Where's the drop-off?

[revcort]

You know what we normally see with any UK team. The starters become very obvious very quickly. They perform well and separate themselves from the rest of the team. The bench players come in and the team usually hits a lull and fans like myself wait for the starters to come back on the floor so we can put teams away. I just haven't seen the drop-off in play from anyone on this team.

Now, I'm no fool and I realize these teams UK is playing in these exhibitions are not Auburn or Duke, but seriously, everyone who comes on the floor is making plays, playing defense, making shots, pushing the tempo and the lead.

I'm sure some may see a clear starting 5. I could pick a 5 myself, but I don't think we can rule out any of the top 8 or 9 players as potential starters, and that is a very good thing, a very rare thing. As I said yesterday, I hate to use the word platoon, but this group could probably pull it off. I'm really liking what I've seen so far.

 

[docholiday51]

You know what we normally see with any UK team. The starters become very obvious very quickly. They perform well and separate themselves from the rest of the team. The bench players come in and the team usually hits a lull and fans like myself wait for the starters to come back on the floor so we can put teams away. I just haven't seen the drop-off in play from anyone on this team.

Now, I'm no fool and I realize these teams UK is playing in these exhibitions are not Auburn or Duke, but seriously, everyone who comes on the floor is making plays, playing defense, making shots, pushing the tempo and the lead.

I'm sure some may see a clear starting 5. I could pick a 5 myself, but I don't think we can rule out any of the top 8 or 9 players as potential starters, and that is a very good thing, a very rare thing. As I said yesterday, I hate to use the word platoon, but this group could probably pull it off. I'm really liking what I've seen so far.

Wish we had a little more competition so we might see some separation, but there is plenty of time for that. Thought we had a nice mix of talent last year(that's why the way the season ended was so hard to take) This bunch appears to be on a whole other level at least in this point in time.

 

[IUfanBorden]

Wish we had a little more competition so we might see some separation, but there is plenty of time for that. Thought we had a nice mix of talent last year(that's why the way the season ended was so hard to take) This bunch appears to be on a whole other level at least in this point in time.

I think Carelton will be the best UK faces in the Bahama's.

 

[bbnkat02]

I think Carelton will be the best UK faces in the Bahama's.

And they got waxed by thirty to a rebuilding FSU.

 

[IUfanBorden]

And they got waxed by thirty to a rebuilding FSU.

Which speaks of the competition....Carelton has won like 16 of the past 19 "national titles" in Canada. Had winning streaks of 81 and 54.

I'm alwyas very skeptical of exh. games. Its good for the guys to get out against someone else...But make no mistake, none of these teams are on the level of probably any team in the SEC....much less the top teams in CBB.

With that being said, your eyes can tell you this UK team has the capability of being pretty damn good.

 

[Gromcat_rivals]

You know what we normally see with any UK team. The starters become very obvious very quickly. They perform well and separate themselves from the rest of the team. The bench players come in and the team usually hits a lull and fans like myself wait for the starters to come back on the floor so we can put teams away. I just haven't seen the drop-off in play from anyone on this team.

Now, I'm no fool and I realize these teams UK is playing in these exhibitions are not Auburn or Duke, but seriously, everyone who comes on the floor is making plays, playing defense, making shots, pushing the tempo and the lead.

I'm sure some may see a clear starting 5. I could pick a 5 myself, but I don't think we can rule out any of the top 8 or 9 players as potential starters, and that is a very good thing, a very rare thing. As I said yesterday, I hate to use the word platoon, but this group could probably pull it off. I'm really liking what I've seen so far.

I just…..

No platoon. You want your best players getting the load and we’re not deep enough to do it anyway. Guys let’s slow down a little.

 

[Cawood86_rivals]

i understand what you are saying, but this August and these teams are not very good. I am gald to see everyone contributing. Hope they are building confidence.

No way tonight was anything but a glorified practice scrimmage. I'll take it, but I'm not going to get too carried away about it. Great to see them play. Nice to have some help for Oscar. Wheeler didn't play very good last night. He was better tonight. He still worries me.

