What is wrong with this team

[jedwar]

First off, not firing Cal etc. But something is amiss and really wrong with this team. Sickness has been a part of it, but we are not the same team as before. Not even close. We are so disjointed on offense and defense. Cal is concerned, he said so on post game.

This team was very good, fun to watch and seemed to be having fun. Now it's the total opposite. Something is going on. Everyone lays a stinker, but whatever is going on is not a one game issue.

I think when Cal began forcing the issue with having the ball go thru Bam it took away our free flowing guards and disrupted things.

 

[TBCat]

Agreed any talk of Cal being in trouble of losing his job is unimaginably stupid. However there is something clearly wrong at the heart of this team. I don't know what it is but it's time for Cal to start going medieval on this team. Monk and Briscoe should be benched and possibly should play at all next game. He needs to do something drastic to see if this team really does care or not. Right now I don't think they do.

 

[willyclyde]

Too reliant on monk? And obviously no will to play D.

 

[KWilt43atbuzz]

For one Jed our AA PG has been hobbled by injury and sickness for two weeks and during that time we have played tough teams, some very tough.

Plus Mulder has been out during that stretch.

I don't think it's much more than that.

 

[jrpross_rivals]

I'm with you. We were an offensive freight train for 2 months. Now we're like a squeaky shopping cart.

 

[School boy]

I been thinking what happen for the past 7 days after losing to KU. I came up with every since Diallo came on board this team hasn't played right. I'm not sure why I think something like this would hurt the team but nothing else makes sense to me at this point.

For some reason Diallo and I can be WAY wrong.

 

[fisherscatfan_rivals101526]

What's wrong with this team:

With the first pick in the 2017 NBA draft, the Brooklyn Nets select _____

 

[BourbonBalz]

It's just not a very well rounded squad. We've got two point guards that can't shoot and are turnover prone. We've got a great two guard that never met a shot he didn't like. We've got exactly one scoring threat in the post and he doesn't score unless it's a dunk. He has zero post moves. We've got two stretch fours that prefer shooting from the perimeter. Oh, our best rebounder is a 6'3" point guard. That's NOT a positive. But the biggest problem? Too many players with no heart for the college game. We've got a few that already have one foot out the door and it's very obvious. You can't win titles with this team.

Oh, most importantly, this team couldn't guard a tree stump.

 

[TTTblue24]

defense, we cant guard a folding chair right now & rebounding. Those 2 require heart & effort, we have not shown any real signs of either. Plus, we go as monk goes unfortunately.

 

[anon_9qtxg60vqzy0y]

I been thinking what happen for the past 7 days after losing to KU. I came up with every since Diallo came on board this team hasn't played right. I'm not sure why I think something like this would hurt the team but nothing else makes sense to me at this point.

For some reason Diallo and I can be WAY wrong.

I said the same thing. Since Diallo came on, Briscoe started playing like what and it's rolled downhill. Briscoe is jealous of Diallo

 

[sefleming]

There are 2 great motivational tools for a coach to use pine time and running time.
I don't think running time will work at this level

 

[Cats192]

1. We don't play defense. It's not an issue of man vs zone. We just don't try on D. The guards don't offer any resistance. Bam doesn't block shots the way a guy his size should. We don't cover guys on the perimeter. How many times tonight did Willis or Gabriel or Mulder half heartedly help on the drive only to see the guard kick it to the wing for a wide open 3.

2. We don't rebound. 45-26. That says so much. Rebounds=possessions. Bam is ginormous and doesn't get boards. Monk has 8 rebounds in his last 5 games. We have the best athletes in virtually any game. Yet we don't value the ball.

3. Stupid turnovers. Fox makes some lazy passes/lazy dribbles. Bam loves to dribble with 3 defenders. Briscoe loves to drive into the trees and try to pass it through them.

4. We have no identity on offense. When he's hot (which is never on the road), the give it to Monk plan works. When he's not, we're lost.

 

[JerseyCat84_rivals57050]

First off, not firing Cal etc. But something is amiss and really wrong with this team. Sickness has been a part of it, but we are not the same team as before. Not even close. We are so disjointed on offense and defense. Cal is concerned, he said so on post game.

This team was very good, fun to watch and seemed to be having fun. Now it's the total opposite. Something is going on. Everyone lays a stinker, but whatever is going on is not a one game issue.

I think when Cal began forcing the issue with having the ball go thru Bam it took away our free flowing guards and disrupted things.

