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This was the kind of marquee game that is supposed to make players want to come to Kentucky?
Yet somehow Kentucky came out flat at No. 2 Gonzaga Sunday night? That’s far more perplexing than the Kentucky football team coming out flat against Vanderbilt and losing. This was a chance for a statement game for UK basketball, a game that would make a huge difference when NCAA Tournament seedings are made.
Instead, Kentucky nearly got run out of the gym in the first half when it fell behind 41-25 before eventually losing 88-72.
How could UK not have fight against the nation’s No. 2 team?
“If you want the honest answer… it’s a long season. I don’t want to speak for any guys, but in some moments, guys can’t step up,” UK senior Jacob Toppin said.
Toppin said the Cats not only lacked fight but also “made stupid plays, me included” to help Gonzaga.
Wait. There’s more to try to figure out.
Oscar Tshiebwe, the unanimous national player of the year last season and the most popular player in Kentucky, was asked why UK’s offense was struggling — he did have his 20 points and 15 rebounds — but the team overall did not make shots.
“Most of the time we don’t really run what Coach is asking us to do,” Tshiebwe said.
Coach John Calipari did not disagree. He said it was “so embarrassing, we couldn’t even run a play” in the first half.
“I couldn’t get Oscar to run the plays right. Why? He hasn’t been playing with us,” Calipari said.
See if this statement by Calipari surprises you even more.
“I think we only had a few people thinking we were going to win that game,” Calipari said.
The Kentucky coach said he was not worried when Gonzaga got the early lead. However, he was worried for a different reason.
“I was a little worried that they were imposing their will on us instead of us — we talked about it for two days. We have to impose our will on them or you won’t win this game. And we didn’t do it. We just didn’t,” Calipari said.
Like he normally does after losses to ranked teams, Calipari said he “wouldn’t trade my team for any team in the country.”
He did say he was not happy with how the game unfolded.
“We lost the game that we started awful, can’t make a shot, get back in the game, and then when you do all that, you finish those off. It shows we’re not ready. It was Michigan State. We had a chance to finish people off and we, you get up five and six and all of a sudden you miss a layup, you miss a free throw, all that stuff is coming back to haunt us,” Calipari said.
“But it’s a long season. Like I said, it’s November. They’re good. They played great teams. We’ve had our share of games and now it just keeps going. We still got a bunch of really good teams and our league is real good too.”
16 Responses
IF I’m correct Cal did say we would take lumps during November and December and now people are writing this team off. Well, I’m not it may take time this team will get it right and the way Toppin talked after the game last night he took a leadership role saying other players have to be accountable for them self as well. I like that approach maybe it will wake them up and realized they got work to do.
But in fairness, Cal says a lot of things and I don’t think losing two of the first five games was what he had in mind
Your right Larry, he does have the tendency to say things.
yes he does say a lot
I wouldn’t trade this Kentucky team either.
But I would love to take the coach for ANY other in the country.
Comical…. We love to see tough teams on the early schedule. You know the time when the team is going through the biggest part of their learning curve. Yet we whine about a loss instead of taking the time to soak in the experience, and enjoy seeing their growth.
What growth? We looked worse last night than against Mich State.
We grew into losing to St Peter’s last season as well.
This team has regressed since the Bahamas.
Why didn’t the 2010, 2012, and 2015 teams have to climb this silly learning curve that Calipari defenders love so much?