 

[Gromcat_rivals]

i understand what you are saying, but this August and these teams are not very good. I am gald to see everyone contributing. Hope they are building confidence.

No way tonight was anything but a glorified practice scrimmage. I'll take it, but I'm not going to get too carried away about it. Great to see them play. Nice to have some help for Oscar. Wheeler didn't play very good last night. He was better tonight. He still worries me.

Bro open your eyes! We’ve got 2 platoon sets out there and we could easily pull 2-3 NCAA titles out of this team this season.

-HH.

 

[Cawood86_rivals]

Bro open your eyes! We’ve got 2 platoon sets out there and we could easily pull 2-3 NCAA titles out of this team this season.

-HH.

When the rubber meets the road, the rotation will be 7-8 guys. Wheeler still worries me greatly. I thought he broke the backboard tonight with one of his shots. The only time he should shoot is in warm-ups and if he is alone under the rim with nobody around. He looks no different from last year imo.

 

[Monroe Claxton]

Canadian NCAA has different rules. You are eligible to play as long as you are a student. The average age of their guards is 35

 

[UKWildcats1987]

Canadian NCAA has different rules. You are eligible to play as long as you are a student. The average age of their guards is 35

That is hilarious.

 

[akaukswoosh]

I think Carelton will be the best UK faces in the Bahama's.

This Carleton team isn’t very good. FSU recently routed them.

 

[bigsmoothie]

You know what we normally see with any UK team. The starters become very obvious very quickly. They perform well and separate themselves from the rest of the team. The bench players come in and the team usually hits a lull and fans like myself wait for the starters to come back on the floor so we can put teams away. I just haven't seen the drop-off in play from anyone on this team.

Now, I'm no fool and I realize these teams UK is playing in these exhibitions are not Auburn or Duke, but seriously, everyone who comes on the floor is making plays, playing defense, making shots, pushing the tempo and the lead.

I'm sure some may see a clear starting 5. I could pick a 5 myself, but I don't think we can rule out any of the top 8 or 9 players as potential starters, and that is a very good thing, a very rare thing. As I said yesterday, I hate to use the word platoon, but this group could probably pull it off. I'm really liking what I've seen so far.

I posted a couple of times I hoped everyone, no matter how good or bad they looked, would stay level headed about this team. And I’m about to not follow my own advise. I’m pretty excited about the ceiling of this team and the combinations they can put out there. And they still have a guy to add when they get home. Good lord.

 

[willyclyde]

The drop off is at the starting point guard and the head coach.

 

[AGEE11]

Which speaks of the competition....Carelton has won like 16 of the past 19 "national titles" in Canada. Had winning streaks of 81 and 54.

I'm alwyas very skeptical of exh. games. Its good for the guys to get out against someone else...But make no mistake, none of these teams are on the level of probably any team in the SEC....much less the top teams in CBB.

With that being said, your eyes can tell you this UK team has the capability of being pretty damn good.

They said the other night Carelton was in a rebuilding year this year. In the past they have knocked off some top teams.

I think the Dominican team from game 1 was supposed to be our toughest game. Hart and Bradshaw compared them to a good mid-major last night.

 

[akaukswoosh]

You know what we normally see with any UK team. The starters become very obvious very quickly. They perform well and separate themselves from the rest of the team. The bench players come in and the team usually hits a lull and fans like myself wait for the starters to come back on the floor so we can put teams away. I just haven't seen the drop-off in play from anyone on this team.

Now, I'm no fool and I realize these teams UK is playing in these exhibitions are not Auburn or Duke, but seriously, everyone who comes on the floor is making plays, playing defense, making shots, pushing the tempo and the lead.

I'm sure some may see a clear starting 5. I could pick a 5 myself, but I don't think we can rule out any of the top 8 or 9 players as potential starters, and that is a very good thing, a very rare thing. As I said yesterday, I hate to use the word platoon, but this group could probably pull it off. I'm really liking what I've seen so far.

And even better, we are adding a 7-0 footer who can also block shots.

