Kentucky could not stop Adou Thiero. (Vicky Graff Photo)
If you want an honest analysis of how Kentucky plays in any game, just listen to former UK All-American Jack Givens on the UK Radio Network after the game ends.
Sure, he’s a former UK player and he’s working for the UK Network but that does not influence his opinions and he had plenty after Kentucky fell 89-79 to Arkansas Saturday. The Cats never led in the second half and for the most part, never made a serious run at the Razorbacks in the second half.
Givens thought Arkansas took control of the game late in the first half when it wiped out a 30-25 UK lead and led 46-45 at halftime.
“Unfortunately Kentucky didn’t make adjustments (at halftime) and allowed Arkansas to play downhill the whole second half. They got to the basket any time they wanted,” Givens said after watching UK unable to contain former Cats Adou Thiero and DJ Wagner.
“Arkansas has great athletes and if you allow them to get in one one-on-one situations, and I am talking about Thiero and Wagner, if you do not get in front you will get hurt every time,” Givens said.
He noted that Arkansas made 12 of 18 two-point shots in the second half and Wagner had all 17 of his points in the second half.
“Then turning the ball over is one of the things they do and then they can take you one on one and they did it very well,” Givens said after Arkansas forced 14 turnovers.
What about effort?
“I was very disappointed the last 10 minutes that Arkansas got every loose ball,” Givens said. “Adou Thiero went between Kentucky players for an offensive rebound, swatted it and it led to an Arkansas 3-point basket.
“It seemed like Kentucky that once that (early) adrenaline burned off they could not get picked back up.”
Givens called it both a frustrating and strange game.
“It was the last thing I expected. I am just a little surprised that Kentucky didn’t put up more resistance (on defense),” Givens said. “The last two games for Arkansas they were averaging like 56 points per game. They were struggling offensively and then they have 89 and it seems like they could have scored more.
“It just wasn’t what you expected and wanted. This was huge. The schedule does not get any easier, either.”
No, it doesn’t. Kentucky plays at No. 23 Ole Miss on Tuesday. The Rebels lost to No. 1 Auburn Saturday to drop to 5-4 in SEC play, good for a sixth-place tie with Tennessee, while UK is tied with Vanderbilt for eighth at 4-4. Auburn leads the way at 8-0 while Alabama is 8-1, Missouri 6-2, Texas A&M 5-3 and Florida 5-3.
Pope was vague both before the game and again after the loss about when point guard Lamont Butler might return after he missed his second straight game. The backup point guard has been out since early December with no definite date set for his return.
“I have talked to people and they said Kentucky is just as good with Lamont Butler out and I laughed at them. That is as far from the truth as it could be,” Givens said. “When you have a guard like DJ Wagner defending the point guard spot and it is a point guard like Jaxson Robinson (who is playing out of position) it takes a toll.
“He had to work so much just to get the ball up the floor. It was like it was time to exhale when he did get the ball across midcourt. A guy like Lamont brings the ball up the floor and he is by Wagner and everything goes smoother. That’s what they miss without him.”