This team has a lot to figure out. I am not sure Cal can play 3 guards against bigger lineups. Since we’ve already lost 2 in November, I would like to see Toppin at the small forward and Oyenso at the power forward. Tall O has a lot to learn, so why not now? Toppin showed he can shoot in the Bahamas. Let’s give him a few games to find that shot at the 3. This would be a better defensive lineup and would improve our rebounding if everyone doesn’t assume that Big O is going to get all of them. If we are going to learn, let’s learn. I am not sure if this is a pressing team, but I would like to see more half court traps thrown in; and dare I say it…play some zone to throw a team’s timing off and protect Big O from fouls. I am not sure Wheeler is the answer at point, especially on defense. He seems to be giving up when bigger guards drive on him to avoid fouls. Let’s try Wallace there and Reeves at the 2 guard. Wallace is a bigger and better defender against bigger guards and he looks to get the ball to others where they can score. Reeves needs to start. It will boost his confidence and get his shot going sooner. He needs to improve his defense and rebounding. I think for now, Crawford is better coming off the bench. He seems to be pressing too much. Oscar has to learn to avoid stupid fouls and get in better playing shape. Apparently, he needs more practice time if he isn’t doing what Cal is calling for. Is it just me, or is anyone else wondering where that 30 point talent in Ware is hiding? Are the guys just overthinking this? I know that Toppin can be what we need at the 3 position, but I would like to see Livingston get some PT there too. He has shown the willingness to defend, rebound, and he can shoot when he doesn’t force it. I feel for Collins. Losing his father has to be weighing on him. Give him time to grieve and let him back up Tall O when he is ready. I wouldn’t be afraid to put Livingston in the 4 spot in relief either. If Wheeler, Crawford, and Reeves don’t come out of their funk, I wouldn’t mind seeing Thiero, (is that spelled right?) get a shot. He has the energy and is not afraid of the big stage. He could be a SGA in the waiting? Cal has to get his groove on as well. If I were coach and a kid didn’t do what I told him to do coming out of a timeout, I would put the ball boy in if that was my only option. Cal wants to be their friend; he needs to be their coach. He needs to stop worrying about their NBA aspirations and focus on making them better college players. If a kid is not getting it, let him sit and give another kid his shot. It’s easy to be an armchair coach, but Cal just doesn’t seem to be the same coach he was when he came here eons ago. I know they have limited time, but they need to work of free throws. Shoot more in practice and run suicide line drills for each one missed in a game. I guess this is a lot to say, given my paygrade, but this team can be special if they all, Cal included, come together. Can they do it…Yes. Will they do it against the non Popcorn State teams…we shall see. SEC play is only a month away.
Preach it Barry
This is the most experienced, deepest, and best roster, top to bottom since 2015.
The problem is not the players but the coach.
Exactly!!!!
you have a lot of others who feel like you Professor
Absolutely a joke. Obviously I’m hearing too much from people who obviously have never played the game. Calipari recruits, but he’s not a coach. That’s the biggest problem. He’s proven this everywhere he’s ever coached. He’s built to coach in a league that doesn’t play real basketball, like the nba. It’s just street ball. One on one, no real team work, weak fundamentals, and emphasis mainly on offense and not so much on defense. The "real" coaches are on the uk bench. Let Cal recruit, and let Bruiser coach. The best anyone can expect out of Cal is hopefully making the sweet 16, but beyond that is pure prayer.
Forgot to mention: Relying too much on Toppin who wants to be the star, not a team player, and is highly overrated. Doesn’t include Oscar enough on offense, should never have recruited Ware the weak, and should not let Wheeler shoot outside the three point line or almost anywhere beyond 10 feet. I’ve defended Cal for too long. He really can’t coach, and needs to go.
I’m finding it hard to even watch this team. We need a coach. Cal wants to coach like he’s in the NBA. All one on one, no team play, not stressing basic basketball fundamentals, and no defense Easy problems to see is relying too much on Toppin who wants to be the pretty boy star, not a team player, and is highly overrated. Doesn’t include Oscar enough on offense nor gives him any help on the boards. He should never have recruited Ware the weak, a big, slow center who doesn’t impress on either side of the floor. Wheeler should be forbidden to shoot outside the three point line or almost anywhere beyond 10 feet. I’ve defended Cal for too long. He really can’t coach, and needs to go. Just let him recruit and let Bruiser take the actual reins to coach the team, because right now it feels like UK is as strong as the majority and worthless years of Tubby and the "legendary" coaching of the great loser Billy Gillispie. Obviously Mitch Barnhart has a soft spot for Cal, but he needs to grow some stones and make UK basketball the way it was always meant to be, a winner. Hate thinking of having lost the greatest achievement of all time in basketball, most wins all time. As long as this coaching continues, that’s gone for eternity.