 

[STL_Cat]

It’s hard to tell where the drop off is with the level of competition we have been playing. I do think the better players will start to separate themselves as the level of competition goes up. Oscar looks like he’s going about 75% against these teams. Jmho

 

[CatPatrick13]

When the rubber meets the road, the rotation will be 7-8 guys. Wheeler still worries me greatly. I thought he broke the backboard tonight with one of his shots. The only time he should shoot is in warm-ups and if he is alone under the rim with nobody around. He looks no different from last year imo.

I would speculate that the rotation goes to 9 this year..... CJ won't sit the bench. I could see Ware getting 10 mins a game. I don't think Cal wants to get to tourney time with 2 guys gimpy. Right?

 

[senonesy]

The drop off is at the starting point guard and the head coach.

Here we go…

 

[akaukswoosh]

It’s hard to tell where the drop off is with the level of competition we have been playing. I do think the better players will start to show rate themselves as the level of competition goes up. Oscar looks like he’s going about 75% against these teams. Jmho

True but one thing I really, really like that I'm seeing this early from the freshmen is that they are not going out there trying to do a lot of things they can't do. Rare.

 

[STL_Cat]

True but one thing I really, really like that I'm seeing this early from the freshmen is that they are not going out there trying to do a lot of things they can't do. Rare.

I don’t see much drop off either and am really excited about the potential of this team — I’m just going to keep a level head about it for now.

 

[akaukswoosh]

I don't think Cal wants to get to tourney time with 2 guys gimpy. Right?

One would hope not. People might not agree with me but I have no problem with Oscar being not played more than he needs to be this season JUST to break records he didn't break last year. I want a fresh Oscar in March. Not an overworked Oscar.

 

[JwUKFan11]

The games against actual colleges, no matter how small will tell us more. This is just good practice for the team to gel. Lebron vs a 6 year old isn’t much different from a d2 athlete vs a 6yr old, hard to judge their weaknesses.

 

[HerrosHeroes]

Wheeler-Wallace
Reeves-Fredrick
Livingston-Thiero
Toppin-Collins
Oscar-Ware-UK (Maybe)

 

[JonathanW_rivals]

I just…..

No platoon. You want your best players getting the load and we’re not deep enough to do it anyway. Guys let’s slow down a little.

The Platoon worked great in 2015, until we scrapped it a couple weeks after the Poythress injury, because that put us down to 8 legit guys.

1) ****** A platoon does not necessarily mean 2 groups of 5 both playing 20 minutes!!! You could have it 22/18, 24/16, 28/12, 30/10.
2) Outdide of 1 guy, I’m not sure we know or agree who our top guys are. However you rank them, I’m not seeing a big difference between 2 and 9. And honestly 10 is as good as Lee was in 2015.

I would go with a 24/16 platoon, except give Oscar an extra 4-8min shift (from Ware).

 

[Gromcat_rivals]

The Platoon worked great in 2015, until we scrapped it a couple weeks after the Poythress injury, because that put us down to 8 legit guys.

1) ****** A platoon does not necessarily mean 2 groups of 5 both playing 20 minutes!!! You could have it 22/18, 24/16, 28/12, 30/10.
2) Outdide of 1 guy, I’m not sure we know or agree who our top guys are. However you rank them, I’m not seeing a big difference between 2 and 9. And honestly 10 is as good as Lee was in 2015.

I would go with a 24/16 platoon, except give Oscar an extra 4-8min shift (from Ware).

I understand that but we scrapped it also because in the tournament you’re going to have to go with 5-6 guys that have to get the bulk. I’ve argued Jon Scott on this several times. Platooning to me takes too many minutes away throughout the year from guys that need them and also it hurt our recruiting. People just get weird about it.

Just do mass subs if necessary but don’t call it anything and play basketball. The obsession with “platooning” is just I don’t know. Created a story that isn’t necessary.

 

[HerrosHeroes]

I understand that but we scrapped it also because in the tournament you’re going to have to go with 5-6 guys that have to get the bulk. I’ve argued Jon Scott on this several times. Platooning to me takes too many minutes away throughout the year from guys that need them and also it hurt our recruiting. People just get weird about it.

