As I said in the update thread, this team has been very unimpressive, not counting the Providence game.

 

:thumb: I don't know if they are a top 10 team right now. I do still believe that after the unlimited practice time in December, Christmas break they will be a far better team come Jan., SEC play.

Amber Alert has been reinstated for Alex Poythress.

 

:lol2: Don't look for him.

:thumb: I don't know if they are a top 10 team right now. I do still believe that after the unlimited practice time in December, Christmas break they will be a far better team come Jan., SEC play.

 

I hope you're right, but I have my doubts.

That's about 3 more than I thought he had. As I've always maintained, WCS just has a bad feel for the game. I thought Young played terrible, just hanging around the perimeter. He loves Tayshaun, well his game now reminds me of his when he was a Freshman.

 

The four non-Randle starters combined for 8 rebounds.

The four non-Randle starters combined for 8 rebounds.

 

Dakari and Poythress can't get on the floor in the second half when you rebound this poorly? Maybe we should start pointing some fingers at Cal's rotations?

 

:idunno:

It is too easy to blame free throw shooting but that is a lazy excuse. Sure they were important, but this game was not lost at the foul line.

 

We were in a decent flow in the first half on offense, swinging the ball and cutting and penetrating and getting good looks. Then we came out with a quick pace and quick feeds to Randle, but then after a quick 3 and miss by Hawkins, Baylor started climbing back. Our offense wilted to zero perimeter movement looking to feed Randle despite a collapsing defense. No cutting, no penetrating, no swinging the ball, just looking to throw it to Randle. That is on Cal.

By the way, nice set out of a timeout down four at the one minute mark.

 

But the kicker to me is what in the world is their defensive philosophy on defense particularly defending screens. That is on Cal.

Quite simply Andrew Harrison can't guard smaller guards. Defending ball screens is simply incredulous. No hedging, no ball trap, nothing but getting hung up or lazy switches. That is what is irking me the most. Pick and roll defense is simply laughable. Particularly #5, who is simply horrible in rotations. The personnel screams zone, because of the liabilities in personnel. This team is nothing like the 2012 Champs. That team could switch and lose nothing because MKG could guard both front court and back court players. This team doesn't have that plus Andrew Harrison can't guard opposing point guards.

 

We got a long way to go, but this team has got to figure it out on defensive end. Simply doing it like they've always done it, doesn't fly.

Good thing is that this game is over. Bad thing will be if the Cat's continue to play the "matador defense", shoot ft's poorly. FT's can and should be worked on and improved by all. I don't care if they spend an entire practice doing nothing but shoot FT's, get it fixed !

 

Boise comes in Rupp on Tuesday night, they are a better team than some may think. I have no problem with when this team gets back, go to the gym and start shooting FT's and defensive drills until time to go to Rupp for the game on Tuesday. :idunno:

 

 

Not me. I know they are GOOD. They could easily beat us, especially if we play like we did tonight (or even worse, how we played the last quarter of the game).

That's dedication.

 

Gotta carry the faith for the UK fans.

Dakari and Poythress can't get on the floor in the second half when you rebound this poorly? Maybe we should start pointing some fingers at Cal's rotations?

 

:idunno:

 

All his talk about using the bench as motivation has been just that: talk.

My biggest concern with this group is their lack of passion and fight. I just don't see the fire, the will to win. Who is the leader on this team? Does this team have one? Not seeing it.

My biggest concern with this group is their lack of passion and fight. I just don't see the fire, the will to win. Who is the leader on this team? Does this team have one? Not seeing it.

 

I saw some moments where WCS was trying to be that guy, but the team just doesn't respond to him for some reason.

That's about 3 more than I thought he had. As I've always maintained, WCS just has a bad feel for the game. I thought Young played terrible, just hanging around the perimeter. He loves Tayshaun, well his game now reminds me of his when he was a Freshman.

 

I love Young because he plays hard and tries to make it happen. I don't think he's a selfish player, but we need him to be confident when he takes a 3 that we're going to need to drop if we want to have a chance at possibly taking a team out of the zone and making them play our game.

 

He, Aaron Harrison, Dominique Hawkins, and Andrew Harrison are going to have to knock some of those down (and probably in that order). Really don't know where Poythress fits in because he could be a guy who takes over the entire role as our go-to zone buster to the point that we'd rather have the ball in his hands for an open, set shot than anyone else (Young would still be better at creating his own look); but, just as easily, Poythress' consistency could render him a guy we never know what we're getting and his contributions may keep being so up and down that we just hope to ride him while he's hot in a big game and get all we can out of him that way, even if it's just for say 3-5 games all season.

 

 

While Young is likely the best at creating his own shot from 3, we don't want him "creating" too much and would rather see him take shots where he's squared up and gets his feet set. Then when defenders start having to play closer to him, that's when trouble sets in.

 

If you are in zone and he's on, you have to account for him at all times and play him tighter than you normally would. This means he can stand out behind the 3 point line and stretch the zone, daring the player to leave him and give up an open 3 or not allowing his man to help off and run a double at say, Randle or Cauley-Stein.

 

Also, if the player guarding him gives him too much space, he's going to have to close and recover quick, meaning Young can do what I think he does best. Take a hard dribble with his left hand, use his size, quickness and athleticism to get into the paint and try to go one on one with whoever steps up to help and take his chances with them stoping him. Remember, he' beat the kid who took too long to close out on his catch and is in the middle, where he can go up and take a short jumper/floater himself if the bigs don't contest him, if the big steps and commits, he can pass to Randle or WCS down low while the defense is trying to recover. Or if everyone stays home, he's beat his man and has a decent look at a 5-12 ft. jumper/floater.

 

Point being: when he's on. I think Young is our best offensive weapon and his skill set causes a lot of mismatches, which provide us with things we can exploit. Again, him doing this most effectively depends on his ability to consistently knock down enough 3's to keep the opposition honest. We're not quite there yet with him, but he's looked better in that role each time I've seen him.

Amber Alert has been reinstated for Alex Poythress.

 

I think I saw his pic on a milk carton at Kroger.

The better team won, while the Notre Dame of college basket ball once again shows how badly the media over hyped them once again.

The better team won' date=' while the Notre Dame of college basket ball once again shows how badly the media over hyped them once again.[/quote']

 

I dare you to say that in March.... Please?