Vicky Graff Photo
Back-to-back Rupp Arena losses normally would be a time for soul-searching with the Kentucky basketball team.
Either Kentucky coach John Calipari is remarkably confident in his team after losses to Florida and Tennessee or he’s afraid to admit the truth that this season could be slipping away after UK’s sixth loss with its 103-92 loss to Tennessee Saturday.
“I told them after – that team played really well and you fought and had your chances. Some of the breakdowns we can talk about and get better. But I told them, every goal that we have is still out in front of us,” Calipari said.
“We are fine if we come together and understand.”
Fine?
Not quite so sure about that considering UK’s defense continues to be shredded by opposing SEC teams and Calipari cannot seem to have a full roster for practice or games.
“I said Justin (Edwards) played well and did some good stuff. Robert (Dillingham) did well. Robert kept us in the game. In the first half we were down four because Robert made basket after basket,” Calipari said. “Reed (Sheppard) did some good stuff.
“We got to get healthy. It’s hard to get a rotation going when you are shorthanded (D.J. Wagner missed a second straight game an ankle injury). I thought Adou (Thiero) did some really good stuff today. Adou rebounded and scored at the rim and made free throws.”
Dillingham had 35 points on 14-for-20 shooting overall and 6-for-8 from 3-point range. He also had four assists and just one turnover in 27 minutes before fouling out. He also got involved in a brief altercation in the second half that led to a technical foul.
“It was just like we couldn’t win anything. That’s what we got to learn and get better at. We go out there and we come to play but we’re not competing,” Dillingham said. “So we got to learn to get the little plays and do the gritty stuff to win.”
So what does the team need to do to make the “little plays” that win games?
“It’s a mindset, it’s how everybody comes to play, it’s how everybody looks at it,” Dillingham said. “If everybody comes together, we’ll win games, but if everybody’s not connected all the way then we’re not going to do the little stuff. We’re still young.”
33 Responses
That’s just his snake oil used car salesman bs.
You can see it on his face when he says it that he does not believe this team is fine.
One thing about him being around so long is that you can see when he is lying now.
He said last night "Anybody would love to have this team" I continue to hope that someday before too much longer that somebody different WILL have our team.
When will the fans stop going to the games?
Anytime his lips are moving he’s lying
The fraud has 10 million reasons for wanting BBN to believe that.
It’s funny how the fraud didn’t have the conviction to say that at his postgame show last night…the coward didn’t even show up!
To use a quote from Cal. " We are everyone’s superbowl" And yes UK has always taken everyone’s best shot. Long before Calipari arrived I might add. But if he truly believes that , he is failing as a leader and communicator to get his squads to believe it. And I think in large part it’s because some of these players are just planning to be here a short time. I highly doubt alot of them care about UK’s history like us fans do. They are here for a short term investment. Put my time in for a year and hopefully I’m outta here. Number 2. Cal never shuts up. He has got to be " white noise " at some point. A total micromanager on the sidelines. Maybe the message of the importance of a Tennessee game gets lost because of his incessant ranting. I’m grasping at straws.
Meaning being an effective communicator isn’t always about the volume of non stop words.
Too much JIBBER JABBER
you nailed it. The only player on the team that is dead serious is Sheppard and that is self explanatory. Look at the bench, the players are over there laughing and joking and barely paying attention to the game. Losing is not that big a deal for them. The difference in these guys is I am just here for the year and I am improving my draft stock. Sadly Cal does not know how to connect. Last time we won the whole thing Davis and Gilchrest went one and two in the draft. You guys want to go one and two in the draft instead of 10,20, late second round? GO out and win a championship. We are not playing as hard as we were? I don’t get it? We are not hustling. Our glaring weakness is on ball defense and Cal refuses to zone? I don’t get it? I’d play a 3-2 zone with Onyenso and Mitchell under neath and guard the 3 point line with 3 guards. Hell Sheppard has blocked quite a few three point attempts this year. So he is not a great on ball defender off the dribble but he can guard the three fairly well. The D against inbounds under our own goal is so bad it is laughable. Plant Onyenso near the goal. PERIOD. No more easy inbound unguarded layups.
We all know their is not one way to coach. Coaches differ in styles. The last 2 losses I’ve noticed have had Coaches who don’t feel the need to be up every play yelling and screaming. Maybe cals way is to much of it.
This team really plays with no energy or sense of urgency or passion. They look much better on paper than they do in play. Is this team a choke, a joke, or maybe a good combo of both? Bradshaw and Edwards do not show that there anywhere near 5* talents. This team looks more like pussy cats with each passing game. There is no dog in them and apparently no leadership as well. The players and the coaching staff really appear to be very passive with their acceptance of the losses getting stacked.
Lack of energy is a concern
Bradshaw and Edwards are MAYBE 2 stars on this level. The crazy thing is they CANT WAIT to move on to the next level.
