What horses did he abandon that were hot?
The Lineup was fine if he had let them run the normal offense. His pathetic stall ball and some bad officiating in a close game allowed the cats to lose.
When did it go wrong? Pin point CCC beginning..
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What horses did he abandon that were hot?
The Lineup was fine if he had let them run the normal offense. His pathetic stall ball and some bad officiating in a close game allowed the cats to lose.
Wisconsin staggered him, mishandling the transfer portal put him on the ropes, and then his stubborn pride (letting guys like Hagans hold him hostage, playing favorites, talking down to the fans,etc.) has him down on the mat.
His only way back is to swallow his pride, but he's not that kind of coach.
His only way back is to swallow his pride, but he's not that kind of coach.
Went to the FF with 1 player and 4 ball boys. Went to the FF with 2 players and 3 ball boys. Went to a FF here with Knight and Harrelson as our best players.
Those were not superior talent. I know some of that doesn't count because it happened before some posters here were born. But in reality they didn't start records at teenager's birth.
When K and others started recruiting the one and done guys.
It seems the model is shifting again where teams aren't completely reliable upon the one and dones.
Cal needs to readjust to the new model.
It is BEYOND obvious that Cals decline began when WWW became interested in the NBA and stopped “influencing “ kids on their college decisions .
BS
It started when Oklahoma paid a bag to Trae Young. Then Wiseman tj Memphis which they were caught cheating in. Then Cade Cunninghams brother getting a job to coach and then being released 2 weeks after the season…then shadow Sharpe pulling the “suddenly eligible”. Zion Williamson suddenly getting a mansion when he went to Duke.
The list goes on.
Next year we are paying too, and I think the roster and results will reflect that difference.
Period.
Agree with this, 100%, Mike ! Didn't even make the Final Four with that group in 2010 !
But, he lost me, irrevocably, in the Wisconsin game in 2015. Perhaps the pinnacle of poor college basketball coaching, both pre-game and in-game. Ugh ! Really revolting just to think about it, even now.
We couldn’t even stop Frank the Tank. Embarrassing showing.
And we had KAT, Willie Cauley Stein, and Dakari Johnson to lean on him. Hell Marcus Lee was 6'9.
What UK coach John Calipari said in his 2018 Big Blue Madness speech
"But let me say this: It may feel like yesterday, but one look at me and you can tell what it's done to me. You people have beat me up. For some reason, it hasn't affected Ellen. But I've aged in dog years!
"In recent days, there have been a lot of stories about us entering the 10th year of this. How much longer will he go? How much does he have left in the tank? When will he retire?
"But let me say this: It may feel like yesterday, but one look at me and you can tell what it's done to me. You people have beat me up. For some reason, it hasn't affected Ellen. But I've aged in dog years!
"In recent days, there have been a lot of stories about us entering the 10th year of this. How much longer will he go? How much does he have left in the tank? When will he retire?
The 2010 WVU regional final and the 2015 Wisconsin semi final are both losses that demonstrated that Cal needs more than superior talent to win. Huggins and Ryan each outcoached Cal beyond what 2 coaches on a similar level should be able to do.
However, frustrated and disappointed, I was still on board. In the following years there were signs that we still had the Big Blue magic, but there were also signs that the Calipari era had seen its better days.
The losing season spent just about all of the patience that I and many other fans had. Last year, Oscar pretty much single handedly kept hope for UK under Cal success alive until St Peters.
The return of Oscar and a fool’s gold Bahama’s performance made many of us think this was the year that Cal would get us another title. Then the season started and gave us a cold dose of reality.
Next year, a great recruiting class is coming, but we can already hear the excuses. “They’re too young “ “They’re not machines”. But it will make for a great draft night for UK. I don’t care. I mean I am happy that kids get drafted and get a lot of cash, but that really isn’t the main job of a big time coach. You gotta win. As Herm said “You play the game to win”
If we are supposed to be the Gold Standard, we can’t settle for Silver or Bronze, but lately we aren’t even getting Aluminum foil. It’s just not acceptable.
However, frustrated and disappointed, I was still on board. In the following years there were signs that we still had the Big Blue magic, but there were also signs that the Calipari era had seen its better days.
The losing season spent just about all of the patience that I and many other fans had. Last year, Oscar pretty much single handedly kept hope for UK under Cal success alive until St Peters.
The return of Oscar and a fool’s gold Bahama’s performance made many of us think this was the year that Cal would get us another title. Then the season started and gave us a cold dose of reality.
