I'm okay with it, Ohio is good, we played bad for portions of the game and won by 20 and it's only November, but dudes calling people out because we beat Ohio is pretty stupid. He just needs to enjoy the win.
The Ohio U @ Kentucky Thread
- Thread starter ScottGreene22
- Start date
We didn't get screwed by the refs, you gotta stop blaming the refs for every mistake we make. Oscar fouled and they called them.
A few things stuck out to me tonight:
--Loved the fact the team figured out how to stay in the game without Oscar/Wheeler playing poorly and having foul trouble in 1st Half.
--Collins was a bit overmatched defensively in this game at this point in his career. (2nd year from Daimion would be ideal for little things like this, but he was in the game when team charged back to get back in it from being down 8 early).
--Bryce Hopkins flashed why he's going to be a fantastic player at UK at some point (calling next year when his body will be in better shape and he can extend his great play, instead of flashes)but his 7 first half pts and energy were huge to keep in contact in the game.
-Dontaie Allen did a nice job when in--not just hitting that 3 but also defending and scrambling. Had a few good games in a row off the ball and that is good to see. Long season--EVERYONE will be needed at different moments.
--Grady needs to quit deferring and floating on the floor and start getting more competitive off the ball. There's a saying in FB about great skill players--they are great when not having the ball. Blocking, blitz pickup, etc...and Grady was used to doing all his damage with the ball. Once he figures out that he is needed to defend/rebound, etc...he'll be big time consistent weapon.
--Wheeler had his worst Half as a Cat--and thought his opening mins in 2nd Half stunk too--then he got back to being the little general. Love watching him play.
--TyTy showed why he's going to be a fantastic NBA player by playing NBA basketball tonight. Pick and Roll he DESTROYED them. Picked spots to attack and just kept hitting Keion and did so in a pocket where Brooks could just catch/shoot and not have to worry about getting ball. Was about as clinical as it gets for a guy in his 4th game in CBB. 11 Rebs. I had him for more then 5 assists--but that's fine. This guy is one of my favorite Cal players ever and still have a lot of basketball to enjoy from him. He got to play PG with frontline guys in and single handedly got everyone on same page and led team from 8 down to 2 pt lead at Half. With reads/big hoops, defense, and toughness. Loved it.
-Mintz--thought he and Keion had a few '21 team moments in 1st Half. A few times both looked like they wanted to give in and they both fought through it and contributed greatly to the win. One thing I really enjoyed was seeing the both of them bond with the new guys. You can say/do all the crap in offseason but reality is a game like tonight is when you either bond/fracture. Doesn't mean you won't win but for instance--the team in 1st Half--Mintz/Brooks only look for each other in Halfcourt and didn't trust everyone--then without Oscar--teammates showed faith in both--and carried to 2nd and felt like tonight they became a TEAM. Sounds corny but you saw guys playing for each other and the jersey and not themselves. Sprinting to pick up a teammate, sprinting to high five, not caring who had ball and being genuinely hyped for a guy making a play/hoop. New guys already had that-the older guys weren't there yet from my perspective but as big of a margin as this ended--that's in part due to guys showing trust and care about the win--not stats/minutes.
Talked about Keion in separate thread--but thought he did a great job doing what is hard--making shots when your team is down--opponent is playing well and making shots and they weren't dunks/layups. Biggest difference along with that was making FT's while Ohio U left a lot of those "damn we're still down 5 or still down 8" FT's at line while Keion made FT's but also those wide open 18 footers that aren't easy when trailing. Big shots and thought he was visibly a guy who went from wanting to give into frustration (that time in 1st Half where he didn't get a call and almost turned it over again stayed under hoop while TV timeout came) and instead he FOUGHT. That's why he's a JR and that was needed. Big step from him and think you see consistent play and trust from him/teammates. Now just hope he understands-that is what he does/is needed from him--not being a playmaker. UK has enough of them. Let the guards do that.
As for Cal-I love what he's done to this point. He won this game believing in his staff and basically what we saw in the 2nd Half was Illinois basketball-guards surrounding Oscar--but the difference was we've got a forward who can score on open looks while Illini didn't--and that is why they were bounced.
We'd have seen Toppin play the 5 if healthy against a small ball team too--he's going to be a big boost with giving some defense and live leg plays to join the energy of Oscar/TyTy/Wheeler.
This was type of game last year's team would've gotten down 18-20, lost by 8-10 pts and this year's team should've been up 22 with 20 secs left if teammates finished a lob play after taking a big shot from a very good team I expect to be in NCAA Tournament this year.
--Loved the fact the team figured out how to stay in the game without Oscar/Wheeler playing poorly and having foul trouble in 1st Half.
--Collins was a bit overmatched defensively in this game at this point in his career. (2nd year from Daimion would be ideal for little things like this, but he was in the game when team charged back to get back in it from being down 8 early).
--Bryce Hopkins flashed why he's going to be a fantastic player at UK at some point (calling next year when his body will be in better shape and he can extend his great play, instead of flashes)but his 7 first half pts and energy were huge to keep in contact in the game.
-Dontaie Allen did a nice job when in--not just hitting that 3 but also defending and scrambling. Had a few good games in a row off the ball and that is good to see. Long season--EVERYONE will be needed at different moments.
