John Calipari couldn't find any answers against South Carolina. (Vicky Graff Photo)
Kentucky has had two difficult SEC road games and lost them both to Texas A&M and South Carolina. The same thing happened in close losses to Kansas and UNC-Wilmington.
What does Kentucky need to do better to win a grind it type of game?
“You’ve got to play together. If you’re not playing together, you’re not winning this kind of game,” UK coach John Calipari said after Tuesday night’s 79-62 loss at South Carolina. “ If you break off and are undisciplined about what you’re doing, you can’t win this kind of game.
“If we’re trying to do certain things, I’ll just give an example: We were going to foul 30 or 33 from 4 minutes on. They threw 30 the ball, and my man didn’t foul him. I’m like ‘Are you not even in the…?’
“So what that tells you is, they’re shell shocked to where they can’t even hear. And that’ll happen to a young team. But it’s a great lesson. You know, we got pounded. You go home. Get ready for the next one.”
Sounds simple but it might not be because lessons are not always learned quickly by young players.
Calipari said South Carolina knew what it took to win. The Gamecocks had 20 assists on 29 field goals. Kentucky had seven assists on 25 field goals.
“They threw it to the open man, they drove the ball and found him,” Calipari said about South Carolina. “When we tried to do some aggressive stuff, to pick up the pace of the game, they threw it to the middle and that guy found somebody.
“They’re a veteran team. They can play. They can pass to each other. We knew a couple guys, (Jacobi) Wright really hurt us… We knew he could shoot, but when you go what he was doing, 4-for-7 (from 3), I don’t know what he is for the year, but that’s 55 percent from the 3. And he got three of those in the first half. Maybe four.”
Calipari credited second-year South Carolina coach Lamont Paris for having players who have bought into his system.
“They’re all doing what they are supposed to do for this team. He’s doing a heck of a job. He really is. It’s a veteran kind of team. And he’s getting them to play the way they have to play,” Calipari said.
“They’re the best defensive team in our league, and that’s saying something because this is a (league) with about 10 teams where their whole thing is ‘We’re going to be a great defensive team that can score.’”
17 Responses
Well, this UK team is not a great defensive team.
This team’s defensive efficiency is the highest (worst) of any UK team since at least 1997. And, the sadder aspect of this issue is that this UK team’s defensive efficiency continues to rise as the season wears on.
Talk about needing to "grind out" things, well, it isn’t just grinding out games, but grinding out this season.
As in the past, this fraud refuses to play his best players in deference for his pet NBA projects.
This season is now about 2/3 done, and I continue to read the plea for Edwards to have a break out game, but that doesn’t seem to be in the books, yet he starts. We are now about 2/3 done with this season, and Wagner continues to consume a disproportionately high part of the team’s offensive possessons, albiet with anemic individual efficiency, yet he still starts.
Reed Sheppard is in the top 10 nationally for a number of statistical categories including steals and effective field goal percentage, and he is the only freshmen in most of these lists, yet he is not worthy of a starting role according to this fraud.
Calipari is not concerned about this program, he is not concerned about all of his players, he picks his pets, he favors them to the bitter end at the expense of the program and the unfavored players.
Yes, this season will eventually end with a bitter loss, and all the excitement and anticipation of another final four run and potential championship will be excused away by the fraud and all his defenders.
Thanks Professor, I enjoy your prospective
We have All American p"*"":s for players and a Hall of Fame dumb a"* for a coach.
But the real dumb a#" is Barnhart for giving him 9 million a year. I wonder what the South Carolina coach is making? He made Calipari look stupid.
The writers over at CBS gave us their input on Wednesday as David Cobb, Matt Norlander, and Gary Parrish gave us their takes on how they think the Cats will finish, and their seeding heading into the NCAA Tourney. Several of the CBS crew are projecting the UK to finish with four MORE conference losses.
We already have 4 losses. 4 more will make 8, then a loss in the SEC tourney and another in the NCAA will make for 10 losses. Another double digit loss season under Calipari. That is the standard that Calipari has set for our once proud and respected program. Now we are just "also rans" who are never mentioned as title contenders. We ran Tubby out of town for being 10 Loss Tubby and he won a national title too. Why hasn’t the same standard been applied to Calipari? I don’t remember Tubby ever having a "single" total win season, but Calipari does. We axed Billy Clyde for that, but not Calipari?
It’s painfully obvious that we need a new mens basketball coach, but it will take having a new athletic director for that to happen. It’s time for Caliputo to clean house.
Everybody does more with less than Cal and probably won’t change under his employment here. Most overpaid coach that does a good job insuring at least 10 loss seasons.
Professor….IYO what do our coaches do during the week in practice? Certainly they should feel empowered to give input to the dictator about the deficiencies on defense, protecting the rim, getting and staying in front of your man, handling at least a high school equivalent inbounds pass on both defense. Cal is quick to say that this is all fixable and nothing ever changes. This has been going on for years and the whole world sees it and comments on it weekly. The man gets great grades for recruiting but continues to come up short on coaching 101.
This fraud is only concerned with one thing, perpetuating the UK pipeline for certain select primadonnas to the NBA.
I am so tired of hearing things like, "He has a high ceiling, his best basketball is ahead of him" or "it does not matter who starts" or "We are so young" and the litany of excuses that flows from this fraud and his defenders before, during, and after every season.
Yes, these primadonnas have high ceilings, and their best basketball is ahead of them, AFTER THEY LEAVE THEIR YEAR OF BASKETBALL PURGATORY AT UK AND MOVE ON TO THE NBA.