In the good Ole days they stayed another year or two which would be refreshing and awesome.
The best comment I have seen so far this weekend came via another site that read: "any chance CAL can hit the transfer portal?" LOL
OUch James
When Cal says they’ll be fine, he means they’ll have six or seven guys drafted. Any other coach would say, "We were terrible on defense again and we obviously need to try something different in how we are teaching them man-to-man or just start mixing up our defenses."
Everything is not fine when you are well on your way to having the worst defense in Kentucky history. Everything is not fine when have a championship-caliber offense, yet you are fifth in the SEC, have lost back-to-back games at Rupp Arena and have given up 96, 94 and 103 points in your last three home games.
Finally, everything is definitely not fine when you don’t have the guts to face the fans after yet another terrible defensive performance, one in which the other team clearly out-hustled and out-fought you.
This more and more looks like it’s going to be the worst coaching job of Cal’s career, which is saying something after the past few years. This team has an incredible amount of talent, but unless a miracle happens its legacy will be as the worst defensive team in Kentucky history. At this point, Cal’s inability or stubbornness to get it to play better defense is truly pathetic and sad, both for the fans and the players.
Thanks again Mitch Barnhart for putting us in this position of watching the greatest basketball program in the country become mediocre and leaving us with nothing to do about it other than forking over more than $40 million.
Nailed it!!!
I’ve try to hang on with Cal, but now my tune has changed after last night. You just don’t get beat at home frequently that we have witnesses the last 3 years. In my point of view it’s time for a change Cal is not going to change what so ever. Overpaid not doing his job.
Frustrating indeed
Cal may be in a more severe mental decline than even Biden. It is embarrassing on the local and national scene that we got sucked into believing that we might be a national contender. This team has established themselves as pretenders with only a few good moving parts. I don’t even feel comfortable wearing my UK hat in public anymore…DEPORT CAL!
It’s impossible to be in a more decline than Biden .
At least Cal’s not a criminal, rapist, tax avoiding fat slob like Trump.
You brought in on yourself. Just cant keep your politics in your pants can you? This is Kentucky basketball, not Fox News.
This is a first. I have never read so many negative comments and ageed with every one
of them. Until now.
It’s a sad time to be a Kentucky Wildcat fan.
Cal
definitely is getting this group ready for NBA’!
we don’t play defense either!
Cal is in denial. He never will change his M.O. He is the quintessential guy putting a square peg in a round hole. He won’t stop trying because he is ALWAYS right. He hasn’t changed a thing about his approach for 15 years.
His bread and butter has been dribble drive and tough man to man. The dribble drive is great for a guy to showcase his skills for NBA scouts (if he has the skills). See Archie Goodwin, Wheeler and a host of others who did not. Result out of control drives to the basket, no shot, no assist just eat the ball. Like Wagner does 50% of the time. This year Cal’s mantra is I don’t have a full roster all year. Hell the bigger the roster gets, the worse we are getting. He is saying Wagner is the missing piece, no Wagner, no win. Its laughable. Other teams are playing without their full roster and winning. One mediocre point guard Wagner, (When you have Dillingham and Sheppard) scoring 51 points between them did not cost you the game. Poor play from the bigs. Simple Cal, look at the stats.. We got damn near zilch out of the bigs. There is your culprit in the Tenn. game… If you don’t see that, you are blind….
The man to man is the best most effective D there is if you have the personnel. If you can play offense that good, you can guard if you want to and know how. This offense was running like a sewing machine until the bigs came back? We were far better on both sides of the ball when we were small ball… The bigs other than Onyenso can’t guard. Let me rephrase, Bradshaw (Badshaw) can’t guard a 3rd grader. Can’t even get a block on a guard from behind after he blows by him. (T. Prince’s bread and butter was the block from behind). He got blown by all the time and followed his man to the rim and blocked him from behind. Probably 90% of his blocks were from behind. A. Davis too.). Fact is, Cal makes up whatever the excuse is other than I didn’t have my team ready. Not one time has he said that..
Cal is the worst coach in college basketball ky stop going to games then you will get dum ass Mitch attention
Where are all of the Calipari lovers???
Cal needs to calm down on the sidelines I am a Kentucky native and fan and its embarrassing to have our coach act like that. If he has to do that doing a game he is not doing a very good teaching job in practices.
Maybe some of you should put in your application for the head coach position.yall must know more than the man who has won everywhere he’s been except for the NBA…I still have faith in our team and our coach,hopefully the players and recruits don’t read these garbage comments…how many of you on here have basketball experience??? My guess is zero…go big Blue
Yea that’s right all is good you say unraked teams beating ky, 2 loses at rup, and he says we are ok, you don’t have to be a rocket scientist to know he is the problem , when you don’t own up to having a problem the problem doesn’t leave , not saying he wasn’t a good coach but He is Burnt Slap Out. He needs to go NOW.
It is frustrating JHon Leach
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