Concerns that we won't win it all.

[bucsrule8872]

Until we have another team that shoots 38+% from 3 and shoots at least 70% from the free throw line, I refuse to get excited about a potential title.

Cal's teams do everything else pretty well most every year. If he has a team that plays defense and rebounds like a typical Cal team and can make 3's and hit free throws, then it would be hard not to get excited about our chances.

 

[mdlUK.1]

Being forever young and then complaining( using as excuse) that we are that way.

Fans are the only ones I hear making that an excuse.

 

[Neue Regel]

That Duke team also didn't win the ACC regular season or ACC tournament. Just got hot in the NCAAs.

They had been hot though and gaining steam. They had won 12 in a row prior to the ACC Tournament loss. In that span was a sweep of UNC and a 30 point beat down of Notre Dame. UVA Finished first by one game in a league with unbalanced schedules. The Cavs lost to Duke as well in Charlottesville.

To the OP, it would be a shame to only focus on the destination at the expense of ever enjoying the journey. Always go into a season expecting bumps in the road that's part of the game. Look at what your 2014 team did. From struggles to playing in the sports biggest game. Don't give up now.

 

[Jazzycat]

The 1998 NC team lost to Ole Miss at home. After that game, I proverbially threw in the towel on that team thinking it was impossible to see this team in a FF. I believe that team also lost to UL.

The NCAA is all about matchups and getting on a roll heading into the SEC tourney. This team is loaded with potential and has a warrior veteran leader in Briscoe. If D Willis ever decides to become an Alpha Dog and takes his role seriously as a "Darius Miller" type leader, UK has a tremendous chance.

I really believe the Cats need the veterans to be leaders by example and vocally to have a shot. IMO.

 

[144catfan]

Derrick Willis an alpha dog???? Wow. More like Snoopy

 

[Aike]

They had been hot though and gaining steam. They had won 12 in a row prior to the ACC Tournament loss. In that span was a sweep of UNC and a 30 point beat down of Notre Dame. UVA Finished first by one game in a league with unbalanced schedules. The Cavs lost to Duke as well in Charlottesville.

To the OP, it would be a shame to only focus on the destination at the expense of ever enjoying the journey. Always go into a season expecting bumps in the road that's part of the game. Look at what your 2014 team did. From struggles to playing in the sports biggest game. Don't give up now.

A percentage of this board is simply nuts.

I watched you beat Florida the other night by 10 or 12. Decent win.

Vitale acted like Kennard and Jefferson had just walked on the moon. Our board would have been apoplectic that we didn't win by 20.

 

[Mojocat_rivals48469]

Except for being at the games in 2012 those games weren't even really satisfying, almost blowing it to UofL and KU, squandering away huge leads and control of those games.

So we won a title, but you weren't satisfied because we didn't win easily enough.

This is a condition called sheer dumbassery.

 

[Son_Of_Saul]

We've had 8 NC's in 100+ years, so odds are against us. Never had a UK fan quit so soon though.smh

It's actually 8 titles since the late 1930s. Titles before the NCAA Tourney emerged in that decade don't count.

 

[Wall2Boogie]

The guy has lost 6 games in 8 years at home...im not gonna ***** about losing a home game

Damn ulismyman you have been on fire with your posts recently they make sense and poesters like myself agree with you! What happened to the old ulismyman?

 

[Aike]

Damn ulismyman you have been on fire with your posts recently they make sense and poesters like myself agree with you! What happened to the old ulismyman?

I'm afraid he might be sober.

 

[kyups01]

There is a triple ZERO chance we win the National Championship if we do not develop a very respectable inside game and learn to guard the perimeter.

 

[Wall2Boogie]

Frankly, I could care less if we lost 8 games at home as long as we win 5 straight games in march and one in April. Don't get me wrong I hate losing but our 2014 Team didn't exactly set the world on fire and made it all the way to the championship game. This team will grow though growing pains as we saw last Saturday but it will make them stronger come tournament time which is fine by me. I think it was briscoe that said they came into that game with a big head not respecting their opponent. Hopefully they learn from that experience when we play unc ul and Kansas. Especially Kansas when they come into rupp.

 

[Son_Of_Saul]

Now I'm not going off the deep end and saying that UK is a horrible team and doesn't have a shot of winning it all. However I have my concerns, some legit and some superstitious.

Only 2 of the 8 past national championship teams have lost at home. This team lost at home. 3 point shooting is atrocious and shooting in general isn't great(not including dunks and layups which UK is very good and why we have 48% FG). Coach Cal seems reluctant to play our best 3 point shooter, because he isn't a good defender(the 8 guys that let UCLA score 97 points are CLEARLY much better defenders). Something else that is troublesome is the fact that coach Cal encourages Briscoe and Fox to shoot jumpers(guessing for NBA draft stock and to raise their confidence). Fact is they aren't great shooters, but that's ok. We don't need them to be good shooters. They are really good at other things that help this team be a title contender. They need to understand their role on the team and sacrifice for the greater good of the team to succeed. My suggestion is take one three a game and if you make it then shoot them until you miss.

I feel like if this team is going to win it all this will need to happen. Willis needs to play more consistent and stronger with the ball. Gabrielle can't break down and have mental lapses on defense(as much). The team needs to get Bam more involved on offense and help defense needs to improve when we do have defensive break downs. I also feel like UK should try to have two of Monk/Willis/Mulder on the floor as much as possible to help with driving lanes.

That being said I've been really impressed with the team. They have exceeded my expectations so far. Briscoe imroved his FT % and FG%. Bam is becoming more consistent and learning to stay out of foul trouble. Monk is playing like Derek Anderson. Fox is an all around great player and probably the most diverse player in UK history. Minus the UCLA loss this team has been the most consistent team through 9 games in UK history. Overall I'm excited to see how this season plays out. One thing I know for sure is that this team is the most exciting team to watch since I've been born 1988. What do you all think about this season so far?

It seems you've been debunked multiple times in this thread with your claim that only 2 out of the last 8 national champs lost a game at home.

Where did you get your information?

 

[Blue63Madison]

Right or wrong, I think mindsets like the OP's will become more prevalent as long as Cal is stuck on one championship.

 

[Son_Of_Saul]

There is a triple ZERO chance we win the National Championship if we do not develop a very respectable inside game and learn to guard the perimeter.

Is anyone arguing the opposite?

 

[sluggercatfan]

Fans are the only ones I hear making that an excuse.

You don't listen to Cal much, right?

 

[kyjeff1]

Right or wrong, I think mindsets like the OP's will become more prevalent as long as Cal is stuck on one championship.

Sadly it won't go away if he wins a second one either. They will still harp on the short falls of the '10, '11, '14 and '15 squads.

 

[kyjeff1]

Yes you must've bumped your head because you said national championships and repeat in the same post and, he hasn't done that and I don't have faith that he will anytime soon.

You can label me miserable or whatever you'd like, you're not changing anybody's mind raving about finishing 2nd 3rd and 4th-8th place(that's great, if you're a millennial pu**y). Especially when we lost to worse teams(often dogcrap, see UConn) in falling short of the main goal.

I have competitive fire and expectations of what is supposed to be best program in my favorite sport. With what we're putting in to it as a university(of which I'm an alum as well), program, and fanbase we should've repeated by now.

Reading all your comments tells me two things:
1) you're very young, definitely under 25
2) you have played sports, but only at intramural levels, you definitely have never sniffed college ball.
3) you're spoiled

I know I said there were only two things, but I threw a bonus one in there, because I felt that you needed it.

 

[kyjeff1]

You don't listen to Cal much, right?

Pssst, please see my last post to @kycatw\claws , it fits you perfectly too. You're welcome.

 

[BBNinSC_rivals62411]

Every team is flawed. No one is in any better position to win 6 games in March than us.
If anything, CBB in general has become less competitive. We'll never see an 85 Villanova or 83 NC State again.

I can pick 8 teams before the college football season begins and there's a very good chance one of these wins it all. (Alabama, Ohio St, Oklahoma, Michigan, Clemson, LSU,
USC, Notre Dame)

The schools that have a chance to win a basketball championship are fewer now.
Gone from perennial championship caliber are teams like Syracuse, Georgetown, Michigan, Notre Dame, St Johns, Indiana.

UK is one of the teams from a small group that will win the title: UK, Duke, UNC, UCLA,
Michigan St, Kansas, Arizona, Villanova.

 

[kyjeff1]

Every team is flawed. No one is in any better position to win 6 games in March than us.
If anything, CBB in general has become less competitive. We'll never see an 85 Villanova or 83 NC State again.

I can pick 8 teams before the college football season begins and there's a very good chance one of these wins it all. (Alabama, Ohio St, Oklahoma, Michigan, Clemson, LSU,
USC, Notre Dame)

The schools that have a chance to win a basketball championship are fewer now.
Gone from perennial championship caliber are teams like Syracuse, Georgetown, Michigan, Notre Dame, St Johns, Indiana.

UK is one of the teams from a small group that will win the title: UK, Duke, UNC, UCLA,
Michigan St, Kansas, Arizona, Villanova.

Michigan State? I'm not feeling it with that squad. Izzo or no Izzo.

 

[truebluewildcat_rivals34254]

Not to be a prisoner of the moment, but the UCLA game is concerning because that's the type of team we will be playing in March and maybe April.

Like I said immediately after the game. Bruins are playing basketball, we are playing athlete ball. Athlete ball will get us through 90%-95% of the schedule.

Individually Kentucky impresses across the board, I mean literally have a squad of guys that get picked first on the concrete court/play ground. I think a one on one tournament between our guys and the bruins would end up with our guys playing each other. But UCLA had good enough and comparable athletes who had more developed and specific basketball skills as opposed to raw ability. The took better shots and made them, they we're more efficient around the rim, they missed only 3-4 free throws, they seemed to be just as comfortable running half court as they did running and dunking.

We are rim running, UCLA is running plays and executing. Cal's "be an athlete..." came up short against Alford's "be in x position and use your skill to execute y play..."

This is nothing new as it is a discussion had every year. Cal more often than not will recruit the athlete over the ball player with a specific basketball skill, and play more of a open court try and out athlete them style.

The statistics right now paint a pretty good picture. Terrible 3 pt and FG percentages, but top 15 in rbs, top ranked in pts scored. What does that tell you? Scoring a lot and rebounding, yeah, but it also shows that we are really dependent on the easy baskets/lobs/runaway dunks, and that when it comes to other ways of scoring we miss a lot. Also tells me we don't have much of a half court offense yet, or we are not executing or very efficient in it. Leaving a lot to be desired at the stripe as well.

Not panic time, we should improve as time goes on and be primed to make a run.

 

[Rupp'sRunt]

We had good three point shooters last year , set us up good for the title

Well good shooters + no post doesn't exactly equate to the recipe for success.

 

[Seckatz]

Sickening if UCLA or Duke win this year. We have been so close but just couldn't do it with all the NBA talent we have had play here under Cal. The one great team to win 2012 had a once and a life time player in Anthony Davis.

 

[Seckatz]

`

Well good shooters + no post doesn't exactly equate to the recipe for success.

Must have both shooters and post players. Modern basketball teams win with half court post offense and strong 3 pt shooting.

 

[Panthur]

Kids and staff better get it in gear and give OP the "At least we didn't not win it all" moment he deserves.

 

[anon_9qtxg60vqzy0y]

OP after the UCLA game:

 

[Xception]

Well good shooters + no post doesn't exactly equate to the recipe for success.

Im glad you caught the point that shooters do not fix everything , including the loss to ucla . Last year had great shooters , first round loss .