Just do mass subs if necessary but don’t call it anything and play basketball. The obsession with “platooning” is just I don’t know. Created a story that isn’t necessary.

I think what you are saying is no 5 for 5 mass subs. Mix it up and give players equal minutes. It keeps the spontaneity of the substitution and keeps the player ready at any moment.

 

[KMKAT]

Which speaks of the competition....Carelton has won like 16 of the past 19 "national titles" in Canada. Had winning streaks of 81 and 54.

I'm alwyas very skeptical of exh. games. Its good for the guys to get out against someone else...But make no mistake, none of these teams are on the level of probably any team in the SEC....much less the top teams in CBB.

With that being said, your eyes can tell you this UK team has the capability of being pretty damn good.

This was stated last year too. The end result matters.
No one should be getting ahead of themselves. The SEC will not be any easier than last year that dictates the success of this team. Congrats to Cal for helping other SEC teams being tougher against us.

 

[UKWildcats1987]

The drop off is at the starting point guard and the head coach.

14 points and 10 assists last night...yeah, Wheeler is terrible.

I have never seen a guy get hated on that puts up better stats than Wheeler.

Calipari certainly has something to prove as the head coach, but the guy has won a title and went to 6 Final Fours so he knows how to coach...he just needs to find the old Calipari and then the old Calipari needs to beat the new fat and older Calipari's *** and make him remember the spirit of Christmas...nevermind, this isn't Christmas Carol but the same principle applies.

 

[St.PatterSoN-54-]

I am hoping we will find out soon which player will be our human victory cigar.

Other than that, I have zero concerns with our depth.

 

[nickhorvathsuxazz]

I understand that but we scrapped it also because in the tournament you’re going to have to go with 5-6 guys that have to get the bulk. I’ve argued Jon Scott on this several times. Platooning to me takes too many minutes away throughout the year from guys that need them and also it hurt our recruiting. People just get weird about it.

Just do mass subs if necessary but don’t call it anything and play basketball. The obsession with “platooning” is just I don’t know. Created a story that isn’t necessary.

A great advantage of the platoon w/ a Cal coached team is that it takes substituting decisions out of his hands. But I agree, mass substitutions (ala Pitino), would accomplish the same thing the platoon did as far as wearing down opponents and demoralizing them psychologically.

 

[HerrosHeroes]

This was stated last year too. The end result matters.
No one should be getting ahead of themselves. The SEC will not be any easier than last year that dictates the success of this team. Congrats to Cal for helping other SEC teams being tougher against us.

Huh? This team is winning like no other UK summer ex. team in nearly 50 yrs.. Circa 1974. Dwell on the comp if you want but Imma dwell on the margin of victory.

 

[HerrosHeroes]

I am hoping we will find out soon which player will be our human victory cigar.

Other than that, I have zero concerns with our depth.

“Oh Canada, my home and native land….da, da, dada, da da da da da da”

 

[yoshukai]

You know what we normally see with any UK team. The starters become very obvious very quickly. They perform well and separate themselves from the rest of the team. The bench players come in and the team usually hits a lull and fans like myself wait for the starters to come back on the floor so we can put teams away. I just haven't seen the drop-off in play from anyone on this team.

Now, I'm no fool and I realize these teams UK is playing in these exhibitions are not Auburn or Duke, but seriously, everyone who comes on the floor is making plays, playing defense, making shots, pushing the tempo and the lead.

I'm sure some may see a clear starting 5. I could pick a 5 myself, but I don't think we can rule out any of the top 8 or 9 players as potential starters, and that is a very good thing, a very rare thing. As I said yesterday, I hate to use the word platoon, but this group could probably pull it off. I'm really liking what I've seen so far.

I am loving the talent on this team . IMO the biggest weakness of this team , and I mean this sincerely, will be “in game coaching “.

 

[JonathanW_rivals]

I understand that but we scrapped it also because in the tournament you’re going to have to go with 5-6 guys that have to get the bulk. I’ve argued Jon Scott on this several times. Platooning to me takes too many minutes away throughout the year from guys that need them and also it hurt our recruiting. People just get weird about it.

