The Good, The Bad, The Ugly, The Egregious: Vanderbilt Edition

[85 Fly]

Vandi game had me pissed: too many foul calls, no discipline, another bigman outside of Bam needs to step up to the plate (he can't be on the floor the entire time) and there was an APB out on Willis!

[GOCAT15]

Believe they were at full strength when they lost to Virginia Tech.

Duke is in trouble right now. They have the same issues we have defensively, but theirs seem to be worse.

They also have no point guard, which is always a risky gamble in college basketball.

The field looked uber powerful a month ago. Now it has thinned out some. Not really a super powerful team up there except maybe UCLA when they click. Villanova can be at times but I think their margin for error is a little smaller.

Kentucky is right there regardless of what happened last night. Every team UK has ever had has gutted out ugly road wins. It's basically just a thing you have to do.

That was the game Allen was suspended.

[Joneslab]

That was the game Allen was suspended.

Ah. