After much thought I would say the problem might not be Cal. The problem is Kentucky is relying on transfers who aren’t very good. We have been spoiled for years with five star recruits and Cal is getting back to that with next years class. For example Wheeler was a 4 star, Fredrick a 3 star, Reeves and Toppin were not rated. We have to stop pretending these players can actually perform well. They are all living up to their rankings.
The problem is not Cal
- Thread starter Ltbarnett25
- Start date
These guys with only one 5* went 29-7 and took pUKe to overtime.
It's coaching.
| # | Name | Pos | Class | Ht. | Wt. | Hometown (School) | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| #24 | Jamal Mashburn (L) | F | So. | 6-8 | 240 | Bronx, NY (Cardinal Hayes) | All-American [Basketball Times (2nd)]; All- NCAA Regional Team; All-SEC [First Team (AP & Coaches)]; SEC Tournament MVP; |
| #14 | Jeff Brassow | G | Red | 6-5 | 195 | Houston, TX (Alief-Elsik) | (Redshirted after 2 games (knee injury)); |
| #34 | John Pelphrey (L) | F-G | Sr. | 6-7 | 195 | Paintsville, KY (High) | All-SEC Tournament; |
| #12 | Deron Feldhaus (L) | F | Sr. | 6-7 | 210 | Maysville, KY (Mason County) | - |
| #32 | Richie Farmer (L) | G | Sr. | 6-0 | 170 | Manchester, KY (Clay County) | - |
| #11 | Sean Woods (L) | G | Sr. | 6-2 | 180 | Indianapolis, IN (Cathedral) | All- NCAA Regional Team; |
| #31 | Dale Brown (L) | G | Jr. | 6-3 | 200 | Pascagoula, MS (Pascagoula High) | - |
| #44 | Gimel Martinez (L) | F | So. | 6-8 | 220 | Miami, FL (Miami Senior) | - |
| #5 | Travis Ford (L) | G | So. | 5-9 | 165 | Madisonville, KY (North Hopkins) | Academic All-SEC; |
| #23 | Nehemiah Braddy (L) | G | Jr. | 6-2 | 190 | Jacksonville, FL (Middleburg) | - |
| #10 | Andre Riddick (L) | C | Fr. | 6-9 | 190 | New York, NY (Bishop Loughlin) | - |
| #42 | Carlos Toomer (L) | G | So. | 6-4 | 190 | Corinth, MS (High) | - |
| #25 | Aminu Timberlake (L) | F | Fr. | 6-9 | 195 | Chicago, IL (De LaSalle) | - |
| #3 | Chris Harrison (L) | G | Fr. | 6-3 | 165 | Tollesboro, KY (Tollesboro High) |
This team was in most people’s top 5 and everyone’s top 10. So, I don’t really think the lack of talent is the issue. Plenty of teams win big with a bunch of non 5 stars. My goodness, how many 5 stars does Cal need?!
The problem is there is zero movement on offense and Cal refuses to change it. Our offense absolutely SUCKS! Another problem is we are never prepared for our opponents. Never change defenses, run OOB plays for easy buckets. I could go on.
The problem is there is zero movement on offense and Cal refuses to change it. Our offense absolutely SUCKS! Another problem is we are never prepared for our opponents. Never change defenses, run OOB plays for easy buckets. I could go on.
And should’ve won. Just absolutely egregious officiating in that game. Can’t believe we were even in it at the end. Just incredible coaching and heart from that team.
OP should go back to posting less frequently .
Great point. We need enough talent to overcome Cal’s lack of coaching. We can’t possibly expect to beat Mizzou with fewer than seven 5*s.
How many 5 stars did St Pete have? Cal needs 10 star players and then it’s a crapshoot!
9 messages since dec 19.
Keep sending them, Barney.
Got to protect that 50-million-dollar foolish buyout anyway you can.
1. Blame players
2. Blame fans
Rinse & repeat ad nauseum
Keep sending them, Barney.
Got to protect that 50-million-dollar foolish buyout anyway you can.
1. Blame players
2. Blame fans
Rinse & repeat ad nauseum
Well, if Kentucky is relying on transfers that just aren’t very good, who’s fault is that? It all goes back to Cal. No way around it.
Sorry. , I forgot teams are assigned players by a PlayStation AI artificially generated…. Oh wait Cal picks the players, the offense, the plays??? SAY WHAAAAT??!?!?!?!? Can you feel my sarcasm ?
And who is responsible for the players who are being brought in here to play?
My problem is if we are going to play Ware now for 30 minutes a game we will be lucky to go .500 in the SEC play this year. I have nothing against Ware and he is a player to come in and give Oscar a break or if he is foul trouble but I don't see him as a 30 minute player for this team. I still don't understand why we don't go with Wallace as the PG, Reeves, Oscar, Thiero, Livingston. I am not for sure right now to play at the 4 right now but that has been hurting UK last 2-3 years. I just feel like when Wallace plays the PG he is better distributing the ball to all team members. When Wheeler is playing PG at least 90% of the time he is forcing the ball into Oscar and they now are double-triple team Oscar and if he gets it back out we are not knocking down the open shots. This has been discussed lately on here how many wide open shots we are missing this year. I still like Wallace playing the point just like in the Florida A&M game and yes A&M isn't the top competition but Wallace scored 27 and dished out 9 assists. He just ran the floor and the team better when Wallace was playing the PG vs. Wheeler at PG.