4 Responses
Thank you, GOOSE, for coming out and illustrating for everybody what I know is the OBVIOUS—U shouldn’t have to break something that is that obvious down to such a level, but clearly a lot of our fans required it to understand it. If they would spend more of their time listening to somebody like GOOSE rather than what somebody on their social media account tells them, they might be a little more enlightened and "in-the-know"…….all anybody thought about or focused on starting WED morning after the TN win was CALIPARI. That’s it. That’s why the huge turnout at Rupp SAT and the tension and fever that was present in that crowd–it was ALL ABOUT HIM. And that was KY’s undoing. And CAL knew it was going to be all about him, and he knew that area would be our vulnerability—and it was–and to his credit, he exposed it. I feared going into this game that CAL and the ex-CATS who had already played in Rupp had a bigger emotional and psychological edge over KY, and that in reality, all the pressure to win this game was on KY—not ARK. A game like this one is just blood, man, pure and simple–its an ugly, bloody, grudge match, it’s a street fight, its literally THE MONSTER that u r walking into having to face! THE MONSTER THAT IS CAL, AND THE MONSTER THAT HE CREATED!! THIS WAS MORE THAN JUST A BBALL GAME. And thats what OUR players did NOT understand. And apparently Pope did not understand that either because he DID NOT have these guys prepared for this MOMENT. Thats what this meeting with ARK was, was a MOMENT. Its the thing that u have to meet if u are KY. U have to UNDERSTAND the moment first off, u have to realize that it IS A MOMENT, u have to understand what the moment is ABOUT, then u have to go MEET the moment. KY did not show that they did any of those things, and Pope did not seem to grasp the enormity of this situation. He spent all week bowing down and sucking up to CAL, and singing CAL’s praises, and saying that he was the greatest thing ever—thats probly one reason why so many ppl booed. They get tired of hearing about how great CAL is, because it’s like there is somebody from the media at every corner and every turn waiting to remind them of that, and to try to tell them how they should feel about CAL. As the KY coach, u can make one brief statement at your opening presser for that game about how great u think CAL is, and what he did for KY–then u move on and u start talking GAME-STUFF. U don’t dwell on the fact that he’s coming back–everybody knows it. UK turned this into a CAL reunion and celebration as if he was coming back to have his jersey retired. It was like in this scenario SAT, the wrong groups of people were too nice and not angry enough and then conversely, the wrong groups of people spent too much time being angry and should have been a little more focused on lifting their team up and less time tearing the other team down. I am not one to believe I have the right to tell other fans what to do. And I think everybody knows nobody hates CAL and what he represents more than I do. But I was slightly taken aback by the amount of people who were there during the pregame shootarounds and warmups, and the level of vile and vitriol that they leveled at the ARK players and CAL when they came out of the locker room for their first warmup period. That period of time before the game when the opposing team first comes out is the period of time when the arena is still really quiet and mellow–well it was definitely quiet and mellow–that is, until the ARK players began filing out to get up their first shots, and then CAL’s first appearance shortly thereafter…… That pregame scene was a bit shocking to me. I expected boos like during the last 5 mins before tipoff when the teams first run out on the floor, and of course during the starting lineups–but the way our fans leveled on them during that early warmup time was a real standout. And I was even surprised to a degree that they kept it going during the game. I know that our fans have had alot of feelings about CAL pent up over these last 5 years, and some even longer than that, so I understand they had alot they needed to get out and felt that CAL, specifically, needed to hear –and again, Im the last one to criticize anybody booing CAL! I just didn’t feel as great a need to levy it on to the players as much–again, during the official team intros and starting lineups, thats fine–but like I said, going after them during that early warmup time, and then the fact they kept it going thru the first half of the game really got my attention. By the time the second half came, the booing began to trail off, until it evaporated completely, because by then, there wasn’t anything or any reason left to boo. By that time, the boo’ers were headed up the aisleways. I guess the fans thought their booing the whole game would make