Gotta start with the not firing Cal disclaimer [laughing]

 

[KYCatAttack]

I've been telling people for 2 weeks that we haven't been the same team since we starting forcing the issue in the post with Bam. It's killed the flow.

 

[JerseyCat84_rivals57050]

I said the same thing. Since Diallo came on, Briscoe started playing like what and it's rolled downhill. Briscoe is jealous of Diallo

Why is he jealous of Diallo? He isn't playing.

 

[jedwar]

Gotta start with the not firing Cal disclaimer [laughing]

Yeah I did. It's pretty silly that we can't have any kind of criticism toward the team or Cal himself without being labeled a Cal hater etc. I'm just not a rainbow and unicorns kind of guy. But I'm not a doomsdayer either.

 

[Aike]

I think you're right, in that we've gone overboard in trying to establish Bam, and it's taken us away from our identity.

Beyond that, the effort isn't there on the defensive end.

Dig a little deeper...

Was Bam mad he wasn't getting enough touches?

Are the other guys frustrated that we haven't played as well trying to force feed Bam?

Has this led to a lack of cohesion and lack of effort on the defensive end?

Admittedly, that's all speculative. But we look like a team that doesn't trust each other on the floor.

Ultimately, this is on Cal. We are in third place in the league. We are suddenly a 4 seed trending down.

It's on Cal to get these guys to sacrifice for one another and play to win the rest of the way.

Bam needs to hustle and not worry about anything else. Same for Wenyen. And Briscoe.

Willis has to fight for boards.

Everyone needs to look for Monk and Monk needs to ratchet up his defense and make the extra pass.

Fox needs to drive to pass even when he can score.

It isn't too late, but things were way too easy early. We haven't handled adversity well.

The team needs to be broken all the way down and come back home humble and hungry.

They can't just show up. Do they finally know that? We'll see.

 

[BluCroo]

Before the season started I watched the videos of the players on CoachCal.com.

One thing stood out that made me think "uh-oh"

Both Fox and Briscoe more of less stated that they were planning on being the team leader. At this point I don't know if either is capable of being the team leader. But it just may be that the lack of a defined leader for this team has caused some bad chemistry with everybody on it.

This team has never formed into a cohesive unit--and doing so is always a determining factor for success. Especially for these young teams that Kentucky fields every year.

This team is 5 individuals playing out on the floor. That's not a team.

 

[JerseyCat84_rivals57050]

I think you're right, in that we've gone overboard in trying to establish Bam, and it's taken us away from our identity.

Beyond that, the effort isn't there on the defensive end.

Dig a little deeper...

Was Bam mad he wasn't getting enough touches?

Are the other guys frustrated that we haven't played as well trying to force feed Bam?

Has this led to a lack of cohesion and lack of effort on the defensive end?

Admittedly, that's all speculative. But we look like a team that doesn't trust each other on the floor.

Ultimately, this is on Cal. We are in third place in the league. We are suddenly a 4 seed trending down.

It's on Cal to get these guys to sacrifice for one another and play to win the rest of the way.

Bam needs to hustle and not worry about anything else. Same for Wenyen. And Briscoe.

Willis has to fight for boards.

Everyone needs to look for Monk and Monk needs to ratchet up his defense and make the extra pass.

Fox needs to drive to pass even when he can score.

It isn't too late, but things were way too easy early. We haven't handled adversity well.

The team needs to be broken all the way down and come back home humble and hungry.

They can't just show up. Do they finally know that? We'll see.

Unfortunately if their truly is some team turmoil it probably won't come to light until after the season is over.

 

[CatsnRoses]

I think Briscoe's a big part of it. Not trying to scapegoat him, but he's been straight lousy in virtually every big game this season. He's missing layups, playing horrendous defense, dribbling nowhere, taking ill-advised jumpshots after he hit a few fools gold ones earlier this year... just been a disaster.

Honestly we'd be much better off with a pure shooter at the 3 (Mulder) for spacing purposes. Teams wouldn't be able to collapse on Fox/Monk drives as much with Mulder on the opposite wing. Briscoe needs the ball in his hands to be effective... problems is we have two guards who are much better than him with the ball in their hands, so it becomes a situation where he can't utilize his best skill without taking away from two superior players in Monk/Fox.