Just do mass subs if necessary but don’t call it anything and play basketball. The obsession with “platooning” is just I don’t know. Created a story that isn’t necessary.

"it hurt our recruiting" falacy. That is debatable. The 2 classes after that we added the #1 overall recruit (Skal), along with other top 10 recruits Murray, Briscoe, Fox, Monk, Bam. Also, what should not be debatable is that the shoe companies funneling $ to recruits to go to Duke, KU and others is what hurt our recruiting MORE.

Also, you apparently missed my point that a Platoon does NOT have to be a 20/20 split. So it does not have to take minutes away from your top guys.
You also missed my point that it may be difficult this year to identify who guys 2-6 are. I am hoping Wallace becomes the clear 2. Oscar and others were talking like Toppin may be the 2, but in the small sample size of 2 games Collins has been a little better than him.

Platooning worked, it was exhausting for the other team, for them to see a fresh 5 coming in every 5-6 minutes, and those 5 going all-out knowing they were coming out in 5-6 more min. Look at the stats, that DEF the first 1/3 of 2014-2015 (including vs some very good teams) was historically great.
BUT, if you do start seeing separation between guys, if you do have injuries, do not be afraid to make changes or even scrap it.

 

[kybassfan]

Counting chickens and the eggs haven’t been laid. Neither team we played had talent, nor skills, nor motivation. What we have witnessed is little more than highlight footage.

My takes are these.

- CJ getting some much needed floor time.

- We show some aptitude for passing.

- We show some defensive instincts.

- We are getting some experience together.

- Coaches are getting a look at the players in groups.

You know nothing else.

 

[ganner918_rivals60369]

It’s hard to tell where the drop off is with the level of competition we have been playing. I do think the better players will start to separate themselves as the level of competition goes up. Oscar looks like he’s going about 75% against these teams. Jmho

Last night especially, Monterrey was so overmatched that I don't know that we can glean much of anything from the game. It's disappointing that we didn't get more opponents that could give at least some resistance like we've had in our past couple of summer trips.

 

[docholiday51]

Canadian NCAA has different rules. You are eligible to play as long as you are a student. The average age of their guards is 35

How about the guy with the reseeding hair line from KU? He would fit right in provided he can sign out of the nursing home long enough

 

[Elliott Tim]

Wish we had a little more competition so we might see some separation, but there is plenty of time for that. Thought we had a nice mix of talent last year(that's why the way the season ended was so hard to take) This bunch appears to be on a whole other level at least in this point in time.

Regular schedule looks like it will be a great
barometer.

 

[UKWildcats1987]

"it hurt our recruiting" falacy. That is debatable. The 2 classes after that we added the #1 overall recruit (Skal), along with other top 10 recruits Murray, Briscoe, Fox, Monk, Bam. Also, what should not be debatable is that the shoe companies funneling $ to recruits to go to Duke, KU and others is what hurt our recruiting MORE.

Also, you apparently missed my point that a Platoon does NOT have to be a 20/20 split. So it does not have to take minutes away from your top guys.
You also missed my point that it may be difficult this year to identify who guys 2-6 are. I am hoping Wallace becomes the clear 2. Oscar and others were talking like Toppin may be the 2, but in the small sample size of 2 games Collins has been a little better than him.

Platooning worked, it was exhausting for the other team, for them to see a fresh 5 coming in every 5-6 minutes, and those 5 going all-out knowing they were coming out in 5-6 more min. Look at the stats, that DEF the first 1/3 of 2014-2015 (including vs some very good teams) was historically great.
BUT, if you do start seeing separation between guys, if you do have injuries, do not be afraid to make changes or even scrap it.

Yeah, you can bring in another 5 for 3 minute stretches (or as close as possible) so they play 12 minute each and the starters play 28 each. I think we have too much depth for a Livington & Wallace to just get 12 minutes each though so that is where it gets dicey. Those two need starter minutes or close to it (25+ a game easily).

The problem is I do not know how you find your best 5.