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Kentucky certainly needs to get off to a better start offensively against Florida than it did at South Carolina or Arkansas.
For the first time since coach John Calipari came to UK for the 2009-10 season, Kentucky scored 25 or fewer points in the first halves of consecutive games. That came from a team that had just put 105 points up against Georgia and was leading the nation in scoring at 91 points per game.
Kentucky has dropped to fourth nationally in scoring after getting only 62 points in the 17-point loss at South Carolina and 63 points in the six-point win at Arkansas where it missed 15 of its first 16 shots. Kentucky is now averaging 88.5 points per game and trails Alabama (89.6), Arizona (89.2) and Samford (88.6).
Calipari said on his weekly radio show Monday night that it was a matter of poor offensive spacing by his team, which is 10th in this week’s AP poll.
“Offensively, when we move the ball, there are people open that we’re not finding, that, two weeks ago, we found. There were a couple spacing issues. So we talked about it, we showed them on tape,” Calipari said.
“And they came out, and all of a sudden I just stopped them (in practice) and I said, ‘That’s how you play when you’re us.’ That’s the spacing. That’s who you’re looking for. You’ve got to see where people are.”
Calipari said his young team needs to scrimmage more even this late in the season.
“We are doing stuff to make this more physical,” Calipari said. “On drives you have to play through bumps. You can’t get pushed off a ball screen. You can’t get pushed off on a drive. Throw a pass and don’t shoot if you can’t take the bump.”
Calipari said he has to challenge and hold his team accountable but also continue to let the players know he believes in them.
“It gets frustrating when you are not perfect. There will be some up times and some down times. That’s just the way it is,” Calipari said.
The coach admitted having a roster that has stayed in flux has made it difficult with team chemistry.
“You’re trying to figure each other out on the run. We don’t have a whole lot of practices,” Calipari said. “When there’s great chemistry, they’re helping each other and making it easy for each other, and they’re more confident.”
The Cats were without freshman guard Rob Dillingham at Arkansas after he came down with a stomach bug but he’s expected to play tonight against Florida in Rupp Arena.
“He’s a guy that, if you have anybody on this team that wants to play basketball, it’s him,” Calipari said. “He wants to play. But it’s injuries and sickness and, they’re not machines, they’re not computers. We haven’t had a full roster.”
13 Responses
slow starts have been a hallmark of this team. Typically, when Reed Sheppard enters the game, following the customary slow start, the offense begins to rev up its motors and get into gear.
This is all on Calipari.
Calipari will never change.
You know Prof I am just curious why you never mention Rob Dillingham? He enters the game with Reed(most of the time) and he provides instant offense. He is a one man Run and a huge part of why the offense revs up it’s motor(your words) when THEY come in the game. But you always leave him out. Inquirering minds want to know?
Lastly you say Cal will never change. I find that ironic because no matter what Cal does (we could win it all) and your opinion of him will never change. #potcallingthekettleblack.
Professor is right on the statement Cal never changes. It is his way or the highway. Look at all the coaches that put a whuppin on Cal with a lot lesser talent. Does anyone mismanage and run off more good talent than Cal? Does it seem a little late in the season to be wondering if he should run a zone or try to work on offensive spacing? There aren’t many that out recruit Cal but there are many that out coach him. His best contributions to the university are in the history books.
Here’s what I don’t get. If Calipari is a hall of fame coach and people are happy with him, why should it matter that other people aren’t? He says he never reads these sites and tells the kids to stay away from them. So what is the issue that you Calipari lovers have with us who don’t care for him? Are you people so fragile that our comments are going to change how you feel about this fraud? You Calipari lovers go on and love this fraud until he finally leaves or gets axed. The haters will keep on hating him until he is gone. Everybody has their opinion on this and can express it without all of the squealing that you lovers do.
If there’s any squealing going on it’s the Cal haters that’s doing it. It’s a broken record every day same rant comments.
Why does that bother you 79? Just ignore it, or do you have to get in the last word…squeal?
It doesn’t bother me at all, it just you guys don’t appreciate it what Cal has mode this team to be fun to watch. Got too much miserable state of mind. Enjoy it while you can.
Why don’t i place Dillingham in the same class as Sheppard? Very simple, Sheppard is the most efficient player on this team and Dillingham is not.
Sheppard has played 501 minutes, which is 65.1% of his availability. Sheppard has scored 218 points while consuming only 127 possessions, for a raw offensive efficiency of 1.72 points per possession used.
Dillingham has played 407 minutes, 55.8% of his availability. Dillingham has scored 250 points while consuming 228 possession, for a raw offensive efficiency of only 1.10 pppc.
While Reed’s efficiency is the highest on the team, Dillingham’s is second lowest, to ballhog #1, Wagner who has played 511 minutes, 70.1% availability while scoring 216 points on a whopping 221 possessions, for a raw offensive efficiency of only 0.98 pppc, which is lowest on this team among those getting regular minutes.
So, Dillingham and Sheppard do appear in games at about the same time, their contributions to the team are drastically different, with Sheppard’s being consistently the best on the team, and Dillingham’s nearly the worst.
Oh, I forgot to add.
Calipari is the fraud here. Sheppard would start for any other coach in America.
Bank on it.
Yet, since his name is not Edwards, or Wagner, or …. (fill in the blank), he is not one of the fraud’s annointed ones.
That is a slight on the entire program, not just the players that matriculate through this program that fail to be on that special annointed list each year.
The only consistent player on the team is Reeves not Sheppard that you mentioned. Yes Sheppard makes the team looked better, but he has struggled at times this season.
Is the standard that you want the non-PETS to play without ever struggling over the course of 19 games? Don’t you think that the PETS have struggled, and mightily more, than Sheppard.
A little logic and analysis would be helpful.
Sheppard is the most efficient player on this team. That is a fact, not an opinion.
That’s your opinion.
No, Reed is the most efficient player on this team. This is not an opinion. It is an analytical fact.
Facts are stubborn things.
If you don’t think he is, show me a basis for you OPINION that he isn’t. I shared my facts with you already.
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