it hard on those guys, esp the ex-KY guys, but it clearly had the opposite effect. Those ex-KY players took all of that personally, without a doubt, and they took that load of pressure that they felt CAL might be carrying on his own back and put it on their own backs, to their credit, and they played their heart out for CAL first, and went out there and earned that win for him, because unlike our team, they UNDERSTOOD the enormity of the situation, they understood the moment they were playing in, they understood WHAT IT WAS……they understood how big it was for all parties involved, especially CAL. But I would argue it was bigger for KY than CAL. This was a "PROTECT AND DEFEND YOUR KINGDOM" type of game for KY. It would have been one thing had this game been on ARK’s homecourt, and u still wouldn’t want to lose that game down there if u r KY—but u cant lose that game at home. U just can’t. That was a "prove-it" and a "statement" game for Pope at KY, and he blew it, and lost a really big one that will forever be a part of his legacy going fwd. Again, that’s why u have to win those kind of games because those are the kind that are remembered by fans and remembered in college bball circles and college bball history FOREVER. We still remember Pitino’s first game back at Rupp as the LOU coach, we still remember the first UK/LOU game played when CAL took over KY and faced Pitino for the first time in Rupp. We remember the JORTS game in the first UK/LOU game played in the YUM CENTER, and we remember the first matchup between UK and LOU in the Final Four in 2012, when CAL beat Pitino in the NCAA Tournament for the first time, and in the Final 4 for the first time. We remember the 2014 UK/LOU matchup in the Sweet 16 and Aaron Harrison’s shot to win that game, and his shots in the following two games that sent KY back to the Final 4 and into the championship game. We still remember the first UK/LOU reg season series Dream Game matchup that was played in Rupp that was a rematch of the actual first meeting in the 1983 NCAA Tournament Mideast Regional Final. We still remember the first Dream Game series between UK and LOU played in FOOTBALL in the 1994 season opener when KY won their only game of that season that day 20-14. There are so many more—but again, THAT IS KY BBALL–but for the first time, I am having to illustrate that example to a coach other than John Calipari. This game with ARK was just one of those games that was going to be part of history and remembered forever–either way that it went–thats just the way the sh** rolls here! But it’s going to be remembered MORE SO now than it would have with the fact that CAL comes out the winner in a stunning upset, than had we just taken care of business like we should have. But regardless, these players on BOTH SIDES were facing history in this game, and facing taking their part in it. And ARK played as if they completely understood that, and CAL definitely proved that he understood it. I cant say the same for our guys and Coach Pope. Sad as it is to say, our guys just didn’t want it as badly as ARK did. ARK looked and played like they were playing for a clear purpose, a common goal, and looked like they were aware of what their goal and purpose was. When u look at KY in this game, u ask yourself "what were they playing for?" "WHO were they playing for–themselves, their teammates, their coaches?" "What was their purpose, what was their goal?" "Did they even HAVE a clear purpose or goal?" "Are they just playing because they are getting paid?" The scary part is, the only answer KY fans have to any of those questions is "I DONT KNOW"…………………..
I have a feeling when this season is over, wherever it ends, HOW-ever it ends, we are still going to be asking those same questions about our team. And the worst part is I think we are going to be stuck with the same answer, too…….
You know, you have to wonder…If Calipari had lost this game his reputation as a hall of fame coach would have been flushed down the toilet. Did Calipari pay Barnhart to throw the game? He could have easily shelled out $10 million to go to Kentucky’s NIL fund and never missed it. That is the only thing that makes sense given the debacle that game was.
SOME of that “possible” slush fund to influence the outcome MAY have been dispersed to SOME players who do not honor the jersey they wear. It’s all unknown – but SOME guys played 180° opposite the way they played TN on the road just a few days earlier.
If the name on the jersey does not mean anything to someone, then the inconsistent play ol should be expected.
Some like yo blame the coach, Don’t blame the coach. Even if he errs, the many players still playing college ball beyond 4 years should have at least a little self-motivation and some ball sense to know how to defend, pass, rebound and move without the ball.
