Cal quote seems directly @ Willis

[LmdCat]

You feel that Cal is a bully because he doesn't play Willis as much as you think he should play and he called him out during half time, is that correct?

No, I feel that Cal is a bully because he is like the bully on the play ground that picks out one of the weakest kids in his class to punch on.

 

[Jkwo_rivals113955]

Cal is not a great coach. Nope

Listening to your basketball insights is like watching this guy giving a speech at an astrophysics convention

 

[LmdCat]

I know cal is not a fan of zone much to his demise.

He probably doesn't like it because he is incapable of teaching it effectively to his players.

 

[Spanish Radio]

No, I feel that Cal is a bully because he is like the bully on the play ground that picks out one of the weakest kids in his class to punch on.

What has he done that you would consider "punching" and "picking on"?

 

[UK90]

I know cal is not a fan of zone much to his demise.

Yeah, you got a point. A national championship, 4 final fours in just the last 5 years, and a 54 million dollar contract extension. Cal's refusal to play zones sure has caused him quite the sad "demise."

 

[Stonewall12]

Yeah, you got a point. A national championship, 4 final fours in just the last 5 years, and a 54 million dollar contract extension. Cal's refusal to play zones sure has caused him quite the sad "demise."

You are insufferable.

 

[assistbyhawkins]

For chrissakes, Cal's not gonna change his defensive system just to accommodate some reserve coming in off the bench.

If you like zones, you're a fan of the wrong team. Cal hates zones, always has, always will, and rarely ever uses them. He's as strict of a man to man disciple as there is in the college game, and he sure ain't gonna change that just to make things easier for Derek Willis.

I see this as a much bigger problem than Willis. This team is awful defensively. This team ranks 61st in the country in defensive efficiency, only slightly ahead of Indiana. Thats pathetic. So maybe a change WITH THE PERSONNEL you have may be a good thing?? Coach to their strengths?? I love Cal, think hes a phenomenal coach, but too often he tries to fit the square peg in the round hole.

Which brings me back to my point- if your entire team is below average defensively save 1 or 2 guys, why single 1 guy out. Why limit a guys offensive output because he is bad at defense. Because there are way more than just 1 guy on this team that should be happening to.

 

[brianpoe]

I don't understand

Fixed it for you..

 

[LmdCat]

What has he done that you would consider "punching" and "picking on"?

If there was ever a time to say something anything positive about a Willis, it should have been for his efforts during the closing minutes of the first half. But hey, that would have been too much like the decent thing to do. So he accuses Willis of allowing a three pointer that was clearly the responsibility of Murray. Even the ESPN announcer had to laugh about Cal's reaction to Willis.

 

[dave5164]

Born and raised in Kentucky and a Huge Big Blue fan! My problem on this board(Rupp Rafters) is the lack of knowledge of the game when some post on here. Its just not Derek's Defense that hurts him his Turnovers, missed layups, and when he goes in for a Rebound and just is knocked around underneath. Willis is 6'9 and if I was him esp this year is that after last year Final Four loss and after we lose all that we lost to NBA I would have been in the weight room working on building up my 6'9 frame to become tougher underneath.I just can't believe UK fans don't see that when Willis is brought in his "D" is not that good. He hits his couple of 3's and that is about it. When some fans on here think Cal is Bias with Willis and being from Kentucky that is so wrong that you think that when Cal has been saying how Hawkins has been the most imroved over the season and that he was shooting the best over the summer and had improved so much. Hawkins 'D'was already there and we all know that but his last game before injury when he had 13 and hit 3 from 3 point range and was shooting well to go along with his shutdown defense that is what Cal is talking about tonight when you thought he was talking about Willis. I believe he was talking about Willis, Mulder, SKal, and Matthews on there "D", missed layups, turnovers, etc. Hawkins is that perfect 6th man off the bench and also we just don't have a 2nd five starting like last year that could have been in the Top 10 and made the NCAA Tourney.

 

[LmdCat]

I see this as a much bigger problem than Willis. This team is awful defensively. This team ranks 61st in the country in defensive efficiency, only slightly ahead of Indiana. Thats pathetic. So maybe a change WITH THE PERSONNEL you have may be a good thing?? Coach to their strengths?? I love Cal, think hes a phenomenal coach, but too often he tries to fit the square peg in the round hole.

Which brings me back to my point- if your entire team is below average defensively save 1 or 2 guys, why single 1 guy out. Why limit a guys offensive output because he is bad at defense. Because there are way more than just 1 guy on this team that should be happening to.

