"This season was undoubtedly a success"

[kybassfan]

Spoken like a true sunshine pumper.

It's not about being positive or negative. It's about being realistic about what the expectations are here. Sorry if that offends you.

There is no realism to having outrageously highly expectations which are doomed to failure before you start. That’s the selfish demanding view of a two year old. Do you hold your breath and turn blue too?

The team was young, as the adult in charge kept having to remind us. It suffered injuries to key personnel. It dealt with numerous other issues, not the least of which was a segment of the fan base which turned fickle and vicious.

Inspite of this, they grew as a team, improved significantly and exceeded any reasonable expectations. It wasn’t a bad season all in all when viewed realistically. You just have to avoid looking through the eyes of a toddler.

 

[WCSPlayedWRInHS]

You think that's the sole reason people consider this season a disappointment? Be honest- you don't process anything anyone says to you in reply. You just continue off on your own tangent about how we're all miserable because we haven't lowered our standards for UK basketball down to your bar of mediocrity.

youre the one who can’t seem to process information. If you were capable of doing so, you would understand why it’s amazing that cal had us playing top 10 basketball at the end of the year. I’m not going to rehash the same points though, because you’d rather just continue leading the fellowship of the miserable. Carry on, bud.

 

[Johnfarrel]

It's so routine that nobody has mentioned it, but Kentucky did manage to win it's 31 SEC tournament championship in a league that many think was the second best in the country this year.

 

[OHcatfan]

I do not consider this season a success by any means. If UK Basketball loses 10 or more games in any season, I consider it an abysmal failure! That's just me, and there is no use in trying to change my mind.

 

[FFWhite]

Sweet 16 makes you one of the top 5% of teams in the NCAA. How many of us can say we are in the top 5% of our profession?

 

[seccats04]

I do not consider this season a success by any means. If UK Basketball loses 10 or more games in any season, I consider it an abysmal failure! That's just me, and there is no use in trying to change my mind.

I agree. When you are the supposed top program in college basketball you should not have very many double digit loss seasons, especially in today's watered down product. In 9 years Cal has had 5 (well two teams had 9). I just think if he tweaked his recruiting (not so many OAD's) we wouldn't have so many down regular seasons and we could build some continuity. I know I will get bashed for questioning Cal's method of building a roster but his way is not the only way or even the best way. Just look at teams like KU, Nova and UNCheat.

 

[Johnfarrel]

Sweet 16 makes you one of the top 5% of teams in the NCAA. How many of us can say we are in the top 5% of our profession?

I can say it. Not many would believe it.

 

[shutzhund]

You think that's the sole reason people consider this season a disappointment? Be honest- you don't process anything anyone says to you in reply. You just continue off on your own tangent about how we're all miserable because we haven't lowered our standards for UK basketball down to your bar of mediocrity.

As long as you have succeeded at everything in your life, according to the standards that you expect the team to live by, then you have every right to complain. However, some may doubt that you have. Not me, but some.

 

[yabbadabbadoo_rivals213851]

It was a pissy season that ended badly PERIOD
That’s my opinion
We need a change in player culture or coaching culture.

 

[kybassfan]

It was a pissy season that ended badly PERIOD
That’s my opinion
We need a change in player culture or coaching culture.

Or fan culture.

 

[billoliver40]

I am hopeful too
And we’ll have some experience next year which will be nice

Absolutely. If we lose only four players, we are really not much different than a school with a senior class graduating numbers wise.
A major clear out like last season and we will all be scratching our heads saying NOW what?

 

[WildMoon]

I think its hard to Judge.

Most everyone had them going to sweet 16th before the season started, and i am sure that was with J.V. playing. Losing arguably one of your best player coming in the whole season is pretty rough.

However, I would say Success would be how many of them return next season. WG, SKJ, NR, PJ, QG, and couple others return, then this year was worth it.

 

[yabbadabbadoo_rivals213851]

Loyola beat Kansas State like a dog
What’s that say about us?
I know what I watched that Thursday night and it wasn’t much

 

[yabbadabbadoo_rivals213851]

Our season was no better than that of The Orange

 

[Cat Ballou]

This season was an immensely wasted opportunity for Cal to get the last laugh on his detractors and one-up Coach K.

Yes - K only advanced one game further with a much better group of OADs, but can you imagine the PR victory he would have scored if he’d taken these guys to the F4 while Duke’s cadre of lottery picks watched from home?

 

[$Z71$]

This is really silly. You're breaking our season down by winning percentage? Just stripping it of all context whatsoever? C'mon. You can't seriously think that's a legitimate argument.

If you want to put context into it then it makes the season even better than just looking at winning percentage. In the lifetime of UK all teams we have had had more experience and a larger returning portion of scoring from the season before. We were the youngest team in the history of our program and were riddled with injuries all season. Vanderbilt and baker the obvious along with several others like Quade Green , Washington etc. 4 of our losses occurred during this span of extra injuries.