These days, with the times we live in, and with what college sports has become, I wouldn’t rule out anything or put anything past anybody…….if we all were actually able to uncover and get revealed the things that are REALLY going on, we probably would stop watching……some of us are about to that point now anyway, as it is……I know there are more games to be played, and I know there are still two tournaments to b played, but the only realistic thing we can all really hope for is improvement in health by the time March comes. The jury is out on this team we have this year, and even at full strength, they are about like a solid Tubby team at best. But take away both point guards, and this last 6 weeks combined with this last 7-game stretch could more closely resemble CAL’s 2013 team after Nerlens Noel went down with the ACL injury. So in reality our best hopes are for improved health a month from now, and to try to survive and navigate thru the rest of the conference season the best we can. But even with improved health, we are going to have a rough seed by the time we get to the tournament–I really think we are looking at a 6 or 7 seed at best, and quite possibly an 8 or a 9–we could even slip to as low as a 10 depending on how bad the stretch run turns out to be. This would be the type of team where going on any kind of a run in the SEC Tournament would do them alot of favors–win as many games in the SEC Tournament as possible, and it definitely wouldnt hurt. Because the greatest likelihood is, in the end, just to make the Sweet 16, we are looking at having to face a 2 seed or a 1 seed right off the bat just to get there–that is if we win the FIRST game! We are at a point now where truly ANYTHING is possible. But this team, even at full strength, is not very talented, not very athletic, and does not play very good defense. I think that’s really going to be problematic for them come tournament time. And again, with these injuries, if we really don’t get Butler back at all, we have to start realizing the possibility exists we could be looking at bubble status for this tournament if we can’t win enough games–although right now, I think the strength of the SEC is our greatest ally right now. I honestly believe Butler is done for the year, and I question whether it’s really an injury, or if it’s SOMETHING IN ADDITION to an injury. IDK how many people here saw it, but there was a video that was made from KY’s locker room after the TN win of our players celebrating and talking and having fun–they had music going and they were just celebrating their win, which im not criticizing that at all–but there was one specific clip taken of Butler individually, and he was dancing and moving around–i think maybe it was Garrison who was making the video–but he took like an extended clip of Butler specifically dancing, and he was dancing very well I must say, he has some moves for sure! And again, I’m not criticizing that. Everybody is going to want to jump to that conclusion, and that’s not what I’m doing. My point is just that he didn’t look like somebody who was in very much pain or who looked very much injured. I know that doing something like playing full-contact basketball is alot different from dancing—but I’m just pointing out that he looked pretty healthy to me the way he was moving around. So that was the point that I began questioning is this situation with Butler really an injury? I think one of the frustrations with BBN right now is that alot of the things that have gone on this past month with this team–like just since they have begun SEC play–alot of it has felt too similar to what the last 4 yrs under CAL felt like. We now have multiple injury issues that we are questioning–multiple players missing multiple games–and I tell ya, Coach has begun to turn into a bit of an incoherent rambler and babbler himself—its like he can’t think of anything to say, then when he does, it’s just like garble. IDK man, im just frustrated. I think when we lose to CAL in his first game back coaching against KY INSIDE OF RUPP ARENA, and lose the game by getting beat by his same system and style that he ran with us his last 4 yrs, the same system that couldn’t win more than one tournament game apiece his last 4 yrs, and it end up being 3 of CAL’s ex-KY players who were on our team last year who ran that system to perfection and beat us with it, we have every right in the world right now to feel frustrated, to feel hurt, to feel pissed, to feel a lot of things…….Im sorry, that loss cuts deeper than most because it cuts in a different way, it cuts to the very core and very fabric of what being a diehard UK fan is all about. I understand that as a player, u have to try not to allow that loss to ruin your season, but therein lies the challenge of being a Wildcat–and u know something? THAT IS EXACTLY WHY, AS A RESULT OF BEING A WILDCAT, THAT U APPROACH THAT ARK GAME AS THE BIGGEST GAME OF THE YEAR!! U HAVE TO MAKE IT YOUR SUPERBOWL! Yes, I understand that game doesn’t mean as much as tournament games in the long run. But if u lose this game, it has a drastic effect