A very fair response, but please don't expect the Cal worshipers to agree. They will never admit to him doing anything wrong until he leaves and then they will all become attack dogs.

 

[LmdCat]

Born and raised in Kentucky and a Huge Big Blue fan! My problem on this board(Rupp Rafters) is the lack of knowledge of the game when some post on here. Its just not Derek's Defense that hurts him his Turnovers, missed layups, and when he goes in for a Rebound and just is knocked around underneath. Willis is 6'9 and if I was him esp this year is that after last year Final Four loss and after we lose all that we lost to NBA I would have been in the weight room working on building up my 6'9 frame to become tougher underneath.I just can't believe UK fans don't see that when Willis is brought in his "D" is not that good. He hits his couple of 3's and that is about it. When some fans on here think Cal is Bias with Willis and being from Kentucky that is so wrong that you think that when Cal has been saying how Hawkins has been the most imroved over the season and that he was shooting the best over the summer and had improved so much. Hawkins 'D'was already there and we all know that but his last game before injury when he had 13 and hit 3 from 3 point range and was shooting well to go along with his shutdown defense that is what Cal is talking about tonight when you thought he was talking about Willis. I believe he was talking about Willis, Mulder, SKal, and Matthews on there "D", missed layups, turnovers, etc. Hawkins is that perfect 6th man off the bench and also we just don't have a 2nd five starting like last year that could have been in the Top 10 and made the NCAA Tourney.

Cal's comments at the half had nothing to do with missed layups, turnovers and all the other stuff you mentioned because those things didn't occur tonight. Please try to stay focused.

 

[kybassfan]

He probably doesn't like it because he is incapable of teaching it effectively to his players.

Wow. Just wow.

 

[brianpoe]

If there was ever a time to say something anything positive about a Willis, it should have been for his efforts during the closing minutes of the first half. But hey, that would have been too much like the decent thing to do. So he accuses Willis of allowing a three pointer that was clearly the responsibility of Murray. Even the ESPN announcer had to laugh about Cal's reaction to Willis.

You keep saying this like Willis had no chance to guard the guy and was out of position because of Murray.

Simply not true.

Now if you want to argue it was a really deep shot ok, but your argument is false.

 

[MegaBlue05]

Is Stonewall Willis' dad or something? Dude goes into defense mode as soon as anyone suggests Willis isn't the best player on the team.

Derek is an excellent shooter. He's a piss poor defender. Cal will play a guy who can't shoot a lick but will play D (Briscoe, MKG, Archie) over shooters who can't guard lamp posts (Wiltjer, Willis) 10 times out of 10.

 

[assistbyhawkins]

You keep saying this like Willis had no chance to guard the guy and was out of position because of Murray.

Simply not true.

Now if you want to argue it was a really deep shot ok, but your argument is false.

This cracks me up. MSU shot 46% from the 3 tonight. Was Willis responsible for all of those or did some other guys give up open 3s too??? Sword and the other guards abused Ulis, Murray and Briscoe to the tune of 60 of the 74 points. Should they have been called out too at halftime or just the one 25 foot 3 pointer that Willis gave up at the buzzer?

 

[hoodro]

For chrissakes, Cal's not gonna change his defensive system just to accommodate some reserve coming in off the bench.

If you like zones, you're a fan of the wrong team. Cal hates zones, always has, always will, and rarely ever uses them. He's as strict of a man to man disciple as there is in the college game, and he sure ain't gonna change that just to make things easier for Derek Willis.

And I'll just add that Cal's defensive coaching has netted him multiple top ten defensive teams throughout his career, some of which produced insane, unheard of numbers.

If people haven't noticed yet, since Cal has been here, defense has been one of UK's biggest strengths. It's borderline loony bin to even imply that Cal should change one of his biggest strengths to accommodate a 7th-8th man role player.

Here's a better idea, maybe Willis shouldn't have half-assed it all year last year, and instead focused on spending the year getting better defensively.

 

[LmdCat]

You keep saying this like Willis had no chance to guard the guy and was out of position because of Murray.

Simply not true.

Now if you want to argue it was a really deep shot ok, but your argument is false.

Murray should have maintained his footing and fought through the pick. Would it have been nice if Willis could have gotten out there to cover for Murray? Certainly! However, was it reasonable to expect him to be able close the gap fast enough to block the shot? No! That would make about as much sense as expecting Lee to hit a jump-shot.