 

[morgousky]

Yeah I did. It's pretty silly that we can't have any kind of criticism toward the team or Cal himself without being labeled a Cal hater etc. I'm just not a rainbow and unicorns kind of guy. But I'm not a doomsdayer either.

Making post on adjustments and I'm accused of "wanting Cals obituary".

It's ridiculous.

 

[Cawood86_rivals]

Awful defense. Poor rebounding. No real true desire to win. If they're ahead and things are rolling, it's all good, but when it's a fight and you have be willing to do whatever it takes to win, they don't have it.
And I don't think a loss is all that bothersome to them.

 

[MudererofCrows]

Did anyone catch Fox screaming at Cal on a a couple OOB plays in the second half?

I did and it speaks volumes about where this team is right now.

 

[MarkPftw]

This team has just been really sick since early December...the last two months. According to some on this board.

 

[ScrewDuke1]

Zero heart and pitiful effort with no leadership.

 

[richbrookstomato]

#1Wildcatsfan4life and Cats192 covered it perfectly.

I'd just add that Fox, Bam and mostly Briscoe are all pressing their games because they are seeing their Draft stock fall every game.

-Fox is taking too many jumpshots to prove he can shoot and is actually showing he can't.

-Briscoe is trying too prove he can play PG and trying to do too much and is actually showing he may not be able to handle it.

-Bam is trying to prove he can score and defend in the post and is actually showing he can't. Then his lack of rebounding and fouling propensity is making him press more.

So, we all know that Cal allows his players to showcase their skills if it also wins games. Now that he sees that it's not working, he'll have to "Tweak" the gameplan to win. Hopefully the team will buy in now.

 

[westerncat]

This team has no ♥ and no desire to play defense.

 

[TheAnonymous13]

I think the scouting report is out on uk, and so the burden on monk is even more so.

 

[BigBlueFanGA]

First off, not firing Cal etc. But something is amiss and really wrong with this team. Sickness has been a part of it, but we are not the same team as before. Not even close. We are so disjointed on offense and defense. Cal is concerned, he said so on post game.

This team was very good, fun to watch and seemed to be having fun. Now it's the total opposite. Something is going on. Everyone lays a stinker, but whatever is going on is not a one game issue.

I think when Cal began forcing the issue with having the ball go thru Bam it took away our free flowing guards and disrupted things.

Personally, I see a bad case of prima dona-ism. Particularly from our two most important players, Monk and Fox. Our ridiculous youth with no upperclassmen stepping up in a significant way puts us in a bad position. They have no safety net, no rudder to right the ship. This time of year everyone else has improved. We haven't. The going gets much tougher at this point and when things don't go right for these guys, they revert to AAU ball. I'm pretty sure AAU stands for ALL ABOUT URSELF.

The short answer is we aren't a team, we're a cobbled together group of players. I doubt seriously if Cal can salvage this season. I just don't see the necessary desire, determination or toughness from this group. We'll make the tournament as a 4-5 seed and we'll be lucky to make the sweet 16. I expect a first weekend exit. Next group of freshmen up, I guess, but to be frank, I'm really tired of Cals flawed philosophy for team building.

Oh, one other thing. This idea of positionless basketball isn't helping. We have no center and no 3. We have 3 pf's, 2 pg's and a sg in the first 6. None if them are consistent shooters. I think the team is fatally flawed but I'll root for them every game, same as always

 

[MudererofCrows]

Another thing that bothers me and especially tonight....we run plays for non-shooters in Briscoe on an OOB set (one of the few this season that didn't just involve tossing it into Bam on the wing) and one that got Hawkins free for three but we struggle to run stuff for Monk or even Mulder when he's in.

 

[KWilt43atbuzz]

Our schedule has been brutal for the last few weeks too.
KU
At UF

At UT is never a picnic for U.K.

Factor in the toughness of the schedule and Fox being hobbled and sick as well as Mulder and it's not surprising we have struggled.

Some of you guys are way overthinking the last few weeks.

Seriously.

 

[docholiday51]

Things were good as long as we were winning,players were happy to play together,now they are not so happy.As long as they won their draft stock was going up now it isn't .I think Diallo is part of the issue in some way,we started trying to force the ball to Bam.

I think this is a very immature team,they aren't as sure of themselves as they would like to be.Things came to easy to early and when the going got tough some couldn't handle it.Monk,Fox,Bam and Briscoe live in a different world than the rest of the players,the NBA is in sight for them it is real to them .It is only a vague dream for the others right now

Some aren't listening to Cal,the others see that and they aren't sure what to make of it.Willis and Mulder are probably wondering if they made the right choice to come to UK.Hawkins is ready to start the next chapter of his life.Humphries Wynyard,Jones and Gabriel are wondering if they belong here.