Next year, a great recruiting class is coming, but we can already hear the excuses. “They’re too young “ “They’re not machines”. But it will make for a great draft night for UK. I don’t care. I mean I am happy that kids get drafted and get a lot of cash, but that really isn’t the main job of a big time coach. You gotta win. As Herm said “You play the game to win”
If we are supposed to be the Gold Standard, we can’t settle for Silver or Bronze, but lately we aren’t even getting Aluminum foil. It’s just not acceptable.
How do you lose the National Championship game when you’re up by NINE points with 2 minutes, 12 seconds to go in regulation?
He’s said he’s never watched the tape of that game, by the way….
Yeah Doron Lamb and Terrence Jones really sucked. I mean sucked.
SMH the cowbois know nothing about basketball.
When we declined the Nike Knight tourney, when World Wide Wes moved on, when we went with a crooked-K in our interlocked U-K logo, when Robic left, when Cal didn't take the UCLA job, or when Mitch denied the obviously good divorce for all parties and offered a braindead, life contract to a coach in his waning years heading towards obsolesce.
Who knows? It could be any number or combination of things. Let's just say, Kentucky hasn't been Kentucky since Fox and Monk played here. The season cut short by COVID could have been special, but I doubt it. We probably would have been beaten by a Kansas St.-type team in the second round.
Who knows? It could be any number or combination of things. Let's just say, Kentucky hasn't been Kentucky since Fox and Monk played here. The season cut short by COVID could have been special, but I doubt it. We probably would have been beaten by a Kansas St.-type team in the second round.
Several choke job tournament losses with teams he should have won the title with but in my mind the night Coach K punked him in that beat down loss with Zion and company (elite talent he used to get) is when I really started to question things. The snowball is when he started losing his best assistants and replaced them with guys who could not recruit. The icing was when Peevy left. The cherry on top is when Covid hit. He just hasn’t been the same man since then.
We wanted more experience on the team which he has gotten but we did not know how inept he is at coaching lesser talent with experience.
We wanted more experience on the team which he has gotten but we did not know how inept he is at coaching lesser talent with experience.
You said that, I didn't. But the haters sure know how to cherry pick to make an invalid point. Even while claiming to know basketball. Basketball has nothing to do with most of the hate.
For me it was Diallo that made me wonder what his strategy was and the culture here. Recruiting was dropping some and we started getting kids that really did not want to be here and several that were not near as good as they thought on top of that. We got keys for two really good teams out of that class with PJ (sophomore) and Richards (junior) but the combo of not getting enough high end talent and key returnees has caught up to us. And we all know Cal is not going to scheme around weaknesses. But the biggest drop, after talent, has been around toughness....historically Cal's calling card. The last 3 teams have been soft mentally and physically.
Not sure there was one point.
Teams paying players hurt. Notice who has another loaded class coming in next year now that everyone can pay, Cal again. Who had the #1 recruit for this year until he bailed on us? (Please don't start the Cal knew stuff, not the point of this thread) We all know Duke paid to get their classes via Nike for several years. Everyone can pay players and suddenly Roy and K retire? I don't believe that's a coincidence.
Wisconsin game hurt, but that was coaching and he changed nothing about the idiotic. It gave phot proof that the officials screwed us. It changed a rule and gave Cal a new platform to preach on, "They had to change rules because of us"
I think getting screwed in 2017 by the Roof Pooper and in 2019 when Auburn got fouling immunity for 9+ minutes played a big part. Almost like Cal realized they won't let him get there again. his manic yelling and treating the officials like they kicked his dog got much worse after that.
He's almost got in to an us against the world mentality. He's not including the fans in the us though, just him and the team.
Teams paying players hurt. Notice who has another loaded class coming in next year now that everyone can pay, Cal again. Who had the #1 recruit for this year until he bailed on us? (Please don't start the Cal knew stuff, not the point of this thread) We all know Duke paid to get their classes via Nike for several years. Everyone can pay players and suddenly Roy and K retire? I don't believe that's a coincidence.
Wisconsin game hurt, but that was coaching and he changed nothing about the idiotic. It gave phot proof that the officials screwed us. It changed a rule and gave Cal a new platform to preach on, "They had to change rules because of us"
I think getting screwed in 2017 by the Roof Pooper and in 2019 when Auburn got fouling immunity for 9+ minutes played a big part. Almost like Cal realized they won't let him get there again. his manic yelling and treating the officials like they kicked his dog got much worse after that.
He's almost got in to an us against the world mentality. He's not including the fans in the us though, just him and the team.