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.
