Will Cal run a quicker offense next year?

[GOING FOR #9]

I feel like he is in tune with the nba guys wishes and they have overwhelmingly been critical of college basketball and the slow it down style. I wouldn't be surprised if he abandoned the slow ball in favor of an up and down tempo early on and tweak the defense as the season plays out. A quicker pace team I believe will also put us back on top of the recruiting world.

 

[UKEE]

Fast paste....indeed!

 

[Desperado_1955]

He will have the personnel for a faster game, that's for sure.

 

[5iveStarRecruit]

Not expecting it from Cal.

If he was in tune with the NBA wishes, he wouldn't have played 3 bigs at the same time and demanding post-ups to be ran 24/7.


We should def. be an uptempo team, i'm just not expecting a team to be ranking high in pace of play.

 

[BlueRunner11]

This team is built for it. Has the shot clock ruling been made official yet? That should speed things up as well.

 

[Smashcat]

This team is built for it. Has the shot clock ruling been made official yet? That should speed things up as well.

Absolutely, this team wants to run.

 

[Aike]

I expect our tempo to be closer to top 100 next year. More like Cal's last few Memphis teams and first UK team.

 

[mj2k10]

Hope so. This is one area where I think Cal deserves some criticism. When his teams run, they almost always look great. When they get stuck in a halfcourt game, they often don't. This has been true since he's been at UK, and yet Cal often seems to get more and more conservative as the season goes on, and then finds himself on the losing end of a rockfight game in the FF.

To be fair, maybe UK wouldn't have been in those FF's without the ability to gut out tough, halfcourt battles, but the next time UK loses a tournament game, I'd much prefer a loss where UK scores in the 70's than one where they're in the 50's or low 60's.

 

[UKWildcats#8]

The other teams constantly slow the game down against UK...so if you jack up a bunch of quick shots, you better be hitting good or could be trouble against an opponent that is methodical and hitting. UK can run all it wants on offense, but the other team is still going to use most of the 30 second clock like they did 35. It is their only chance.

I do enjoy seeing UK run when they can though, and think it is fun to watch and effective. UK averaged 75 points last year, it is not like they were some plow team like UVA.

 

[mj2k10]

The other teams constantly slow the game down against UK...so if you jack up a bunch of quick shots, you better be hitting good or could be trouble against an opponent that is methodical and hitting. UK can run all it wants on offense, but the other team is still going to use most of the 30 second clock like they did 35. It is their only chance.

I do enjoy seeing UK run when they can though, and think it is fun to watch and effective. UK averaged 75 points last year, it is not like they were some plow team like UVA.

UK finished 251 in tempo last season. That just can't all be on the opposition.

You're right that a LOT of teams that UK plays try to slow the game to a crawl, but I'm sorry, part of that is because Cal lets them do it. And I think it comes back and bites him. Cal does not like a jump shooting offense, but it's just too easy for good defenses to defend an offense built around dribble penetration when those defenses are allowed to get set in the halfcourt. Nothing wrong with playing a style like that, but if you do, things are a lot easier if you're playing it against defenses that are scrambling to get into position.

 

[bucsrule8872]

Cal plays whatever style best fit his current lineup. The last two years he had a dominant post player and featured them in the offense.

Next season, we will likely see this team try to push tempo and then run the DDMO in the halfcourt, especially if we add Murray.

 

[Aike]

UK finished 251 in tempo last season. That just can't all be on the opposition.

You're right that a LOT of teams that UK plays try to slow the game to a crawl, but I'm sorry, part of that is because Cal let's them do it. And I think it comes back and bites him. Cal does not like a jump shooting offense, but it's just too easy for good defenses to defend an offense built around dribble penetration when those defenses are allowed to get set in the halfcourt. Nothing wrong with playing a style like that, but if you do, things are a lot easier if you're playing it against defenses that are scrambling to get into position.

We were 65th in tempo in 2010. We also started 2 pgs...just like we will next year. I'll be surprised if we don't speed up quite a bit.

 

[bigbluedon]

Cal is pretty stubborn. MJ2k10pretty much nailed it. Cal does tighten up as the season wears on and gets very anal and conservative..I will be shocked if there are any changes.. Our half court offense is horrid to watch. We struggle a lot to get good shots off, and get many of them late in the shot clock..time wil tell.

 

[5iveStarRecruit]

Cal plays whatever style best fit his current lineup. The last two years he had a dominant post player and featured them in the offense.

Next season, we will likely see this team try to push tempo and then run the DDMO in the halfcourt, especially if we add Murray.

Thats just not correct.

KAT had a rep for being an elite outside shooter, yet Cal insisted on him remaining on the block and not attempting jump shots. Cal just removed all versatility out of his game.

Skal is coming in with a similar rep, and i hope Cal allows his outside game to shine.

 

[Federal Cat]

I hope he let's em run and gun next year if their capable of doing it, get your cardio in boys and lace em up tight

 

[EliteBlue]

Thats just not correct.

KAT had a rep for being an elite outside shooter, yet Cal insisted on him remaining on the block and not attempting jump shots. Cal just removed all versatility out of his game.

Skal is coming in with a similar rep, and i hope Cal allows his outside game to shine.

Davis was the same way and he was essentially limited to the post as well until the last month when he stretched to the free throw line. Cal likes to force those guys to develop their post games for the next level.

 

[CatCop]

This team is built for it. Has the shot clock ruling been made official yet? That should speed things up as well.

We were made for a Zone defense and didn't play that all year to any good effect. Cal is not that great of a coach who can eschew his own personal wishes and styles for the betterment of the game.

 

[BlueRunner11]

We were made for a Zone defense and didn't play that all year to any good effect. Cal is not that great of a coach who can eschew his own personal wishes and styles for the betterment of the game.

Betterment of the game? Cal definitely has his tendencies but its hard to argue for playing zone when the team boasted a nation leading and record setting year with a 0.821 def efficiency by playing man. For the life of me, I don't understand so many fan's obsessions with always wanting Cal to play zone.

 

[5iveStarRecruit]

Davis was the same way and he was essentially limited to the post as well until the last month when he stretched to the free throw line. Cal likes to force those guys to develop their post games for the next level.

You can develop a post game while also stretching the defense.

Frank Kaminsky is a great example of that. He had a healthy balance post-ups + also providing adequate floor spacing.

 

[mj2k10]

You can develop a post game while also stretching the defense.

Frank Kaminsky is a great example of that. He had a healthy balance post-ups + also providing adequate floor spacing.

Kaminsky played 4 years. Cal gets guys like Towns and Davis for one.

I don't blame Cal for forcing his big guys to play in the lane. I think he helped AD immensely, because AD easily could have become another pseudo-small forward like a bunch of top recruits who went to Baylor (Perry Jones, Quincy Miller, and Isaiah Austin), as opposed to the monster he's become. And I think you'll see a payoff with Towns, who probably will flash a lot of his perimeter skills in the NBA, but will now combine them with far more ability to score in the lane than what he showed in HS.

But there is a fine line between getting guys to play like that and hamstringing the halfcourt offense because you only have 2-3 players on the floor willing to shoot from more than 5 feet out.

 

[5iveStarRecruit]

Kaminsky played 4 years. Cal gets guys like Towns and Davis for one.

I don't blame Cal for forcing his big guys to play in the lane. I think he helped AD immensely, because AD easily could have become another pseudo-small forward like a bunch of top recruits who went to Baylor (Perry Jones, Quincy Miller, and Isaiah Austin), as opposed to the monster he's become. And I think you'll see a payoff with Towns, who probably will flash a lot of his perimeter skills in the NBA, but will now combine them with far more ability to score in the lane than what he showed in HS.

But there is a fine line between getting guys to play like that and hamstringing the halfcourt offense because you only have 2-3 players on the floor willing to shoot from more than 5 feet out.

Yeah, this is where i was getting at. Cal deserves credit for KAT's development in the post as the season progressed. I just wished he encouraged and even ran some plays to get Karl some open looks off the PnR and even some 3-point shoots.

Zipping the versatility out of your players game should never be done by a coach.

 

[michaeluk26]

One of my 2 criticisms of Cals coaching, which was way to much on display this year, was allowing the other team to dictate pace especially in the tournament. With our depth and athleticism we should have forced other teams to play our faster and more aggressive style like the 2012 team did. That team was absolutely lethal in transition. We actually forced the issue and played the way we should have while platooning but like others have pointed out, as the year went on and we went away from platooning we went away from our biggest strengths and allowed the other guys to set the walk it up the court pace.

I've seen Cal constantly say you have to win tournament games by grinding them out and while that is sometimes true, you can force the issue like we did in the 2012 tourney. We let Notre Dame and Wisconsin play their style and it nearly bit us in one game and did bite us in the other. Towns emerging as the focal point of the offense late in the year won us a lot of games, but it also cost us by making us one dimensional and stagnant in the half court.

 

[michaeluk26]

Yeah, this is where i was getting at. Cal deserves credit for KAT's development in the post as the season progressed. I just wished he encouraged and even ran some plays to get Karl some open looks off the PnR and even some 3-point shoots.

Zipping the versatility out of your players game should never be done by a coach.

I absolutely agree with this. Why not take advantage of what Towns was known for in high school, his face up game? We should have put him in pick n pop and pick n rolls. It would have also cleared out the always heavily ingested lane for our other post players.

 

[JPScott]

Hope so. This is one area where I think Cal deserves some criticism. When his teams run, they almost always look great. When they get stuck in a halfcourt game, they often don't. This has been true since he's been at UK, and yet Cal often seems to get more and more conservative as the season goes on, and then finds himself on the losing end of a rockfight game in the FF.

To be fair, maybe UK wouldn't have been in those FF's without the ability to gut out tough, halfcourt battles, but the next time UK loses a tournament game, I'd much prefer a loss where UK scores in the 70's than one where they're in the 50's or low 60's.

Agree with all this.

FWIW, even though UK had a lot of big men last year playing together at nearly all times, that team was still built to run (at least when they were playing full platoons) and they were clearly very successful when they did. This because they had a situation where no one should have been getting tired and rarely should there have been foul trouble etc. but more importantly they were able to wear down their opponents relatively quickly.

Given that Cal chose to not only go away from the platoons but in the end not push the pace with a deep team, I'm not sure why some people in this thread assume he will magically decide to start pushing the pace with a thin team this coming season.

 

[JPScott]

Betterment of the game? Cal definitely has his tendencies but its hard to argue for playing zone when the team boasted a nation leading and record setting year with a 0.821 def efficiency by playing man. For the life of me, I don't understand so many fan's obsessions with always wanting Cal to play zone.

I've always been in favor of having multiple defenses in your back pocket, if for no other reason than to be able to throw something at the opponent they might not be ready for. To not at least prepare a second defense and be willing to use it in a game is not reaching a team's full potential IMO.

As far as last season, true they were one of the greatest defensive teams of all time playing primarily man-to-man, but they could have been even better. And there is no doubt in my mind they would have been a great zone team as well. There were certainly times last season when they could have benefitted by playing a good zone.

 

[RR30]

Doubtful. Other than 2010 they haven't been a "fast paste" team.

 

[ThroughBlue]

Thats just not correct.

KAT had a rep for being an elite outside shooter, yet Cal insisted on him remaining on the block and not attempting jump shots. Cal just removed all versatility out of his game.

Skal is coming in with a similar rep, and i hope Cal allows his outside game to shine.

When you're unstoppable in the post why would you shoot jump shots? KAT is going to be the #1 pick because he turned into a banger down low. Come on man

 

[weatherbird]

Some people in this thread really need to realize that there are 2 sides to every story. I agree that in my opinion, when they quit playing where they were taking the first shot available instead of trying to find the perfect shot, that they didn't play as well. However, had they played that way against ND, they probably don't make a final four. Coaches are shaped by their experiences, and between the championship in Memphis that he lost because of a lack of execution down the stretch, combined with the 4-32 against West Virginia when he had possibly the best front court he's ever had has shaped him to strive all season long to be able to eliminate those mistakes down the stretch.

As for zone, I have thought in the past that a zone defense could be good, but that wasn't last year. I see people always cheering for a zone defense, but I think people fail to realize that it is much harder to play a really good zone than it is to play man to man. Now if we are talking YMCA zone, that can be put in 5 minutes before the game, but if we are talking a zone defense capable of stopping college basketball teams, then it takes much more time, and time that Cal probably thinks is better spent doing other things.

 

[Poetax]

I feel like he is in tune with the nba guys wishes and they have overwhelmingly been critical of college basketball and the slow it down style. I wouldn't be surprised if he abandoned the slow ball in favor of an up and down tempo early on and tweak the defense as the season plays out. A quicker pace team I believe will also put us back on top of the recruiting world.

Plus having a team that was bigger then most NBA teams was a reason for that too.

 

[5iveStarRecruit]

When you're unstoppable in the post why would you shoot jump shots? KAT is going to be the #1 pick because he turned into a banger down low. Come on man

Its all about maximizing your players talents. Just imagine how much harder defending Karl would've been if he was a threat to shoot anywhere on the court.

Also, KAT is going to be the #1 pick because of his offensive versatility and rim protection. One of the main criticisms of Okafor's game is how outdated it is.