Taking all that in context and seeing as we ended the season on a 9-1 record beating teams by an average of 14 points I’d say that is a good achievement. If you can’t see that and be proud of the team and the progress they made I can’t help you. We were firing on all cylinders when it counted. Yes we choked and played poorly against Kstate and that happens, has happened to several very good teams we have had including the 2015 team and 2010 teams.

So go ahead let’s put it in context and further prove why you are an idiot if you can’t see the improvement this team made and how much better we were playing the final 11 games of the season than in the beginning. Was it a wonderful season no, but was it a success considering all the factors and obstacles we faced this year? Absolutely! Not to mention it will help set us up for what could be a magical season next year. It’s not realistic to be world beaters every year, any fan should realize that. But this year wasn’t a failure by any stretch of the imagination.

 

[WildcatfaninOhio]

It's all about reasonable expectations. Every season is different, and ever roster is different. It's easy to say that UK should be undefeated nation champions every year. But is that reasonable?

Before a season even starts I think it's best to make note of the roster, how much talent is returning, how much left, the strength of the conference, the strength of upcoming OOC schedule...! All those things. Then write down what would be a reasonable finish. After the season ends, go back and compare.

Before last season I thought an 8 to 10 loss season with a S16 finish. They finished a tad below that, with a couple bad losses. But close enough for me.

 

[JoeBeeHall]

The sec is on an upswing. This is not going to be like the old days when the league was garbage and we were the only good team in it.
It was a roller coaster year to be sure. Excuse me I feel some more sunshine coming,
makes me so happy I am not a gloom and doom type person.

 

[flacat22]

Yep. Tubby used to get killed for seasons just like this.

What a stupid comparison. There was VERY little light at the end of the Tubby tunnel compared to what Cal is able to restock the roster with year in and year out.

 

[yabbadabbadoo_rivals213851]

To each his own I guess

 

[nssdigitalchumps]

Anyone else enjoy what they watched this season like @WCSPlayedWRInHS? Would love to see how many people can actually claim that with a straight face.

This is a message board. You can't see faces.

 

[awf]

Spoken like a true sunshine pumper.

It's not about being positive or negative. It's about being realistic about what the expectations are here. Sorry if that offends you.

So, because the season was OK with some, then they are sunshine pumpers...........Maybe some of us have grown up to where our whole lives don't depend on the outcome of a basketball game.

 

[Son_Of_Saul]

Sweet 16 makes you one of the top 5% of teams in the NCAA. How many of us can say we are in the top 5% of our profession?

How many Division One teams can claim two top 20 NBA picks (SGA, Knox) and at least four other future professional players on a roster (Diallo, Richards, Washington, Gabriel)? This doesn’t count Vanderbilt (for obvious reasons), Green, or SKJ.

UK didn’t fail this year, but they weren’t an undoubted success either. The youth thing, by the Sweet Sixteen, is an obsolete point, especially for UK fans that have witnessed the blossoming of rosters over the course of a season. We live and die by youthful rosters, so using it as some sort of deflective reason for a complete meltdown against K-State is baseless.

Generally speaking (some fans have small expectations, which is fine), the only way this season will historically be looked back upon as an overall positive is if a vast percentage of these guys return. The season then will be seen as a building block toward better days.

 

[bucsrule8872]

To start the year I thought the Sweet Sixteen would be a success and anything else would be icing on the cake.

Most realistic fans knew we weren't cutting down the nets this season.

Most saw this as a transitiional year and that in 2018-19 we would be a true contender.

So far, so good. Just hoping we get some talent back for next year.

 

[irishcat1965]

Guess it depends on your perspective.

I've noticed some of the same fans who acted like it was an abomination when Tubby had a 10 loss season now seem far less bothered by an 11 loss season that ends with us eliminated by a crappy 9 seed without its best player.

Go figure.

Probably because Cal has been to 4 final fours and two Elite 8s in 9 seasons unlike Tubby. Maybe that has something to do with it.

 

[Son_Of_Saul]

It's all about reasonable expectations. Every season is different, and ever roster is different. It's easy to say that UK should be undefeated nation champions every year. But is that reasonable?

Before a season even starts I think it's best to make note of the roster, how much talent is returning, how much left, the strength of the conference, the strength of upcoming OOC schedule...! All those things. Then write down what would be a reasonable finish. After the season ends, go back and compare.

Before last season I thought an 8 to 10 loss season with a S16 finish. They finished a tad below that, with a couple bad losses. But close enough for me.

Right or wrong, teams are remembered largely for what they did in the tourney.

The legacy of this team will be the mental meltdown against an inferior K-State team.

Ten years from now, people will remember K-State and Loyola waiting in the wings with a real shot at a Final Four. That’s the reality of legacy, and the immensity of a real chance at a Final Four shouldn’t be undersold for the sake of settling in on a more optimistic narrative.

The season wasn’t devastating, but UK failed to capitalize on a historically golden opportunity. UK matches up well with all four remaining Final Four teams as well, which makes the Sweet Sixteen flameout even more difficult to stomach. There wasn’t a team in their entire potential path that was overwhelming from a personnel standpoint.

