February 21, 200719 yr As most of you know I've always been a big supporter of coach Tubby Smith, and have pretty much stayed away from the UK basketball threads the past couple of years because of all the negativity. I still think that Tubby is a class act, and a very good coach, but I now believe that a change is needed for both the UK basketball program, and for Coach Smith. I believe that such a change would be beneficial not only to Kentucky's program, but also for Coach Smith. I believe the article below by Darrel Bird of the Cats Pause pretty much is dead on the state of the the Wildcats program. What I know… UK has opened very slowly, falling behind big in all three losses to Florida, Tennessee and Alabama. What I think… Teams open slowly for a variety of reasons. But one that is crystal clear, at least Saturday at Tuscaloosa, is that the Cats collectively don't give a rat's backside about playing for UK pride. What I know… UK center Randolph Morris admitted afterwards that he was not focused for the start of the Alabama game. What I think… Point fingers wherever you like, but those are the symptoms of a team that won't play for its coach. What I know… Kentucky's loss to 'Bama was preceded on television by Vanderbilt's upset of No. 1 Florida. What I think… How troubling it was to contrast an inspired, aggressive, loving-every-moment Vanderbilt team against a bored Kentucky squad that would have chosen the proctologist over Tuscaloosa as a place to spend Saturday. What I know… Yet again, guard Ramel Bradley hijacked the game down the stretch. He dominated UK possessions 10 times inside the final six minutes at Alabama, tossing up ridiculous three-pointers and out-of-control playground drives to the hoop. In the loss to Florida, Bradley took every UK shot the final eight trips. What I think… We celebrate athletes who demand the ball in the closing seconds. So what are we to do with athletes who have no business making such demands? Those who put their own selfishness above the good of the team, all the while ignoring equally talented teammates who might lead the victorious comeback. When I was a kid, we called a player like Bradley a "ball hog." Nobody wanted him on their team and those who had the hog tended to give up. Why work hard when you know you'll never get the ball? Kentucky players may continue to gloss over it, but I guarantee Bradley's selfish antics are creating a rift at Wildcat Lodge. What I know… Coach Tubby Smith's promised lineup change on Saturday consisted of replacing senior Bobby Perry with senior Sheray Thomas at the power forward spot. What I think… It should have been Perry Stevenson. What I know… Replacing Perry with Thomas was classic Tubby, who will always come down on the side of experienced veterans with far less talent but who know the system over younger players with more raw skill but with a greater likelihood to make mistakes. What I think… Kentucky is in a terrible no-win situation, though its own recruiting failures are to blame. Underclassmen, particularly freshmen, need seniors they can look up to and follow into battle. UK is a team where every underclassman knows they are better than all the seniors. The rest of the article
February 21, 200719 yr Author This is from Cats Pause nuff said.... Not for me I guess. Do you care to explain?:confused:
February 21, 200719 yr Not exaclty the best articles/writers IMO. But he is right about a few things.
February 21, 200719 yr LRCW, I think we woke up today, with a similar thought. I was extremely disappointed, with initial effort, preparedness and hustle. I've been a Coach Smith supporter and will continue to be, because he's the UK Coach....but, when a team gives an early lackluster effort, at home like last night early, speaks volumes to as some internal problem. I don't know, disappointed in the effort.
February 21, 200719 yr Author Not exaclty the best articles/writers IMO. As I stated in the first post, I believe that Darrell Bird is pretty much dead on with his assessment of the basketball program in this article.
February 21, 200719 yr LRCW, I think we woke up today, with a similar thought. I was extremely disappointed, with initial effort, preparedness and hustle. I've been a Coach Smith supporter and will continue to be, because he's the UK Coach....but, when a team gives an early lackluster effort, at home like last night early, speaks volumes to as some internal problem. I don't know, disappointed in the effort. Coaches don't all of sudden forget how to do this stuff. If he could do it when he had Bogans/Prince, 1998, how has he forgotten how to do it now? NOT. I will agree that effort is a problem, but I think you trace that to the class. Yes, it still falls on his shoulders because of recruitment but not on ability to coach basketball. Alabama and then the beginning of last night have sorely disappointed me. This group (juniors) has not committed themselves to playing to the level you have to play at to be a top program. They seem to want it to come with minimal effort.