 

[Spanish Radio]

If there was ever a time to say something anything positive about a Willis, it should have been for his efforts during the closing minutes of the first half. But hey, that would have been too much like the decent thing to do. So he accuses Willis of allowing a three pointer that was clearly the responsibility of Murray. Even the ESPN announcer had to laugh about Cal's reaction to Willis.

Not sure how this makes him a bully as he didn't threaten Willis. Is there anything else ?

 

[LmdCat]

Not sure how this makes him a bully as he didn't threaten Willis. Is there anything else ?

You might not be aware of this new thing called verbal bullying. You don't have to lay hands on someone or make some other type of physical contact with them to be accused of bullying. I am certain that you are aware of this.

 

[Spanish Radio]

You might not be aware of this new thing called verbal bullying. You don't have to lay hands on someone or make some other type of physical contact with them to be accused of bullying. I am certain that you are aware of this.

Could you break down how he verbally threatened him? That is not what I heard.

 

[Stonewall12]

Is Stonewall Willis' dad or something? Dude goes into defense mode as soon as anyone suggests Willis isn't the best player on the team.

Derek is an excellent shooter. He's a piss poor defender. Cal will play a guy who can't shoot a lick but will play D (Briscoe, MKG, Archie) over shooters who can't guard lamp posts (Wiltjer, Willis) 10 times out of 10.

That is correct, cal does do that. That does not make it right.

 

[kybassfan]

You might not be aware of this new thing called verbal bullying. You don't have to lay hands on someone or make some other type of physical contact with them to be accused of bullying. I am certain that you are aware of this.

Are you serious? You sound like Hillary Clinton or Jane Fonda.

 

[DwayneMeighan]

This cracks me up. MSU shot 46% from the 3 tonight. Was Willis responsible for all of those or did some other guys give up open 3s too???

No, this cracks me up. You are focused on the wrong number. Sure, they shot 46%, but they only made six in total. Willis was directly responsible for three of those six. So, no, Willis didn't give up all of the three, but he did in fact give up 50% of them.

 

[sluggercatfan]

Here is another poster who knows nothing about basketball.[roll][eyeroll]

If he is talking about Willis and he very well might. I hope he leaves. He does not deserve his crap.

Bash away fools.:flush:

May well get your wish ...this is a team Cal can't run everybody off and he may need the extra scholly for the new guys coming even if EJ F comes off scholly

 

[brianpoe]

This cracks me up. MSU shot 46% from the 3 tonight. Was Willis responsible for all of those or did some other guys give up open 3s too??? Sword and the other guards abused Ulis, Murray and Briscoe to the tune of 60 of the 74 points. Should they have been called out too at halftime or just the one 25 foot 3 pointer that Willis gave up at the buzzer?

Again Cal didnt just bring up Willis name at halftime. Did you even see the interview? He was asked specifically about Derek. Why is this so hard?

 

[assistbyhawkins]

No, this cracks me up. You are focused on the wrong number. Sure, they shot 46%, but they only made six in total. Willis was directly responsible for three of those six. So, no, Willis didn't give up all of the three, but he did in fact give up 50% of them.

Good point. Willis is responsible for this UK team being ranked 61st in defensive efficiency. I mean, this team is obviously a defensive juggernaut that Willis brings down. Need to make sure our other 8 Gary Payton/Dennis Rodman type defenders play 35 minutes plus.

 

[brianpoe]

Murray should have maintained his footing and fought through the pick. Would it have been nice if Willis could have gotten out there to cover for Murray? Certainly! However, was it reasonable to expect him to be able close the gap fast enough to block the shot? No! That would make about as much sense as expecting Lee to hit a jump-shot.

First off in the last seconds you always switch on picks, who doesnt know this?

Fight through? And what chase a guy while he shoots the last second shot?

Dont fall down? This is why you dont fight through picks in the very last seconds, people are trying to stop you.


Can you not see the photos?

Willis was actually ahead of him early, he was dead in front of him long before the shot.


You look really silly with this argument.


However, I'm not blaming Willis on that, I kind of disagree with Cal because:

Newman had the ball - a very good penetrator.
He shot with 4 seconds left - plenty of time to drive by Willis.
He shot from way deep.


See? Make a reasonable case. Dont go off on tangents and speak untruths.

Your hate for Cal is disrupting any bball sense you may have had.