 

[irishcat1965]

I do not consider this season a success by any means. If UK Basketball loses 10 or more games in any season, I consider it an abysmal failure! That's just me, and there is no use in trying to change my mind.

No one cares about changing your mind.

 

[irishcat1965]

11 losses, 4th in the SEC and a Sweet Sixteen exit to one of the worst at-large teams in the field isn't a success in my book. I take pride in having high expectations for Kentucky basketball and I've always loved how our fanbase demands excellence and won't settle for anything less. With that said, would be great if the official Kentucky basketball Twitter account would realize this and stop trying to frame this underwhelming season as some sort of success story.

/endrant

Quit tying your self worth to UK basketball success and you will feel better.

 

[Son_Of_Saul]

To start the year I thought the Sweet Sixteen would be a success and anything else would be icing on the cake.

Most realistic fans knew we weren't cutting down the nets this season.

Most saw this as a transitiional year and that in 2018-19 we would be a true contender.

So far, so good. Just hoping we get some talent back for next year.

The realities changed, though. Most fans didn’t anticipate SGA becoming a fringe lottery pick, or the team having a real shot at a Final Four.


The path: Davidson, Buffalo, K-State, Loyola, Michigan, Villanova/Kansas.


Which of those teams did the March version of Kentucky match up poorly with? UK’s roster actually matched up better with any of those teams than the ’15 UK team did with Wisconsin or Notre Dame. Think about that for a minute and let it set in.

 

[irishcat1965]

The realities changed, though. Most fans didn’t anticipate SGA becoming a fringe lottery pick, or the team having a real shot at a Final Four.


The path: Davidson, Buffalo, K-State, Loyola, Michigan, Villanova/Kansas.


Which of those teams did the March version of Kentucky match up poorly with? UK’s roster actually matched up better with any of those teams than the ’15 UK team did with Wisconsin or Notre Dame. Think about that for a minute and let it set in.

How did Duke match up with South Carolina Mercer or Lehigh? Think about that for a minute and let it sink in.

 

[FFWhite]

Reality and negative Nancys do not cross paths.

 

[Son_Of_Saul]

To each his own I guess

This is true, but I often laugh at those who essentially say “it doesn’t really matter” after an underwhelming tournament performance while they, at the same time, post thousands of messages on this board annually.

Is it life or death? Obviously no. But do we all care more than we’d like to admit? In almost every case, yes.

 

[irishcat1965]

Was the season finish what any of us had hoped? Absolutely not. But it happens to every program and every coach including Self, K, Roy, Wright, Beilein etc.

 

[irishcat1965]

This is true, but I often laugh at those who essentially say “it doesn’t really matter” after an underwhelming tournament performance while they, at the same time, post thousands of messages on this board annually.

Is it life or death? Obviously no. But do we all care more than we’d like to admit? In almost every case, yes.

Yep. We all care a lot. But that doesn’t change the reality that every top basketball program suffers losses like UK did this year.

 

[Son_Of_Saul]

How did Duke match up with South Carolina Mercer or Lehigh? Think about that for a minute and let it sink in.

And have we not mocked them every year as a result of those flameouts?

You’re not really advancing the contrarian point by posing that question.

 

[irishcat1965]

And have we not mocked them every year as a result of those flameouts?

You’re not really advancing the contrarian point by posing that question.

Mocking them is what a fan does in taking satisfaction of a rival program failing. But once again doesn’t change the fact that UK will suffer the same type of losses.

 

[Son_Of_Saul]

Yep. We all care a lot. But that doesn’t change the reality that every top basketball program suffers losses like UK did this year.

No doubt.

But is that the main proposition of the thread? The major question is whether the season was a success or not.

I’m not arguing that it was a failure or a success. I’m arguing that it was somewhere in the middle, and will largely find its legacy secured in the memory of a loss to a marginal K-State team, without its best player, with Loyola waiting in the wings. UK, by contrast, was not infinitely better, but UK was better, no doubt, but fell short.

That’s not a call for failure, but it’s also not a call for painting a rosy picture. This season was simply flavorless. I contend that the major silver lining for this season is a mass return of players, with a reasonable building block toward the future.

 

[irishcat1965]

No doubt.

But is that the main proposition of the thread? The major question is whether the season was a success or not.

I’m not arguing that it was a failure or a success. I’m arguing that it was somewhere in the middle, and will largely find its legacy secured in the memory of a loss to a marginal K-State team, without its best player, with Loyola waiting in the wings. UK, by contrast, was not infinitely better, but UK was better, no doubt, but fell short.

That’s not a call for failure, but it’s also not a call for painting a rosy picture. This season was simply flavorless. I contend that the major silver lining for this season is a mass return of players, with a reasonable building block toward the future.

I agree with this. My point was having expectations is merited being a fan of UK. But ignoring the reality that UK will suffer losses like all other top programs is delusional. We have been fortunate that Cal is a victim of his own success.

 

[KYFOSSIL]

It was a pissy season that ended badly PERIOD
That’s my opinion
We need a change in player culture or coaching culture.

Or fan culture.

 

[jackcarlson]

all I know is that I should be driving to San Antonio right now, and I'm not.