kind of the problem.In big games anymore you can never pick UK.

We've had 3 bad really disappointing years. And I think people are feeling this is just more of the same. But it really wasn't.

We had a completely different brand of basketball. You could watch the game and see the basketball being played was light years ahead of the last 3 years.

I think we'll be picked a lot in big games as the season goes on. I think this is an elite 8 team that will be in a rock fight for the Final 4.

But, 3rd game of the season with a freshman heavy team, missing 3 7 footers vs #1 and the best big man in the country--it's a recipe to lose. Regardless of what happened the last 3 years.

I'm going to wait until we play Miami and UNC to be all doom and gloom. You're welcome to start now.

 

[JFCats22]

Who is surpised he’s losing? It’s all he does.

Cal has admitted winning isn’t the priority. His own AD had to come to out and correct
his statements because of the blow back concerning the statement.

Calipari’s players have said straight faced he doesn’t give a shit about winning.

Oh right now? He’s starting to care a little more because he’s gonna end up fired and lose his entire legacy, or what’s left of it. But I’ll tell ya this, if he can’t do it, if he can’t win decently again, he’ll drag this place down on his way out. I’ve said it for years and nothing has changed. He will damage this institution if we don’t have a smart and quick exit strategy. And I fully believe the program gatekeepers are fully aware of it.

Can you share a quote or a source where Cal has said he doesn't care about winning or that it's not a priority?

 

[Wonky]

We've had 3 bad really disappointing years. And I think people are feeling this is just more of the same. But it really wasn't.

The talent isn’t more of the same… it has been upgraded. Unfortunately the coaching is still the same. Opposing coaches don’t even have to outcoach Cal, he outcoaches himself. That is to say, he overthinks everything. And has going back to Memphis. A monkey could coach the talent Cal has had, and a blind person could tell what players need to be on the floor.

 

[Cats192]

The talent isn’t more of the same… it has been upgraded. Unfortunately the coaching is still the same. Opposing coaches don’t even have to outcoach Cal, he outcoaches himself. That is to say, he overthinks everything. And has going back to Memphis. A monkey could coach the talent Cal has had, and a blind person could tell what players need to be on the floor.

I really don't think the coaching is the same. I think last night was very different from the past 3 years.

2020 was a disaster. We couldn't dribble or pass.
The last 2 years--we wanted to do dribble drive with all of the weaves and pound it in to Oscar--who was always camped out in the paint.

We were doing a good job with ball movement for the majority of the game. We took 38 3's--the most ever under Calipari.

We've put the big man outside the paint and opened up driving lanes for the guards.

 

[Woodsmoke]

Everyone was predicting we were going to lose. Nationally we weren't being picked by anyone. On this board, most people had us losing. KSR writers pretty much all picked Kansas to win.

Not sure anyone should feel surprised we lost when almost no one said they thought we would win.

ok

 

[Cats192]

ok

Do you disagree? Did you feel the majority of people were picking Kentucky to win?

 

[PensacolaBlue]

Shut up Louisville troll, im ready for u6 to win 10 games so you will go back

I wish posters like this would get banned. They don’t like something somebody says and immediately accuses them of not being a true fan. It gets really old around here. I’m assuming most are 11-13 year olds.

 

[Wonky]

Everyone was predicting we were going to lose. Nationally we weren't being picked by anyone. On this board, most people had us losing. KSR writers pretty much all picked Kansas to win.

Not sure anyone should feel surprised we lost when almost no one said they thought we would win.

Maybe because once the game got going it was plain as day we had the talent to eat KU’s lunch?

 

[Woodsmoke]

Do you disagree? Did you feel the majority of people were picking Kentucky to win?

Are you not smart enough to understand what a rhetorical question is?

 

[Woodsmoke]

Can you share a quote or a source where Cal has said he doesn't care about winning or that it's not a priority?

Is this what you’re looking for?

