Allen stepped up and it was amazing.

Cal will have to answer a lot of questions if their early struggles and not playing him.

This team still needs Boston and Clarke to be better.  You can't rely on that type of game every night from Allen.

If we blame Cal for sticking with Clarke and Boston, than also blame all the scouts.  They were both projected lottery picks enter the season and maybe Allen opening up the floor will help their games but this team still needs them.

Credit to the Bruiser for keeping the same 5 for both OTs.  

1 hour ago, DragonFire said:

I know that usually the party line is "they see them in practice and that's why they're not playing", but this sure looked like an indictment of Cal in not playing Allen more previously.  It happens sometimes but man, bad look.

Meanwhile, credit to Allen for showing out when given the chance.  That's what you want to see from a kid who wants to play.

Agreed.  

Dontaie's overwhelming greatest asset is scoring, and specifically from the perimeter.  On a team that has struggled SO MUCH with that very aspect of the game, and to have him just sitting there is ridiculous. 

Again, I hope Cal will use this game to get past his own stubbornness. 

1 hour ago, Coach112 said:

Allen stepped up and it was amazing.

Cal will have to answer a lot of questions if their early struggles and not playing him.

This team still needs Boston and Clarke to be better.  You can't rely on that type of game every night from Allen.

If we blame Cal for sticking with Clarke and Boston, than also blame all the scouts.  They were both projected lottery picks enter the season and maybe Allen opening up the floor will help their games but this team still needs them.

Credit to the Bruiser for keeping the same 5 for both OTs.  

Exactly.  Boston really needs to get things together.  He's a talented kid, but he struggles so much.

It was nice to see the bench going crazy for Allen.  Hopefully this game will give them some confidence moving forward. 

Askew, Ware, and Sarr all had better games too.  Just need Clarke and Boston to figure it out, sooner rather than later.

Kentucky HS players that wind up at UK really appreciate putting on that jersey and playing for the Wildcats. It's not viewed as a stepping stone to "the league"......it's a culmination of a DREAM. Keep rolling Dontae!!

5 hours ago, 9068 said:

Kentucky HS players that wind up at UK really appreciate putting on that jersey and playing for the Wildcats. It's not viewed as a stepping stone to "the league"......it's a culmination of a DREAM. Keep rolling Dontae!!

I hate when people basically try to say that players don’t truly care, and is only a stepping stone to them. Do players know UK, can help get them to the NBA? Absolutely. Doesn’t mean they don’t care, and give it everything they have while they are here. Even in these losses this year, and in this win you seen how much it means to these guys and how they were cheering on each other. 
 

Then even in previous years, you see one and done players crying their eyes out in the lockerroom, when they had fallen short in the NCAA tournament. Such as Jamal Murray, and then Fox and Bam in 2017 when one shot short of the final four. All one and done guys, and future NBA all stars, all crying cause they fell short of their goal to win a title, and wouldn’t be playing together anymore.  
 

Yes, players may not be here as long as people want. However, these players who have been here definitely truly cared, and truly wanted to win. 
 

This whole thing that people try to act like these one and done players don’t care, is just silly. Once they are here, they definitely do care and you can tell how much they want to win. 

On 1/2/2021 at 11:08 PM, DragonFire said:

I know that usually the party line is "they see them in practice and that's why they're not playing", but this sure looked like an indictment of Cal in not playing Allen more previously.  It happens sometimes but man, bad look.

Meanwhile, credit to Allen for showing out when given the chance.  That's what you want to see from a kid who wants to play.

I agree entirely with the first half of your first sentence and second paragraph. 
 

We don’t know what DA looks like in practice and we can never forget that part of the equation. 

If Dontaie gets more playing time as Cal suggested, who gets less? What happens when Clark can return? What happens when/if Brooks can return?

1 hour ago, Can'tcoach said:

If Dontaie gets more playing time as Cal suggested, who gets less? What happens when Clark can return? What happens when/if Brooks can return?

Probably divided up by Mintz, Boston, & Clarke. 

That said, I believe Dontaie will still have the shortest leash of that bunch.

Shooters are shooters and that’s just what they do, all shots don’t go in the hole, clearly Dontae is the best Ky has so Cal needs to get a clue on when to replace him in the lineup.

18 hours ago, futurecoach said:

I hate when people basically try to say that players don’t truly care, and is only a stepping stone to them. Do players know UK, can help get them to the NBA? Absolutely. Doesn’t mean they don’t care, and give it everything they have while they are here. Even in these losses this year, and in this win you seen how much it means to these guys and how they were cheering on each other. 
 

Then even in previous years, you see one and done players crying their eyes out in the lockerroom, when they had fallen short in the NCAA tournament. Such as Jamal Murray, and then Fox and Bam in 2017 when one shot short of the final four. All one and done guys, and future NBA all stars, all crying cause they fell short of their goal to win a title, and wouldn’t be playing together anymore.  
 

Yes, players may not be here as long as people want. However, these players who have been here definitely truly cared, and truly wanted to win. 
 

This whole thing that people try to act like these one and done players don’t care, is just silly. Once they are here, they definitely do care and you can tell how much they want to win. 

Future, you’re more gentle on that 2017 loss that brought gushing tears from Fox than what I am. Fox knew,  just like me and anybody with an objective look at that game, that John Higgins was the deciding factor in who won that game. I truly believe he single handily knocked UK out of an excellent shot at a national championship that year. That game and that ref has bothered me  since the final horn sounded to end that game.

8 hours ago, Can'tcoach said:

If Dontaie gets more playing time as Cal suggested, who gets less? What happens when Clark can return? What happens when/if Brooks can return?

When those guys are back, I honestly would like to see a starting lineup of:

Clark, Mitz, Boston, Brooks, Sarr. With that lineup you can spread the floor, without jamming up the middle. 
 

Then off the Bench have Askew basically rotating with Clark all game. Have Allen basically rotating with Mitz, and Boston. Have Jackson rotating with Sarr at the five, this way hopefully keeps them both out of foul trouble and not being on the floor at the same time. Then have Ware and Toppin rotating with Brooks. 
 

This would give them more of a set rotation, and if a certain lineup or player gets a hot hand like Allen did. Then you keep rolling with it as long as you can. 

43 minutes ago, futurecoach said:

When those guys are back, I honestly would like to see a starting lineup of:

Clark, Mitz, Boston, Brooks, Sarr. With that lineup you can spread the floor, without jamming up the middle. 
 

Then off the Bench have Askew basically rotating with Clark all game. Have Allen basically rotating with Mitz, and Boston. Have Jackson rotating with Sarr at the five, this way hopefully keeps them both out of foul trouble and not being on the floor at the same time. Then have Ware and Toppin rotating with Brooks. 
 

This would give them more of a set rotation, and if a certain lineup or player gets a hot hand like Allen did. Then you keep rolling with it as long as you can. 

Sounds reasonable but Cal likes a rotation of eight and generally no more.

1 hour ago, Can'tcoach said:

Sounds reasonable but Cal likes a rotation of eight and generally no more.

True, but this year he may not have a choice. The star players, haven’t played like stars. However, they are still going to get there minutes. Then guys like Allen, Ware, Toppin, Askew, Mitz have all been productive in their time. So it is hard to take minutes away from them now. 

Nobody on this team has shown very much productivity up to this point. Can’t see playing eight or ten players if 5 or 6 decide to play steadily and get the job done.