1 hour ago, MJAlltheWay24 said:

Just saw this on Twitter and thought it would add to the Toppin convo.

Yep he was very bad those two games. No argument here. 

11 hours ago, MJAlltheWay24 said:

Just saw this on Twitter and thought it would add to the Toppin convo.

I thought the best move of the game was when Cal went to Ware over Toppin. I thought the worst move of the game was when Cal went back to Toppin and stuck with him. Normally he will ride the "hot" hand, but he was probably looking for more of an offensive spark that Ware is not able to provide. But who cares? It was working.

17 hours ago, futurecoach said:

Eh not me. Toppin has been very inconsistent, but this is also his first year truly getting a chance to be one of the main guys. We saw Brooks have at least two years as a starter and just didn’t fit well here IMO. When Toppin has been bad, he has been bad. However, he also has had some really good stretches. I still think he is going to end up being a big part to this years team. Biggest thing is Cal needing to settle on a rotation, so players can truly get use to their roles. 

The worst thing that could have happened to Toppin was the Gonzaga game. He hit several contested mid-range jumpers in that game, that just aren't high percentage shots.  In fact, Mark Few was asked about it and he said that those were the shots the Zags wanted him to take, he was just hitting them.  It's almost like Toppin thinks that is going to happen every game.  

43 minutes ago, Carl Spackler said:

The worst thing that could have happened to Toppin was the Gonzaga game. He hit several contested mid-range jumpers in that game, that just aren't high percentage shots.  In fact, Mark Few was asked about it and he said that those were the shots the Zags wanted him to take, he was just hitting them.  It's almost like Toppin thinks that is going to happen every game.  

They were running action for him and never thought as those shots being highly contested, but he was making them and I liked the looks.

To me Toppin's best attribute is his athleticism.... Going above the rim to grab rebounds, block shots, and be a disruptive, explosive presence. I have not seen that this year. Additionally, I've been seeing him look lost as an Easter egg on defense. He got yanked in the Michigan game because the team switched to zone and he was still in man... on consecutive possessions! I almost get the sense he is playing to showcase his versatility to the pros and not concentrating on what he does best. The second will fall into place if he returns to his normal self.

1 hour ago, bugatti said:

They were running action for him and never thought as those shots being highly contested, but he was making them and I liked the looks.

To me Toppin's best attribute is his athleticism.... Going above the rim to grab rebounds, block shots, and be a disruptive, explosive presence. I have not seen that this year. Additionally, I've been seeing him look lost as an Easter egg on defense. He got yanked in the Michigan game because the team switched to zone and he was still in man... on consecutive possessions! I almost get the sense he is playing to showcase his versatility to the pros and not concentrating on what he does best. The second will fall into place if he returns to his normal self.

So isn’t the head coach suppose to address these situations or is he more interested in letting this kid showcase or support his university he supposedly represents? This is an issue with the head coach and always has been, thus no championship banners going up in Rupp.

2 hours ago, bugatti said:

They were running action for him and never thought as those shots being highly contested, but he was making them and I liked the looks.

To me Toppin's best attribute is his athleticism.... Going above the rim to grab rebounds, block shots, and be a disruptive, explosive presence. I have not seen that this year. Additionally, I've been seeing him look lost as an Easter egg on defense. He got yanked in the Michigan game because the team switched to zone and he was still in man... on consecutive possessions! I almost get the sense he is playing to showcase his versatility to the pros and not concentrating on what he does best. The second will fall into place if he returns to his normal self.

Maybe highly contested was too strong.  But they weren't just open looks.  Like Few said, they were the shots that Gonzaga wanted him to take--not high percentage enough for them to be concerned with.  

Cal’s latest comment “play like you have nothing to lose” to his team, well Cal, produce for your team something to lose!

1 hour ago, nikeman49 said:

So isn’t the head coach suppose to address these situations or is he more interested in letting this kid showcase or support his university he supposedly represents? This is an issue with the head coach and always has been, thus no championship banners going up in Rupp.

I suppose if you pretend 18-22 year old kids are not human, then sure. But here on planet earth not everything is absolute and players at UK are not marionettes. And I am cool laying everything these players do at Cal’s feet, he’s the head coach and (mostly) deserves it. But if ANYTHING positive comes about, you must give Cal 100% of the credit… you can’t have it both ways.