--Grady needs to quit deferring and floating on the floor and start getting more competitive off the ball. There's a saying in FB about great skill players--they are great when not having the ball. Blocking, blitz pickup, etc...and Grady was used to doing all his damage with the ball. Once he figures out that he is needed to defend/rebound, etc...he'll be big time consistent weapon.
--Wheeler had his worst Half as a Cat--and thought his opening mins in 2nd Half stunk too--then he got back to being the little general. Love watching him play.
--TyTy showed why he's going to be a fantastic NBA player by playing NBA basketball tonight. Pick and Roll he DESTROYED them. Picked spots to attack and just kept hitting Keion and did so in a pocket where Brooks could just catch/shoot and not have to worry about getting ball. Was about as clinical as it gets for a guy in his 4th game in CBB. 11 Rebs. I had him for more then 5 assists--but that's fine. This guy is one of my favorite Cal players ever and still have a lot of basketball to enjoy from him. He got to play PG with frontline guys in and single handedly got everyone on same page and led team from 8 down to 2 pt lead at Half. With reads/big hoops, defense, and toughness. Loved it.
-Mintz--thought he and Keion had a few '21 team moments in 1st Half. A few times both looked like they wanted to give in and they both fought through it and contributed greatly to the win. One thing I really enjoyed was seeing the both of them bond with the new guys. You can say/do all the crap in offseason but reality is a game like tonight is when you either bond/fracture. Doesn't mean you won't win but for instance--the team in 1st Half--Mintz/Brooks only look for each other in Halfcourt and didn't trust everyone--then without Oscar--teammates showed faith in both--and carried to 2nd and felt like tonight they became a TEAM. Sounds corny but you saw guys playing for each other and the jersey and not themselves. Sprinting to pick up a teammate, sprinting to high five, not caring who had ball and being genuinely hyped for a guy making a play/hoop. New guys already had that-the older guys weren't there yet from my perspective but as big of a margin as this ended--that's in part due to guys showing trust and care about the win--not stats/minutes.
Talked about Keion in separate thread--but thought he did a great job doing what is hard--making shots when your team is down--opponent is playing well and making shots and they weren't dunks/layups. Biggest difference along with that was making FT's while Ohio U left a lot of those "damn we're still down 5 or still down 8" FT's at line while Keion made FT's but also those wide open 18 footers that aren't easy when trailing. Big shots and thought he was visibly a guy who went from wanting to give into frustration (that time in 1st Half where he didn't get a call and almost turned it over again stayed under hoop while TV timeout came) and instead he FOUGHT. That's why he's a JR and that was needed. Big step from him and think you see consistent play and trust from him/teammates. Now just hope he understands-that is what he does/is needed from him--not being a playmaker. UK has enough of them. Let the guards do that.
As for Cal-I love what he's done to this point. He won this game believing in his staff and basically what we saw in the 2nd Half was Illinois basketball-guards surrounding Oscar--but the difference was we've got a forward who can score on open looks while Illini didn't--and that is why they were bounced.
We'd have seen Toppin play the 5 if healthy against a small ball team too--he's going to be a big boost with giving some defense and live leg plays to join the energy of Oscar/TyTy/Wheeler.
This was type of game last year's team would've gotten down 18-20, lost by 8-10 pts and this year's team should've been up 22 with 20 secs left if teammates finished a lob play after taking a big shot from a very good team I expect to be in NCAA Tournament this year.
Cal asking fans who aren’t going to come to give up tickets to teachers, grade school students, first responders, etc.
Agree. Some of them are missing some fun *** game.
Agree. Some of them are missing some fun *** game.
Cal thanks fans who showed up tonight. Says it means worlds to players.
No. Watched it on Tv. Had a blast. Can only imagine it would’ve been more fun in person. I also live THREE AND A HALF HOURS AWAY and work for a living.if I could’ve gotten the time off, I would’ve easily made a weekend of it.
Same can be said for other people, like me that don't want to drive two hours to sit in the nose bleeds, but I'm also not cutting down others that didn’t make it. All the good seats are impossible to get and are extremely expensive if you could find them. No thank you.
If I were closer, I
Don’t think I’d miss a game unless sick or something obvious. Just don’t understand, playing a cupcake or not, you paid that much for tickets, use them if you have them. .
So far this season, it's been ideal for buying nose=bleeds and then slipping down to the lower arena
So, what tickets do you have? If you don't have season tickets passed down through your family over centuries, you're sitting in the nosebleeds and it just isn't worth it.
Meh, I'm not driving 4hrs round trip on the hopes I might be able to slide down a few rows from the top.
I can drink alcohol and walk 15' to my bathroom and STILL watch the game from my grunt stump.
What excuse did you offer at the end of last season? Let me guess; it wasn't the start of the next season. Have we become The University of Excuses. You act as if this isn't November for all the other teams too.
Alert!
Glad we won. Nice win. What bothers me is how successful will having Brooks being the focus of the offense while shooting long two's be in the long run?
Feel the same...just making the observation. If you've gone to one of these first home games and sat the entire game in the nose-bleeds, then that's on you