 

[CatsFanIL]

When he was at Memphis, he was ahead 9 points in the NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP game with 2:12 remaining in the game and LOST!!!! The most important game in his career and he wasn’t good enough to close it out. Same thing with the John Wall team and the 38-1 team. He’s a terrible basketball x’s and o’s coach. Bottom frickin’ line. Great recruiter though!!!

By your post, I'm sure this is a lost cause, but I'll go ahead and attempt to use some rational thinking...
2012 UK won the national championsip - nothing to do with Cal?
In 2011, UK knocked off both the 1-seed and 2-seed in the NCAAT to get to the Final Four. Nothing to do with Cal?
In 2014 Cal took an 8-seeded team to the NCAA championship...
2015 38-1 final record, Final 4 appearance, just no way to be upset with it. WCS got hurt, refs had some bad calls vs Wisconsin - is what it is. PHENOMENAL season
2017, Kentucky as a 2-seed loses a heartbreaking buzzer-beater to 1-seed UNC - great season
2020 season was robbed from UK due to COVID. This team was absolutely poised to make a serious run in the NCAAT
Last couple years have been bad, no way around it. I wish TyTy didn't get hurt, wish Shaedon Sharpe would've played
I wish we would've beat KST, but again, that wasn't an upset by the numbers, 3-seed bs 6-seed

So go on attributing all the failures to Cal, but none of the success to Cal? How do you not noticed the glaring flaw in that attribution?

 

[Dontworryboutit23]

This tweet is a perfect summary of Kentucky since 2020, they played good for a chunk of the game but couldn’t close out. Cal the last 8 mins are the most important

 

[CatsFanIL]

Is this what you’re looking for?

Ahhhh yes, a cherry-picker who doesn't care about context and somehow thinks he's the smartest guy in the room and no one else is going to notice his nonsense....

Same article, when talking about the hard-work, focus, tough practices, high expecations, etc that Cal puts in place for his players and teams...."you’re automatically going to win 30 games a year just from that alone. That’s what I loved"

Sure sounds like they had a goal of winning 30 games. I guess he cares about winning after all

 

[CatsFanIL]

The talent isn’t more of the same… it has been upgraded. Unfortunately the coaching is still the same. Opposing coaches don’t even have to outcoach Cal, he outcoaches himself. That is to say, he overthinks everything. And has going back to Memphis. A monkey could coach the talent Cal has had, and a blind person could tell what players need to be on the floor.

Let's see those examples of "Cal outches himself"
Let's see those examples of "he overthinks everything"
Or, I guess, we can just hurl unfounded and unintelligent nonsense at the walls

National title
Final 4s
8-seed to the championship game
Pulled off major upsets

But alas. A monkey or a blind person could do a better job. Tell me you don't know what you're talking about without telling me you don't know what you're talking about

 

[CatPhight]

 

[Blueworld_3.0]

One definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again, expecting a different result.
Whatever mojo Calipari had until Wisky in 2015 is gone and apparently isn't coming back. He has proven time and time again he cannot beat other elite programs. Kansas, Dook, Mich State and UNCheat (for the most part). A 44% winning percentage since 2015 against ranked opponents tells you all you need to know. Everyone has an opinion but, facts do not lie.

 

[Woodsmoke]

By your post, I'm sure this is a lost cause, but I'll go ahead and attempt to use some rational thinking...
2012 UK won the national championsip - nothing to do with Cal?
In 2011, UK knocked off both the 1-seed and 2-seed in the NCAAT to get to the Final Four. Nothing to do with Cal?
In 2014 Cal took an 8-seeded team to the NCAA championship...
2015 38-1 final record, Final 4 appearance, just no way to be upset with it. WCS got hurt, refs had some bad calls vs Wisconsin - is what it is. PHENOMENAL season
2017, Kentucky as a 2-seed loses a heartbreaking buzzer-beater to 1-seed UNC - great season
2020 season was robbed from UK due to COVID. This team was absolutely poised to make a serious run in the NCAAT
Last couple years have been bad, no way around it. I wish TyTy didn't get hurt, wish Shaedon Sharpe would've played
I wish we would've beat KST, but again, that wasn't an upset by the numbers, 3-seed bs 6-seed