So the roster make up is a direct reflection of the coach is it not?
Sorry, couldn't disagree more. This may not be a championship team at the end of the day. But they certainly have enough talent to be better than they've been with the right coach. They've been downright pathetic this year and it ain't just because of the talent.
The problem is recruiting only guys who are expected to only be here for a year is not gonna win championships. You can’t basically field an aau team and expect them to win championships. If we had 3 core guys who we could then add 2 “all stars” to the mix. We need a core group players that are leaders for several years
It feels like there is a portion of people who only started watching UK basketball when Cal came in.
Looking at the join date, no clue whatsoever. Priceless.
Who assembled the roster? Who picks who comes into the program? Who chooses who plays, at what position and for how long?
It all comes back to one man. He is responsible for everything
It all comes back to one man. He is responsible for everything
Don't blame these players, put the blame where it belongs: on Cal
It all falls on the lap of the ONLY ONE who is ultimately responsible! That is how this **** works! Quit making excuses!
Don't blame these players, put the blame where it belongs: on Cal.
How many 5 stars did Missouri have?
Key word.....HEART. Those guys played for Kentucky.....not NIL....not the NBA.
It's not talent or coaching, it's both. I do think the talent on this team was overrated and hyped up. I think everyone bought into the hype after the Bahamas and automatically assumed some of the returning players were better than they are, specifically Toppins and Collins. Reeves and CJ have not looked good against real competition. Wheeler still has huge holes in his game. Livingston is a good but not great freshman. Oscar and Wallace are really the only standouts.
That said, the coaching has not been good. Cal still doesn't seem to know what to with the lineup and it seems like it causes this team to start slow against every single quality opponent. You can't win games when you're spending the entire first half climbing out of a double digit deficit. We'll see if Cal and the staff can figure out how to crack this nut, but so far it's not looking encouraging.
That said, the coaching has not been good. Cal still doesn't seem to know what to with the lineup and it seems like it causes this team to start slow against every single quality opponent. You can't win games when you're spending the entire first half climbing out of a double digit deficit. We'll see if Cal and the staff can figure out how to crack this nut, but so far it's not looking encouraging.
Ummmm YES, the problem IS Cal, 100%. Absolutely no question about it, none whatsoever.
The man has overstayed his welcome; it's time to get out of Dodge Cal.
The man has overstayed his welcome; it's time to get out of Dodge Cal.
Cal couldn’t win a game if he had the original dream team in the olympics.
I still believe when Wallace is running the show that this team does look better. I know the Florida A&M team is not the perfect example or competition but Wallace went for 27 points and 9 assists. That game both Reeves and Fredrick played 25 minutes and scored 14 and 12 that night. When Wallace is at PG he seems to run the floor and the team so much better and smooth compared to Wheeler at PG. With Wheeler at PG he goes inside to Oscar 90% of the time and that is it. The teams are now double/triple teaming Oscar and when he does get it back outside we are missing the wide-open shots. That has been discussed on here about UK missing the wide-open shots and 3-point shots especially vs. the Good Competition. I believe we have other options than Ware the last 2 games playing 25-30 minutes. I have nothing against Ware and is fine coming in to give Oscar a break or if he is in foul trouble just not a 30-minute player. That is what has bothered me in the last 2-3 games is how Cal is managing this team and who starts and who is coming off the bench. It just seems he has not clue who the Starting 5 will be and who will be in his 7-8 man rotation. Most years Cal already has this in place and we know who is the Starting 5 and who will be in his 7 or 8 player rotation. Why not give Wallace PG, Reeves, Oscar, Livingston, and maybe Thiero a shot at the starting 5. Then have Wheeler, Toppin, and Ware off the bench. I don't know how long Fredrick is down with his Injury. It just seems we shouldn't being having this issue with the start of the SEC season with our lineup.
No …just no
Calipari recruited and signed these players
Nearly all, if not all, have regressed in skills. Confidence that was there just a few months ago is gone
There are no offensive sets
The only defense is man to man..flatly refuses to use zone
Not one of them is being used properly..several playing out of position
Too much time is allotted to certain players
Line ups and substitution patterns are at best, wonky
Shall I go on?
It’s the coach..plan and simple
It comes down to which players have fully invested in the team and not themselves. I will tell you in my opinion Oscar, Wallace, Lvingston, and Ware are the only ones I see actually fighting every game. Wheeler and Toppin could care less and should be benched. You cannot win with a 5’5” PG running the show, he can’t even shoot the ball and is a walking turnover. What does he bring? And for Toppin his ego is too big and in reality he will never be his brother. Being athletic doesn’t make him a great player, he hardly even uses his athleticism to his advantage.
I suppose we fans need to do a better job of evaluating portal players. So noted.
Rankings are way overrated. There are lots of players who have outperformed or underperformed their ranking. The extreme examples would be Whitney and Curry.
Wheeler was an all-SEC performer that has not improved one bit in 2 years. All he had to do to improve and be a good PG was learn to not shoot it like a middle school girl. Nope, saw no need to.
Fredrick started for a top 20 team. So he has performed at the higher level in the past.
Reeves is scoring 12/gm making 41% of his 3’s. We would be happy with that if others were doing their part.
I’ll give you Toppin, you just went 1 for 4.