No, it DOES MATTER WHO STARTS. STARTING IS HOW TO RECOGNIZE GREAT PLAY AND REWARD IT. This fraud’s priorities conflict with this characteristic of great coaching, and he plays his FUTURE NBA PETS.
Yes, UK is always "SO YOUNG" but that is the choice that this coach makes, not a necessity.
EXCUSES ARE FOR LOSERS.
Excuses are for Failures That was on my dressing room walls
😊
Claude for UK Head Coach!!!
I think there taking too much pride on there offense side and don’t want to play defense.
Bless your heart Cats 79. Your the only Cal lover that has the hair on his a"" to get on here. I respect you and I know you’re a real fan like the rest of us on here! Love you brother!
I have no problem you guys go on a rant, but apparently you guys need to watch the game again. There were too much one and one going on only Mitchell and Reeves played there game. Sheppard played his worst game as a cat and so others. South Carolina has a lot of what we couldn’t do they played defense like no team has done to us this season.
UK now has an athletics program with the highest job security in the country for all of its major sports, and for the coaches, it doesn’t take anything more than settling for less, or mediocrity at best, to have it and keep it, while they make millions upon millions with no accountability or expectations/incentives to improve because they are all then rewarded with more extensions/raises/bonuses. Ive never seen anything like it anywhere. It’s the exact same situations with men’s bball, women’s bball, football, baseball……UK is now a volleyball, soccer, and track & field/rifle school. Barry is right in that CAP should clean house, but he needs to go along with all the rest of them, because in the end, he’s the one ultimately responsible for this domino effect. None of this crew has any accountability–Barnhart has complete reign and control over all the coaches because the president could care less about athletics and Barnhart can stay forever if he so chooses–the president has his mind on the academics and the woke politics of the school, and making sure they don’t lose any ground on the policies, agendas, and social advancements theyre trying to make there. It’s politics over people, guys–unfortunately–and its also politics over sports now period in this new day and age–the two have finally become one and the same–when once upon a time, sports was one of the hobbies, one of your outlets and escapes from politics and from all the othrr BS going on in the world–now every system and institution in this country has changed so much, sports now instead REMINDS u of all of that crap. Sports has become a part of that whole circus show because the universities have sold their souls to the woke cancel culture ideology–and that’s the priority now–and who is the biggest loser in all of this? The FANS. the very people who spend their money and time and energy to keep this farce going. Now even the players can benefit from the fans’ pockets. Idk Abt anybody else but it’s a grind out here just to survive these days for the common working citizen, and I know that I, nor do I know anyone else who can afford to contribute to any NIL causes–i couldnt even afford tickets to a GAME right now, much less contributing to players’ salaries. There’s only one way to clean that house Barry mentioned: the fans just cease keeping it going with their funding. Shut it all down, and then u shut all of them down. Its a real miracle that CAL and the bball program even survived the fiasco of 2021 and the kneeling incident with this state and this fanbase to the degree that he has, when he made a point to show the fans publicly that he chooses politics over people. But he knew he could do it and walk away from it without any repercussions because he knows he’s UNTOUCHABLE…….UNTOUCHABLE CAL. that’s his moniker. If the shoe fits………but it shows still the power of the UK bball tradition and history that as many fans are still into it as they are, and still supporting the program and attending games as they are with him still around. It speaks to BBN and their dedication and loyalty, which will never die, and is truly what drives the UK bball legacy and tradition–BBN was here from the beginning and will be here to the END–and it’s ironic that its the tradition and legacy that are the very things that have been sacrificed and exorcised from the program these past 3 yrs in favor of a WOKE BROKE BBALL PROGRAM AND COACH!!!!
Wow. Let me know if I can vote for you
Anytime Claude! 😄 Apologies for my lengthiness–but you’ve got my vote as well! Thanks for the stories u have shared on this site–I just read the one about the way CAL said he used to pass the ball–i had never heard that before, but to me, that story just captures everything that is CAL and everything that he is about in a nutshell. And its the unapologetic arrogance too–not a damn bit afraid to show it or let u know it–nope, I’m not only gonna give it to u, but YOU GOTTA DEAL WITH IT!!! he has that attitude in every one of his press conferences. I can’t even stand the sound of his voice anymore, much less all the constant smoke and BS he blows up people’s rears night in and night out. Don’t get me wrong, I have definitely enjoyed watching this team, they have been a refreshing change from the last 3 yrs for sure, but going back even further than that! But I knew back in early DEC that the defense was a problem for this group, and that if they didn’t get that together, it eventually at some point wasn’t going to matter if u avg 90 pts a game–you’re going to meet up with other good coaches who are going to expose your weaknesses–a la UNC WILM putting up 80, and TX A&M scoring 97. St Joe’s almost had 90 on us too, and to be honest with u, (I know nobody cared), but it actually pi$$ed me off that LOU put up damn near 80 on us as well, considering how lousy they are, and they can’t score on anybody! I looked thru all their scores on their season so far, and their point total against us was in the top 2 or 3 they had scored against all the teams they had played this year! The one common demoniator and biggest determining factor with every KY team on how far they go in the tournament, and the success they have for their season, is the man roaming their sidelines–CAL could have the 1992 Olympic Dream Team at his disposal and find a way to come up short with them, or come up against some opposing coach who would devise some kind of scheme or expose some type of lurking weakness within the team and CAL’s system with them that he wouldn’t be capable of adjusting to, and down would go THE GREATEST TEAM EVER ASSEMBLED!!!!!
Comments are closed.