For starters, it would require Cal to acknowledge, ideally publicly, that he needs to tweak the way he's building his rosters. Not an overhaul per se, as let's face it he's not going to abandon the OAD entirely, but a shift in the types of players he brings into the program (more of a blend of different skill sets + the length/athleticism) with an effort to keep some multi-year guys who can provide continuity and still play important roles. I also think a shake up of his staff is probably in order (Barbee and Flint both IMO = no bueno). I'm skeptical that his ego will allow for that -- but my sense is that he can get more of the fan base to buy in or step away from the ledge if he shows some contrition and admits some changes need to be made for the betterment of the program. If no, if you think this year is bad, next year could be worse.
What's best for UK program going forward.
- Thread starter Stenchymouse
- Start date
As far as this team goes, it won't start showing improvement until they start playing two games a week.
We see it every year, these weeks where they only play 1 game every 7 days, they get rusty. Practice and camp Cal are good for conditioning and maybe some defensive stuff, be every one of Cal's teams start to show great improvement once they start playing twice a week.
They really need to find someone to play this week or it will be more of the same on Saturday.
We see it every year, these weeks where they only play 1 game every 7 days, they get rusty. Practice and camp Cal are good for conditioning and maybe some defensive stuff, be every one of Cal's teams start to show great improvement once they start playing twice a week.
They really need to find someone to play this week or it will be more of the same on Saturday.
Cal needs all the pressure on him otherwise he won’t change. Cal is bullheaded, he will not change unless he absolutely needs too
I've said it multiple times. If Cal were to just admit to the fans his system is broken and he will not continue down the path of recruiting as many star recruits as he can and then backfill the holes with whatever he can get and focus on a mix of talent with coaches dedicated to developing that talent
it would go a loooooong way in easing the frustration with this season and his future tenure here.
it would go a loooooong way in easing the frustration with this season and his future tenure here.
Take a look at the Top 25 right now. Aside from #3 Kansas and #20 Duke...there's 23 teams who have miraculously figured it out.
The first step is moving away from this idea that a 5 star kid is the without argument the best choice to play for Kentucky.
Yes, 5 stars is an indication of talent, but the goal is to build a team without deficits. Just collecting talent and then expecting them to mesh into a team doesn't work unless that talent is substantially better than the opposition.
There are too many examples of a kid that would have loved to come to Kentucky and is tearing it up at whatever school he landed at because he didn't have enough stars or he wasn't a superstar athlete.
This positionless player stuff might be good for landing the kids that have 7 offers, but I think we're at a point where we need a kid that can bring the ball up the court and give us 5-8 assists a game, a kid that can shoot 3 pointers at a 37% clip, a kid that can play with his back to the basket and a wing that crash the boards and can support weak side defense
Instead what we get is 3 months of trying to figure out who can do what or even if they are capable of it, and a result is some ugly if not embarrassing basketball for Kentucky in the process.
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I think it’s more about finding the right players regardless of rankings. Just because a kid is ranked 10th doesn’t necessarily mean he’s better than a kid ranked 30th, it’s just one persons opinion. I think cal recruits more off of rankings than he does finding the 4-5 best players that fit together every year.
Exactly. I'm not saying I want a bunch of 2 and 3* Gillespie schleps. I want guys like Jodie Meeks, Chuck Hayes, Patrick Patterson. Guys who have real skills but also need time. Its what we all want. The problem is the guys who SHOULD be those guys leave too early. Hagans is cut from NBA already. Same for EJ. Juzang is starting for UCLA. Etc.
Its fair to ask what do we do to stop those guys from leaving. There is no answer, its their life. But I do know the culture you build within the program has a hell of a lot to do to dictate the character of the players we land. Maybe mindset is a better word than character, but yall take my point. When we have this issue EVERY year, it's pretty obvious it's something that Cal is doing. It's the rule that this happens here, not the exception to the rule. Its a huge problem.