 

[ZaytovenCat]

I'm not pro or con Willis but it's plain as day Cal treats him different. He and a few others must be flawless to be allowed to stay in while Murray or Briscoe could take a dump at mid court and not have a word said to them. Until recently Alex was in the group that would get their *** chewed for anything also but we're so limited that he doesn't focus on him anymore.

Perfect example is in the second half Lee sets a moving pick for Briscoe and is called for it and Cal jumps up screaming at Mulder who is one the other side of the floor and then yanks him. I'd never be able to play under those conditions if I were Willis or Mulder. You gotta have confidence and you can't get any when you're constantly looking over your shoulder to the bench to see if you're getting yanked.

 

[MegaBlue05]

cant wait until next year when willis wont play at all so this wont be an issue.

oh wait...then we will get all the "why isnt willis playing" threads...

Please no.

I read four years of "Why ain't Carrier playing?'
I read four years of "Why ain't Hood playing?'
I read two years of "Why ain't Willis playing?'

In all seriousness, I want Willis to succeed here because I love every Cat, but the guys who think he should play 30 mpg are crazy. Derek is great to bring in for a brief period to shoot a corner 3, but you have to limit his time on defense. To me, it's a mental thing for him. He's thinking too much and is a step slow on D.

 

[26MichaelUK]

Lmd showed his *** all year on the football board and is now doing the same here. Literally the most negative poster on this site. He already got owned on the other thread on this subject.Him, Cutnets, Ripcord and a few others do nothing but take shots at Cal and then accuse everyone else of having an agenda.

 

[brianpoe]

Lmd showed his *** all year on the football board and is now doing the same here. Literally the most negative poster on this site. He already got owned on the other thread on this subject.Him, Cutnets, Ripcord and a few others do nothing but take shots at Cal and then accuse everyone else of having an agenda.

Been several years for Old Lmd brother, he is very consistent.

 

[26MichaelUK]

I'm not pro or con Willis but it's plain as day Cal treats him different. He and a few others must be flawless to be allowed to stay in while Murray or Briscoe could take a dump at mid court and not have a word said to them. Until recently Alex was in the group that would get their *** chewed for anything also but we're so limited that he doesn't focus on him anymore.

Perfect example is in the second half Lee sets a moving pick for Briscoe and is called for it and Cal jumps up screaming at Mulder who is one the other side of the floor and then yanks him. I'd never be able to play under those conditions if I were Willis or Mulder. You gotta have confidence and you can't get any when you're constantly looking over your shoulder to the bench to see if you're getting yanked.

Clearly Cal does not know how to coach right? I mean he kills these kids confidence so much that they've taken us to four final fours and a title. That's terrible. Cal is in over his head here.

 

[assistbyhawkins]

Please no.



In all seriousness, I want Willis to succeed here because I love every Cat, but the guys who think he should play 30 mpg are crazy. Derek is great to bring in for a brief period to shoot a corner 3, but you have to limit his time on defense. To me, it's a mental thing for him. He's thinking too much and is a step slow on D.

Nobody is expecting 30 minutes from the guy. Id just like to see a little longer leash for him and some of the other guys, not get yanked after every single little mistake. Playing sports is about confidence as much as anything. Maybe if the role players didnt have to play afraid theyd play a little better.

 

[kybassfan]

Again Cal didnt just bring up Willis name at halftime. Did you even see the interview? He was asked specifically about Derek. Why is this so hard?

And the Willis whiff came not 15 seconds before on the last play of the game.

 

[Spanish Radio]

This thread has devolved into posters calling each other out and coach bashing. I am going to lock this thread.

 

[kat57]

All I ask of Cal is that he treat every player the same. Willis is limited defensively, but honestly, the entire team is below average defensively. Skal is the worst defender Ive ever seen at UK, Lee fouls out 3 of 4 games, Ulis and Murray got scorched tonight on defense by Sword. All of our guards did, actually. MSU guards scored 60 of their 74 points, but people and Cal want to point at Willis as the problem?? Ok.

Willis is one of 3 guys on this team that can go off, get hot and score a bunch of points. But he doesnt play because of defense and gets singled out for his defense even though 90% of our team sucks defensively. Makes a lot of sense.

Cal isn't able to treat all the players the same because they aren't the same. We don't discipline our kids the same because they are all different. Cal sees the team in practice and he knows what they are capable of.
So I'll let him be the judge of what he thinks is best.