Tennessee 61 Kentucky 59

[Voice of Reason]

Remaining UK schedule with opponent RPI:

 

at #25 Texas A&M

at #5 Auburn

#36 Alabama

at #34 Arkansas

#31 Missouri

#76 Ole Miss

at #46 Florida

 

Every remaining game except one against a top 50 RPI opponent. Win 3 of the games versus RPI top 50 teams and they likely will be in the top 20 in RPI wins and be in the top 10 in strength of schedule.

[bugatti]

I really wish Cal would start keeping players for more than just a year. I mean if your so worried about getting players to the NBA, then by all means go be an NBA coach...

Not that he owns any of the players, but I think you’re going to get your wish.

[Wireman]

"We're on the right track now. If this is who we are, I'm feeling good."

--John Calipari

[Wireman]

I actually like what I'm seeing out of maybe 6 players.

[Voice of Reason]

I actually like what I'm seeing out of maybe 6 players.

 

Please name them and what you like - or are you saying 6 that you think are giving full effort.

[John Anthony]

"We're on the right track now. If this is who we are, I'm feeling good."

--John Calipari

 

Swept by Tennessee for the first time since 99 is the right track?

[AverageJoesGym]

Why not? It's always funny to me when people say that. A top 25 team losses and now as you said in the update thread they are NIT bound. This team will be in the tournament and will deserve to be there. Now their seed won't be that great.

 

Remember weeks ago when I said that this team is just as likely to miss the tourney as they are to survive the first weekend? Right now they are going to have to pull some upsets just to make it. There are likely 4 more losses in regular season play plus one in the SEC tourney. That WVU win is only worth so much.

[Jumper_Dad]

I really wish Cal would start keeping players for more than just a year. I mean if your so worried about getting players to the NBA, then by all means go be an NBA coach...

How exactly should he go about "Keeping Players"...lie to them, guilt them into staying...how does he get them to stay?

[Jumper_Dad]

Swept by Tennessee for the first time since 99 is the right track?

 

In the Micro, no it would seem not. In the Macro, maybe he is seeing some fight and play out of some players that still gives him hope.

[Wireman]

Please name them and what you like - or are you saying 6 that you think are giving full effort.

 

I like the improvement and effort I'm seeing from: Green, Gilgeous-Alexander, Richards, Gabriel, Vanderbilt and Washington (slightly less than the other 5).

 

Have to have more from Knox and Diallo is strictly a liability at this time.

[GrantNKY]

How exactly should he go about "Keeping Players"...lie to them, guilt them into staying...how does he get them to stay?

I just think some people look at a player like Miles Bridges and wonder why Cal can’t get a player like that to stay for more than a year.

[oldrambler]

Yeah pretty much. If you asked anyone before the game who we would want to have the ball in their hands at the end it would have been SGA. He made two huge mistakes though. Up until then he has been very reliable at end of games.

You quoted before I did w / basically the same comments so I'll just give you the :thumb: instead of repeating.

[oldrambler]

I noted last game how poor UK is at spacing. It is a college basketball problem in general, but your young teams really struggle with it. SGA lost the ball down the stretch, we know. But the action kickstarting those plays with Richards was horrendous.

 

I don’t want to say UK is on the bubble (yet), but they aren’t going to be favored these next couple of games, at A&M and at Auburn. Lose those and it gets much more murky.

As for the bolded, I agree and would add that on the last possession this team was obviously confused on what they wanted to do. I am not sure but I think that Cal had a time out left and imo he should've taken one to set up a last shot. That ...no t/o's is Cal's thinking in that situation, I have heard him say that before. One particular time was when at Memphis ...he lost a national title to Kansas with a scenario almost like that.

[oldrambler]

I think that I may have said this only once or twice through the years bc I don't like blaming coaches for a loss, bc I have been there with coaches in my family. However, I will say that in this game ...the U.K. players and coach choked and leave it at that.

[NKYknowitall]

I really wish Cal would start keeping players for more than just a year. I mean if your so worried about getting players to the NBA, then by all means go be an NBA coach...

 

It would be a pay cut plus he’s a God in Lexington. He’s going nowhere.