February 21, 200719 yr Looks right to me. It's interesting for me to contrast the situation at UC and UK right now. Both teams are hurt by the same slow scoring starts, but that's where the parallel ends. UC isn't talented enough right now to score at a high level, but the team is out there working their tail off for 40 minutes win or lose (the latter a lot more than the former). On the flip side UK has the talent to be a top 15 team and make a nice run in the tournament but instead they mail it in for long stretches of clock and just figure they will turn it on when needed for a win. The past two seasons have left a lot of people scratching their head and for good reason...
February 21, 200719 yr Author Refresh my memory. Were all four of the "Oh-Fer" class spring recruits??? I know Rondo and Morris were, and I'm pretty sure Crawford was. Bradley may have signed in the fall.
February 21, 200719 yr Coaches don't all of sudden forget how to do this stuff. If he could do it when he had Bogans/Prince, 1998, how has he forgotten how to do it now? NOT. I will agree that effort is a problem, but I think you trace that to the class. Yes, it still falls on his shoulders because of recruitment but not on ability to coach basketball. Alabama and then the beginning of last night have sorely disappointed me. This group (juniors) has not committed themselves to playing to the level you have to play at to be a top program. They seem to want it to come with minimal effort. I'll disagree to an extent, not that coaches forget how to motivate and prepare, but personalities of players differ and they all can't be handled the same. Coaches do become oblivious sometimes, since they are constantly having to deal with x'/o's. I've seen more body language, back-talking and lack of effort from this UK team, than I can recall in recent memory. Perhaps it's the players, coaching staff or both but, someone brought these players to UK and for whatever reason, the effort and focus is missing.
February 21, 200719 yr I know Rondo and Morris were, and I'm pretty sure Crawford was. Bradley may have signed in the fall. It makes me wonder how much they were really evaluated over recruiting the rankings and hype. This goes back to my theory of landing kids early even if they aren't the biggest names in the recruiting industry. How much is the staff really doing in terms of leg work? Again to use UC as an example (only because I've gotten closer to the situation and see how Mick does things) how often are coaches missing from practice because they are in Georgia or Texas or Florida or New York/Jersey or some other talent rich area? Are they really out there doing the dirty work to see if the targets are as good (or bad) as advertised? From the outside looking in, the answer is no. UK is getting outworked on the recruiting trail as far as I can tell...
February 21, 200719 yr I've supported OTS as long as he's been here and I still try to but it's gotten hard the last couple of years. I don't think he's lost anything coaching wise. I feel like this team is the most uncoachable team that I've ever seen play. They refuse to respond to him (maybe because of the lack of respect they seem to show?) or the games situations. I don't understand how you can play in front of 20,000+ people with out any emotion?
February 21, 200719 yr I'm glad I made the switch to "TB" a few days ago. I've always been a Tubby fan, but ignoring problems and expecting them to go away isn't the way to build a program in college basketball. There are too many "what ifs"...... There are several respected posters (not me of course) switching slowly to the "dark side".........
February 21, 200719 yr It makes me wonder how much they were really evaluated over recruiting the rankings and hype. This goes back to my theory of landing kids early even if they aren't the biggest names in the recruiting industry. How much is the staff really doing in terms of leg work? Again to use UC as an example (only because I've gotten closer to the situation and see how Mick does things) how often are coaches missing from practice because they are in Georgia or Texas or Florida or New York/Jersey or some other talent rich area? Are they really out there doing the dirty work to see if the targets are as good (or bad) as advertised? From the outside looking in, the answer is no. UK is getting outworked on the recruiting trail as far as I can tell... :thumb: It appears, thus far for '08 - , UK is starting to do the necessary "leg work" prior to kids' senior years. I have no idea how the kid that verbaled yesterday will turn out, but it is a lot more refreshing knowing someone is penciled in to come in far in advance. When you wait you are forced to go with others such as Alleyne, Perry, etc.
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