on your seeding. So that’s why, as a player, u have to look ahead and think ahead, and think about where your team’s psyche could possibly be were u to lose this game. Its like u should think about ahead of time the fact that U DO NOT WANT TO PUT YOURSELF OR PUT YOUR TEAMMATES in this position of risking having the rest of your season tanked over this one game. Of course,with the way our guys approached this game, maybe the loss really isn’t that big of a deal to them, maybe it’s not cutting them to the degree it’s cutting the fans, so maybe their psyche isn’t as fragile for the rest of these games as u might think it could be. IDK man–I don’t really know anymore when it comes to these kids’ psyches–its like, up until about 15 yrs ago, it was pretty easy to get a handle or have an understanding on what the players’ psyche was or would be when it came to KY BBALL, but over the course of the last 15 yrs that has gradually changed, and it has become where u can’t really figure that out anymore–because these kids today, their minds are all over the place. They have so many distractions that players did not have before social media and before smartphones…….I guess I just wish they wouldn’t allow so much of that to filter in to their bball. Like why can’t they keep their bball SEPARATE from all of that outside BS noise? Todays kids don’t know how to keep certain things separate from the outside world–because they’ve never understood or been given the concept of privacy. So they don’t know how to keep any walls up on anything. I think so much of that has really tainted, and ruined, to a degree, all of college sports. So we get into bigger issues there…….but u know, it’s like I said over the weekend: CAL is just a curse, plain and simple. At least for KY, he is. This season had already started to feel a little bit too much like yet another season under CAL, but u know, u could cure alot of those ails by beating him on SAT. And that would have been full and total independence for Mark Pope as the new coach of KY if he wins that game, at least for the reg season goes. He answered every other bell: he got DUKE, GONZAGA, WKU, UofL, FLA, TN, TX A&M…….ARK was the last one, but it was also THE MOST IMPORTANT one! I don’t for one second take any of those big wins away from him. This team had a really good pre-conf season, and they played a good style of ball during that stretch. After the FLA win, that style has slipped a good bit. But also injuries have played a big role. I mean if u think about it, aside from GA, all the other SEC losses came with at least one player out–of course, technically u can say ALL OF OUR LOSSES this year have come without our full team–because Im realizing now how big a loss that Krissa has been for this team. How badly could we use somebody like him right now??? That’s a major loss for this team, more so than I have realized or thought about. Alot of players have that ability to make the other guys who are around him BETTER—and I think Krissa is one of those kind of players, and I think Butler is too! We have had many of those kind in our illustrious history. I no longer have the energy right now to go thru memory lane. I have gotten used to doing that because memory lane is all I’ve had to hang on to these last 5 yrs with KY BBALL. That’s why I was so excited when Mark Pope got the job, and the things that he talked about in his introductory press conference. I’m not sitting here saying that he was the wrong guy for the job–we have to be patient and we have to give him time–and I HAVE TO TAKE MY OWN ADVICE–but I do think that he has a lot more still that he’s gotta prove over the long haul, and that starts getting into next year, and the year after. Year 2 and Year 3 under Pope are actually going to be more critical for him than Year 1, and they are also going to be more REVEALING than Year 1, in terms of Pope’s system and style, and in terms of answering the questions as to is he going to be able to make it here? And he has to be given ALL of that time. But we will know a lot more as time goes on, and my hope is that HE will be able to learn more and more the more time that he has under his belt that he can look back and reflect on. Recruiting for these next 2-3 classes are going to be critical as well. I think the thing that was most disappointing about the other night is the fact that after everything and everybody I have listened to for the past 3 days, its pretty clear and evident that everybody in the world was amped up for that game SAT night, and everybody else in the world understood the importance of the game, and understood the MOMENT–our fans, our media, their fans, their media, the NATIONAL MEDIA, their coaches, their players, basketball fans conference- and nation-wide ……….everybody else in the world except for the two most important: KY’s coaches and KY’s players. I mean, MAYBE POPE understood it–IDK– all I know for sure is that he spent the entire week bowing down to CAL, and treating him as if we were bringing him back for a jersey retirement, rather than discussing and focusing on the matchup and