 

[Aike]

Cal tries to play in a way that minimizes risk in a win or go home tournament format.

Take away the other team's threes.

Rely on post baskets.

Shoot threes primarily on kickouts, to reduce runouts from being out of position.

The Golden State Warriors are the current poster child for the free wheeling, jump shooting style that many prefer. They also get the benefit of a 7 game series.

Cal's way is akin to grinding it out in a poker tournament, playing the odds all the way. You will get to the Final Table more often than most, but you run the risk of getting knocked out by the best bluffer with a big stack.

Cal rarely goes "All in" in the early rounds. His style gets him to Elite Eights, at least. Once he gets there, the games are coin flips.

 

[Rhavicc]

I doubt Ulis will allow that to happen. With so many athletic, fast players, and his ability to find the open man or anticipate where the open man will be, he'll definitely get the ball into the basket quickly one way or another.
When Andrew ran the point last season, it had tendencies to stand around and not make attempts to get open and get to the basket. When he got the ball moving, he was good, but he didn't always keep the ball moving. Ulis always keeps it moving, even if he has to move it himself.

 

[the nail at the foul line]

Our scoring needs to go up. Too many weapons to be at 74 ppg. Go ahead and quote and lol. Most champs are high scoring.

 

[UKvisitor]

I am a big fan of running teams. Really thought UK had the pieces to run all over any team this past year. Really was excited by the platooning when announced but overall in the end, it was disappointing. That was/is not Cal's way from this perception.

This team is not going to run unless Cal says so.

 

[Hoskins91]

Thats just not correct.

KAT had a rep for being an elite outside shooter, yet Cal insisted on him remaining on the block and not attempting jump shots. Cal just removed all versatility out of his game.

Skal is coming in with a similar rep, and i hope Cal allows his outside game to shine.

I think you're overrating his shooting. His percentage on jumpers had to be garbage. Even in the Bahamas where he'd let him take as many as he wanted, he would miss badly.

 

[5iveStarRecruit]

I think you're overrating his shooting. His percentage on jumpers had to be garbage. Even in the Bahamas where he'd let him take as many as he wanted, he would miss badly.

KAT shot 43% on his 2-pt jumpers. Thats good.

- He made over 100 3s in HS.

- Draftexpress recently exposed this stat : He hit 46% of his 3s on 5.5 3PA on the DR U17 team.


So yeah, his rep coming up as a shooter was warranted and he made a good % of his shots outside the paint this season. Cal just never utilized it, basically treating him as if he was Okafor.

 

[KyFaninNC]

Lots of posts in this thread that nails it. Love Cal, but he needs to change a bit, and utilize the athletes he has.

 

[kybassfan]

Most likely he'll run the style that works best against the particular team he's playing. If you are facing a team that is determined to slow down a game by fouling, clogging up the passing lanes, slapping at every thing that moves, denies inlet passes, etc. then you may have little choice. If that defense is successful holding scoring in check, you are going to see it more and more. End result, you're offensive production will be lower, though your ability to win the game may or may not be compromised.

Much more important is defense. If you can control the defensive end of the court, you are in much better position to deal with shenanigans on the offensive end. This is what the 2015 team did so well. Also, if you really want 'fast paste', generate offense from the defense by driving turn overs. Simply watch one of the games from '96 to see this in action.

On the offensive end, what is more important than 'paste' is passing and spacing. To my knowledge, the cats have never had a player that could outrun a pass (though Wall may beg to differ) nor has anyone else. If you make a pass and the defense simply turns its head, you just wasted your time. Make the defense move or shift and then you are getting somewhere. As much as I despise Duke and Kry, I must admit he teaches passing in a very consistent way. His teams use it to make a defense work hard, create space and open driving lanes. Somehow he manages to instill this in his teams years after year. Much more effective than "paste".

Now pardon me while I go vomit after giving rat face a complement.

 

[Vonburns1]

If he won't run with 9 or 10 guys to keep everyone rested, I don't see why he would run with 6 to 8 guys.

 

[Hoskins91]

KAT shot 43% on his 2-pt jumpers. Thats good.

- He made over 100 3s in HS.

- Draftexpress recently exposed this stat : He hit 46% of his 3s on 5.5 3PA on the DR U17 team.


So yeah, his rep coming up as a shooter was warranted and he made a good % of his shots outside the paint this season. Cal just never utilized it, basically treating him as if he was Okafor.

You have a link to all of this, as well as the sample size.