So go on attributing all the failures to Cal, but none of the success to Cal? How do you not noticed the glaring flaw in that

By your post, I'm sure this is a lost cause, but I'll go ahead and attempt to use some rational thinking...
2012 UK won the national championsip - nothing to do with Cal?
In 2011, UK knocked off both the 1-seed and 2-seed in the NCAAT to get to the Final Four. Nothing to do with Cal?
In 2014 Cal took an 8-seeded team to the NCAA championship...
2015 38-1 final record, Final 4 appearance, just no way to be upset with it. WCS got hurt, refs had some bad calls vs Wisconsin - is what it is. PHENOMENAL season
2017, Kentucky as a 2-seed loses a heartbreaking buzzer-beater to 1-seed UNC - great season
2020 season was robbed from UK due to COVID. This team was absolutely poised to make a serious run in the NCAAT
Last couple years have been bad, no way around it. I wish TyTy didn't get hurt, wish Shaedon Sharpe would've played
I wish we would've beat KST, but again, that wasn't an upset by the numbers, 3-seed bs 6-seed

So go on attributing all the failures to Cal, but none of the success to Cal? How do you not noticed the glaring flaw in that attribution?

•Since 2015 Kentucky is 26-35 against ranked teams
•Kentucky has 1 NCAAAT win in the last 4 years.

Players come and go. The common denominator is The Head Coach. The problem is fans like you that accept moral victories. Losers.

 

[CatsFanIL]

•Since 2015 Kentucky is 26-35 against ranked teams
•Kentucky has 1 NCAAAT win in the last 4 years.

Players come and go. The common denominator is The Head Coach. The problem is fans like you that accept moral victories. Losers.

Sooooo, you addressed nothing I said. Which, pretty clear now - you're not interested in facts or actually debating relevant info. But like I originally said, I could tell you weren't one for intelligent debates

So last year 1 win
Year before upset by St Peters
Year before didn't qualify, weird COVID year
Year before was no tourney, but we were poised for a deep run. Either way, doesn't count since there was no tournament - so don't be the dumb*** that tries to use it against Cal
Year before, 3 tournament wins

So if you're going to try to prove a point, at least TRY. Last 4 tournament-eligible years, 4 total wins, not 1.

 

[BlueWhite21]

One definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again, expecting a different result.
Whatever mojo Calipari had until Wisky in 2015 is gone and apparently isn't coming back. He has proven time and time again he cannot beat other elite programs. Kansas, Dook, Mich State and UNCheat (for the most part). A 44% winning percentage since 2015 against ranked opponents tells you all you need to know. Everyone has an opinion but, facts do not lie.

Im tired of Cal myself but just 2 yrs ago he did beat both Kansas and UNC. It does seem like he finds a way to blow alot of big games.

 

[Woodsmoke]

Sooooo, you addressed nothing I said. Which, pretty clear now - you're not interested in facts or actually debating relevant info. But like I originally said, I could tell you weren't one for intelligent debates

So last year 1 win
Year before upset by St Peters
Year before didn't qualify, weird COVID year
Year before was no tourney, but we were poised for a deep run. Either way, doesn't count since there was no tournament - so don't be the dumb*** that tries to use it against Cal
Year before, 3 tournament wins

So if you're going to try to prove a point, at least TRY. Last 4 tournament-eligible years, 4 total wins, not 1.

All I’m seeing from you is hypotheticals. Coulda, woulda, shoulda. I choose to live my life in reality. And unfortunately for UK fans, we’re not the Gold Standard of College Basketball any longer. What part of constantly losing basketball games against ranked teams is so hard to understand? Loser.