3 hours ago, futurecoach said:

 

Now in regards to UK this year. You’re correct regular season win or loss is NOT the same as tournament win or loss.  UK is still the same team they were before last night. A team that we know can get hot and score a lot, and a team that is bad defensively. It’s a team that has shown it can go on a deep run, but it is also a team that has shown it can very easily get upset in the first round. 

 

3 hours ago, Randy Parker said:

"We tried to warn you," or something along those lines is what they've been repeating to Arkansas fans since conference play started.  

Let's be fair - winning last night, does not make the criticisms of Cal untrue.  Hubris might have gotten those fans yesterday, but let's see where Arkansas goes from here.  They haven't been a good team.  I'd say both fanbases have gotten some comeuppance, but I still wouldn't trade the season Kentucky is having for the one Arkansas is.

The real game is in the SEC tournament. 

5 hours ago, Voice of Reason said:

One thing I found humorous, I actually laughed when the announcers said it - UK Arkansas is a big rivalry. That is funny. I have been a UK fan my whole life and I have never considered Arkansas a rivalry of any kind. They are just another SEC team. That was all TV hype trying to say this is some kind of a rivalry. Now with Cal as coach, UK fans really wanted that win but not because of some historic rivalry.

The narrative comes from the 3-4 year run Arkansas had 93-95, and an absolute classic of an SEC title game in 1995. That’s it. 

1 hour ago, Breds82 said:

The narrative comes from the 3-4 year run Arkansas had 93-95, and an absolute classic of an SEC title game in 1995. That’s it. 

I am not sure (and too lazy to look up) however I feel like Nolan Richardson’s time at Arkansas, they were UK’s biggest game…I consider Arkansas a rival mainly for those years.  

Then came the Donovan/ Fl years. Before Arkansas were the Dale Brown LSU years…

Basically a lot of schools have been UK’s biggest game rivals for periods of time when they were good…the consensus has always been UK’s been the one folks have wanted!

 

 

Thanks for the response. Very good take.

5 hours ago, DragonFire said:

Let's be fair - winning last night, does not make the criticisms of Cal untrue.  Hubris might have gotten those fans yesterday, but let's see where Arkansas goes from here.  They haven't been a good team.  I'd say both fanbases have gotten some comeuppance, but I still wouldn't trade the season Kentucky is having for the one Arkansas is.

My comments aren't intended to justify Cal's performance.  Like Tubby, he needed to leave UK.  And while the jury's still out on his post-UK resume, I suspect his best days are behind him, also like Tubby.

I am criticizing the clueless, arrogant fans who have gloated over Arkansas and Cal's SEC play thus far.  They look like fools after last night.

5 hours ago, MaddenCurse44 said:

The real game is in the SEC tournament. 

Keep telling yourself that. 

9 hours ago, Voice of Reason said:

18%

Made me laugh. 

I don't know the percentage breakdown.  I suspect the number isn't as high as UK detractors claim, nor as low as UK apologists insist. 

10 hours ago, Randy Parker said:

Made me laugh. 

I don't know the percentage breakdown.  I suspect the number isn't as high as UK detractors claim, nor as low as UK apologists insist. 

The only number I know is that UK is 154th in defensive efficiency.  That doesn't win games in March.

11 hours ago, Randy Parker said:

My comments aren't intended to justify Cal's performance.  Like Tubby, he needed to leave UK.  And while the jury's still out on his post-UK resume, I suspect his best days are behind him, also like Tubby.

I am criticizing the clueless, arrogant fans who have gloated over Arkansas and Cal's SEC play thus far.  They look like fools after last night.

Here's the short of it.

Since Calipari's departure and Pope's hire, the prevailing mood around the Commonwealth is that Calipari is a washed-up fossil who couldn’t coach an intramural team, while UK is seen as having hit a home run with a basketball savant—finally having "a guy who can coach" (meanwhile, ignoring that Pope was UK's 3rd or 4th choice and has no post-season resume). The reality is, neither of these extremes is true, and like most, I’m glad Kentucky moved on from Calipari and I love Pope! But what does it say about Pope that he was worked at home by a coach with such a high level of ineptitude? I'm sure like most of UK's struggles this year, it will come down to the players not executing, not coaching. Compare that against the last X years of Calipari, where if a layup was blown, it was because "Calipari didn't practice the fundamentals." If we are applying half the level of scrutiny to Pope as was given to UK-Cal, then I can surmise the moment was too big for him and he did not have the troops ready to go. Again, you can't have it both ways where a coach gets 100% of the credit if you are not going to give him 100% of the blame.

14 hours ago, Breds82 said:

The narrative comes from the 3-4 year run Arkansas had 93-95, and an absolute classic of an SEC title game in 1995. That’s it. 

A bigger picture view is that Arkansas were the new kids on the block, having just moved to the SEC. Kentucky's rival had always been UT, but UT had their ups and downs. Arkansas joins the party and immediately starts winning SEC West titles, then advancing to the National Title game in consecutive years, winning it in '94. Even in UK's '96 season, many forget Arkansas went to the Sweet 16. From '90 - '96, Arkansas won more games than anyone in the country, so it was naturally seen as a legit challenger to Kentucky. That faded.

49 minutes ago, bugatti said:

Here's the short of it.

Since Calipari's departure and Pope's hire, the prevailing mood around the Commonwealth is that Calipari is a washed-up fossil who couldn’t coach an intramural team, while UK is seen as having hit a home run with a basketball savant—finally having "a guy who can coach" (meanwhile, ignoring that Pope was UK's 3rd or 4th choice and has no post-season resume). The reality is, neither of these extremes is true, and like most, I’m glad Kentucky moved on from Calipari and I love Pope! But what does it say about Pope that he was worked at home by a coach with such a high level of ineptitude? I'm sure like most of UK's struggles this year, it will come down to the players not executing, not coaching. Compare that against the last X years of Calipari, where if a layup was blown, it was because "Calipari didn't practice the fundamentals." If we are applying half the level of scrutiny to Pope as was given to UK-Cal, then I can surmise the moment was too big for him and he did not have the troops ready to go. Again, you can't have it both ways where a coach gets 100% of the credit if you are not going to give him 100% of the blame.

This^^ I am glad Cal saw the writing on the wall and moved on and I am not mad at the UK players who went with him (That's their comfort zone and Cal's rep for putting guys in the Pro's speaks for itself).  UK fans wanted him gone, then got mad when he took his players and recruits (I am not sure what they expected to happen with the current landscape of CB.)

My analysis was called soft when I suggested doing a tribute to Cal and cheering him...obviously Rupp went the opposite way and boo'd a lot.  That gave Arkansas a little fire...they hit some shots and got some confidence...and their athletes got the best of us.

I still think if Rupp cheers and doesn't give Cal and Company that edge of being the villain, it would have been a different story.  But we will never know!

That game is over...I don't think its Catastrophic for Pope, but I do think it shortened the honeymoon...

Does Pope have it in him to challenge players and get after them...or is he just a really really smart cheerleader?  Time will tell!

22 hours ago, Voice of Reason said:

One thing I found humorous, I actually laughed when the announcers said it - UK Arkansas is a big rivalry. That is funny. I have been a UK fan my whole life and I have never considered Arkansas a rivalry of any kind. They are just another SEC team. That was all TV hype trying to say this is some kind of a rivalry. Now with Cal as coach, UK fans really wanted that win but not because of some historic rivalry.

They were huge rivals.  In the 90's.  Not recently  

When I saw Wagner AND Thiero hit jump shots and 3's, I knew it was going to be a long night.