I don't see this team returning to the play that we saw earlier this year,we will do well to get thru the first weekend of the NCAAT

 

[BBUK_anon]

Yes

 

[Aike]

Unfortunately if their truly is some team turmoil it probably won't come to light until after the season is over.

If they like each other, it can be fixed. High water hides the stumps.

I'm not convinced it's a personality issue as much as an on court issue. That's on Cal to convince them of how they need to play to get the most out of the team and each other.

Bad news is, I'm not sure Cal quite has this bunch figured out. The way they need to play may be at odds with the way he wants to play. He may have to fight his own DNA.

 

[Burly]

It's just not a very well rounded squad. We've got two point guards that can't shoot and are turnover prone. We've got a great two guard that never met a shot he didn't like. We've got exactly one scoring threat in the post and he doesn't score unless it's a dunk. He has zero post moves. We've got two stretch fours that prefer shooting from the perimeter. Oh, our best rebounder is a 6'3" point guard. That's NOT a positive. But the biggest problem? Too many players with no heart for the college game. We've got a few that already have one foot out the door and it's very obvious. You can't win titles with this team.

Oh, most importantly, this team couldn't guard a tree stump.

Bingo...it is a flawed roster

 

[BlueDevilWildcat]

I think UK is similar to Duke this year. Returning players the same or worse than last year, frosh not as good as expected, poor mix of skills/roles, and no real team leaders - players or coaches. We also had an insane number of injuries, sounds like UK has had the flu going on 2 months now?

 

[anon_013cn8yrfncx2]

Only Fox seems to have much ability to get his own shot, such as it is. Monk to a degree too. Most of the rest that play a lot don't actually have a shot (DW excepted)

 

[School boy]

If they like each other, it can be fixed. High water hides the stumps.

I'm not convinced it's a personality issue as much as an on court issue. That's on Cal to convince them of how they need to play to get the most out of the team and each other.

Bad news is, I'm not sure Cal quite has this bunch figured out. The way they need to play may be at odds with the way he wants to play. He may have to fight his own DNA.

If Cal doesn't figure it out on doing a podcast or looking at NBA mock drafts then the fix must be going to the AFC Champion game, oh wait

 

[ukfred]

In my opinion it is the fact that each year our very young and very talented teams have to come together to learn to play as a unit. The lack of a an over powering inside player or two causes several adjustments to be made which takes more time. Playing consistent tough defense becomes harder when you find yourself playing against much better players then when you were the star in your league in high school.

Sickness and injuries take time to heal and adjusting to the coaches methods to establish certain styles of play in an attempt to establish an inside game instead of what you are used to takes time also. A season only gives so much time to make these adjustments and that leaves me with this answer to the question. This team lacks the inside presence needed and just has too many problems to solve, especially when the new adjustment period is prolonged by recovering from sickness and injuries.

All that said, I also believe we have a chance to make some noise before this season is over. I feel that way because this team has shown how talented it is when everything comes together for them. A little improvement from our inside men and a few hot outside players and a steady Briscoe and I like their chances.

 

[morgousky]

In my opinion it is the fact that each year our very young and very talented teams have to come together to learn to play as a unit. The lack of a an over powering inside player or two causes several adjustments to be made which takes more time. Playing consistent tough defense becomes harder when you find yourself playing against much better players then when you were the star in your league in high school.

Sickness and injuries take time to heal and adjusting to the coaches methods to establish certain styles of play in an attempt to establish an inside game instead of what you are used to takes time also. A season only gives so much time to make these adjustments and that leaves me with this answer to the question. This team lacks the inside presence needed and just has too many problems to solve, especially when the new adjustment period is prolonged by recovering from sickness and injuries.

All that said, I also believe we have a chance to make some noise before this season is over. I feel that way because this team has shown how talented it is when everything comes together for them. A little improvement from our inside men and a few hot outside players and a steady Briscoe and I like their chances.

The problem is we are easy to coach against. Cal ran different defensive looks last game for the first real time. He's too damn vanilla, and we don't have the talent on both ends to make up for it. So when they looked great, there wasnt much film on the team and coaches were learning. They adjust, we don't, and now we can barely beat incarnate word.