 

[Xception]

People are out of their minds if they think this one game is an indictment on style or this teams ability to beat ucla going forward . They were hot and we rushed shots , it just happens sometimes . People are just in love with three pointers , they love shooters even if they can't do anything else . Teams that win the title just get hot at the right time . Notice how we get hot some games , if that happens in the f4 we win .

 

[School boy]

We are blowing people away. That is with Fox shooting 16% from 3 and we haven't rebounded very well yet. If Fox can get his jumper going and hit 26-28% from 3 then this team will just outscore everyone. Once we rebound better we will be the best team to field a March run.

UCLA had to score 97 points and I don't see us giving up that many again, and I don't see to many UCLA's we'll play again this season.

 

[Aike]

We are blowing people away. That is with Fox shooting 16% from 3 and we haven't rebounded very well yet. If Fox can get his jumper going and hit 26-28% from 3 then this team will just outscore everyone. Once we rebound better we will be the best team to field a March run.

UCLA had to score 97 points and I don't see us giving up that many again, and I don't see to many UCLA's we'll play again this season.

We rank 164th in the country on opponents offensive rebounding. Some of that is by design, as we often go for blocks and leave a rebound available.

Here are the offensive rebounding rankings for our next three opponents:

Hofstra - 16th
UNC - 1st
UL - 6th


The next week and a half is going to test us at a weak point.

UNC is the biggest test, since they have the offense to go with that rebounding, but we all know a UL game can get ugly.

 

[M1 Tanker]

Our inside game on offense and defense plus perimeter defense will make this a 2nd or 3rd round loss in the tournament. We are just to young and thin inside. You play help defense leaves the three point line wide open. It is what it is. I am going to enjoy the season and every victory we win and not sweat the losses. Besides, walleyes start running in a couple months.

 

[ashleys handfull]

You guys win, I'll be ecstatic about the elite 8.

 

[Aike]

You guys win, I'll be ecstatic about the elite 8.

Why not just save your complaining for March?

Unless you have a crystal ball that says we're losing in the Elite 8.

 

[Ukbrassowtipin]

It's the first of December

/thread

 

[morgousky]

If you want to win a title, you need a dependable three point shooter or more. You also need a balanced team. It's not rocket science. Our teams are lacking right now on the defensive end and offensive end. Good teams that are well coached can beat us. There's only one real way for U.K. To win this year, and there's several ways to beat us.

Some won't see it, and they'll attack you over and over. Then throw out the "titles take mainly luck" lie that the U.K. Pumps have been using as their go to excuse since we've been coming up short.

We are in trouble this year if you want a title. If you're cool with a bunch of wins and an average shot at a elite eight / final four, then you'll think everything is fine. It's what it is. Different people looking at different things.

 

[Bigkyfan88]

It seems you've been debunked multiple times in this thread with your claim that only 2 out of the last 8 national champs lost a game at home.

Where did you get your information?

BigBlueHistory.com

 

[Bigkyfan88]

Just looking at the last 4 years...3 of the NCAA champions lost at home. Might want to check facts guy before you try to post something as one.

Duke 2015
UCONN 2014
Louisville 2013

All lost at home and I didn't even bother going back to see the rest of the 8 years because if you were THAT wrong it isn't worth the time lol.

I MEANT UK's 8 National Champs teams.

 

[Aike]

More numbers that will hurt some of your heads.

3 of the past 6 champions weren't in the top 100 in the country in 3 point shooting.

There are lots of different ways to win a Title. Got to have solid and balanced offfense and defense, and yes, you have to have some good luck.

Since the chances of even the best teams winning the championship is usually 20% or less, one of the easiest and laziest bets to make is that a particular team WON'T win the Title.

Like all the other good teams, there is an 80%+ chance that UK will not cut down the nets this year. If that's the way it goes, then haters can point to whatever they want to point to.

Free throws, 3 pointers, Briscoe, Cal, take your pick. When you lose the last game, there is usually plenty of blame to go around.

But it doesn't take a genius to predict that a team won't win. It only takes a very basic understanding of statistics.