I have to admit (I am a Card Fan) this UK team was fun to watch this season. Cal did an outstanding job of bringing in the best and then was able to have them play togther. So I can't knock his ability to make things happen.

 

What I hate most is seeing how the 10% of the fan base is blaming the officials. I think by doing this it takes away from your team.

 

Then I read that the twins and Willie walk off and not shake hands after the game and Coach Robic tries to get them back on the floor and they kept walking. At the press conference we get the comments by Harrison. Then I read that Booker says they played 5 on 8 all year. All actions I understand becasue they are kids - so I am not taking shots at them. I am actually about to praise Cal.

Just those actions alone let me know what a great job Cal did keeping things quiet and in house about this team. Keeping the different personalities in check. Whe you deal with 18-20 year old kids this is the type of behaviors you get I dont care what school you root for. So Hats off to Cal for keeping it togther.

I have to admit (I am a Card Fan) this UK team was fun to watch this season. Cal did an outstanding job of bringing in the best and then was able to have them play togther. So I can't knock his ability to make things happen.

 

What I hate most is seeing how the 10% of the fan base is blaming the officials. I think by doing this it takes away from your team.

 

Then I read that the twins and Willie walk off and not shake hands after the game and Coach Robic tries to get them back on the floor and they kept walking. At the press conference we get the comments by Harrison. Then I read that Booker says they played 5 on 8 all year. All actions I understand becasue they are kids - so I am not taking shots at them. I am actually about to praise Cal.

Just those actions alone let me know what a great job Cal did keeping things quiet and in house about this team. Keeping the different personalities in check. Whe you deal with 18-20 year old kids this is the type of behaviors you get I dont care what school you root for. So Hats off to Cal for keeping it togther.

 

This is what makes Coach Calipari a GREAT coach. People act as if coaching is all about X's and O's. That is only half the battle in today's game.

Selfishly I wish UK would have dropped one earlier in the season so the sting of this one would not have been as bad.

I just have a feeling after watching them play the last 2 years that the Harrison twins were

more about themselves than the team. Saturday's game wasn't close to being the first time with both on the floor toward the end of games they played as if they were the only 2 on the court.

 

Personally i thank them for their time here but won't miss them as they move on.

I do thank the UK fans. I was able to score some cheap National Title tickets to lower arena.

38-1 is a ridiculous season... Way too much pressure for such a young group. Still, a huge accomplishment.

 

I have thought about this the past few weeks. It is not impossible to go undefeated as evidence by what UK just accomplished, but in today's world with social media, and overexposure it is about near darn impossible because of the pressure. I can't fathom it. Hell, I felt I was under pressure and had nothing to do with the team :lol2:

Nothing wrong with saying Cal was out-coached tonight. He is a great coach, and the greatest people in a particular field have an off day/night on occasion. He isnt immune to it.

Coach K has had a ton of #1 recruiting classes.

Now to be fair this years UK team had a ton of talent, probably the deepest ever, that does not mean they had the best players though. Just like the NFL talk the last few years about the Bengals having the most talent in the league does not translate to the best players...big difference and I think many confuse the two meanings.

 

This year for instance,Duke starts more Freshman than UK, yet it's Cal and UK that is always labeled the one and done's. Just an unfair assessment of the team in my opinion.

 

Cal also reminds everyone constantly about how young UK is and how they are inexperienced. This is something Coach K does not do.

 

Also, interesting note about Coach Cal not having his team watch Wisconsin game film while Wisconsin players talked about watching a ton of UK film. Cal wanting his team to "focus on themselves" and not the opponent. This is an old John Wooden tactic but Wooden only did this through December. He wanted his team to focus on themselves on what they do until that point. Once conference play hit and through the NCAA tournament they did film study hard on the opponents.

Cal also reminds everyone constantly about how young UK is and how they are inexperienced. This is something Coach K does not do.

 

Also, interesting note about Coach Cal not having his team watch Wisconsin game film while Wisconsin players talked about watching a ton of UK film. Cal wanting his team to "focus on themselves" and not the opponent. This is an old John Wooden tactic but Wooden only did this through December. He wanted his team to focus on themselves on what they do until that point. Once conference play hit and through the NCAA tournament they did film study hard on the opponents.

Different strokes. Hard to argue the results. It shocked me the first time I heard they maybe look at film for an hour the day of the game, but very seldom. Hell, they know more than me so whatever. I think Cal is also of the mindset that people/coaches way over think the process when at some point your guys have to make plays.

Selfishly I wish UK would have dropped one earlier in the season so the sting of this one would not have been as bad.

 

Flip side of this is by going 38 - O this team made itself historic and memorable even though they did not win a title. If they had lost a game or two earlier in the year they would be much more easily forgotten. What they accomplished is as good as it gets in NCAA basketball short of winning a title

Yes and that is why I stayed away from the Cal should have been looking at more game film comment. This is not unusual for him and yes he does believe too much focus on opponents can take away from you doing what you do best.

A friend of mine contends that the biggest call against UK in the game was the non-call flagrant 1 on Lyles. He thinks the officials just did not have the guts to call it, so instead they tried to make it up down the stretch by the following calls and non-calls. Interesting theory...

 

1. The shot clock violation

2. Lyles was hit hard in the face on a shot without a foul being called, this actually looked as though it could have been a flagrant 1 as well.

3. The Harrison foul call on Dekker"s drive when there was no contact at all.

4. Towns was hit across his arm when going up for a shot, which led to a turnover.

I don't buy make up calls and conspiracy theories. But that list of missed calls is fueling all the sports talk discussion about fixing the officiating in the NCAA. It is a shame that a great game has turned into a discussion on officials.

I posted this comment in the game thread with about 3 minutes to go - "A great game being ruined by officials." Even with that I did not expect so much of the national media discussion on this game to center on the officials.

I will say that Cal does suprise me at times with some of the dumb stuff he says (Pitino does the same thing) Was I correct in hearing that UK claim they never watched film to prepare for the Badgers? If this is true - then it explains why the Badgers did what they wanted too on offense.

I will say that Cal does suprise me at times with some of the dumb stuff he says (Pitino does the same thing) Was I correct in hearing that UK claim they never watched film to prepare for the Badgers? If this is true - then it explains why the Badgers did what they wanted too on offense.

 

The coaches watched film but not the players is what I understood