how we stack up against their team, and treating him like he was the OPPOSING COACH. I think THATS the difference there. Because I know for a fact CAL didn’t come in there with that shiny sunny wistuflness mentality of the good ol days at KY–NO, he came into this exactly like he SHOULD. That was Pope’s first mistake there. He was treating CAL like a friend instead of a foe. Which, after the game, u can go be his buddy all u want–and funny I didn’t see that after the game–but it was too much niceness from Pope ahead of the game and all the media focused on was whether we were going to boo or cheer—GROW UP! WHO CARES?? Everybody had to know it was going to be overly majority boos, so why is that even a story, or debate? There are too many more important things to discuss, like what are our chances of winning the damn ballgame??? What kind of a chance do we have in this game without our starting PG and what is our plan of attack with the weapons we are left with available,specifically on their guards? U can’t get people to listen to anything anymore–as soon as I heard Butler had been officially ruled out, I said that’s it, it’s over. Because i knew we had no answer for Wagner. And I knew that the guard and the wing positions is where this game would be won or lost, and it played out exactly that way. I knew we had nobody who could stop Thiero, so I knew Thiero would get his, but u could get by with that if u can shut down Wagner and shut down Z. Even if Davis had a good game along with Thiero, if u shut down Wagner, Z, and Knox, u can still win. But Wagner and Z had career nights, and Knox had big baskets as well that were key. If u could have stopped those 3, then Thiero and Davis could have still gotten theirs, and we could have still won. But everybody just downplayed the significance of Butler being out, and they thought it would be even easier to get the win because Fland was out. In my opinion, their team is in better shape with Fland out and Wagner taking over the PG role. I have even tried telling some of their fans that–they don’t think so–but they also didn’t see a year of Wagner playing like we did. In fact, don’t be surprised if ARK were to go on some kind of a run this second half of the SEC season just because of that factor alone, plus the confidence that they must have now after the win SAT. With Wagner for Fland, ARK traded inexperience and youth for experience, especially SEC experience. Wagner is a battle-tested veteran who has been thru one year already of all these SEC wars–he understands what its like to go into an opposing team’s arena with the whole place against u–him and the other 2 as well–and im telling u, all those intangible-type things played a big role in this win. Those guys had an edge on our guys in that they had more experience playing in Rupp than our guys did, and more experience playing in the conference period! So that really showed up, I thought, in this game. And like I said, don’t be surprised, because of all of this, if ARK is a different team now going fwd, and begins to win some games that people thought they couldn’t, or shouldn’t. I’m sure that win has done alot for CAL’s own confidence, too, as a coach, just in his own relations with ARK’s people in their athletic dept, and their fans–they are NOT AT ALL NOW where they expected to be–and neither are we–so that’s why I say this game was more than just another game–for both sides–and that’s why I was most disappointed in the fact that our players seemed to be the only people in the country who didn’t receive that memo. And even if Pope received it, he still coached against CAL as if CAL was John Wooden and as if Pope was an awestruck teenage fan boy…….That aspect has just been so frustrating to see, and I lay alot of the blame for this loss at Pope’s feet for not having his guys prepared/prepped well enough to play, but more so not prepared for what this MOMENT WAS AND MEANT. I have a feeling Pope was too concerned with trying to come off making sure he looked like Mr Nice Guy where CAL was concerned. Again, he acted all week as if we were going to be hosting a guest on SAT. I said over the weekend and I still believe it now that Pope is actually too close to this situation to be able to coach AGAINST CAL fairly and objectively. That’s not something I ever thought about before the game, but u could sure make a case for it now with the way that went. Because of it being the guy that Pope himself replaced, and then knowing about the poison and toxicity that exists within the relationship between CAL and BBN—I think Pope feels very much in the middle where all of that is concerned. But he’s going to have to just man up and deal with that. Because we could have to possibly play them AGAIN!! And if that were to be the case, I would NOT feel confident AT ALL about the prospect of having to play him again, after seeing that debacle SAT. And let me tell u, Pope does not want to lose to CAL twice in the same season. Alot of our fans have been saying they "WISH" we could get another crack at them in the SEC Tournament……..be careful what u wish for.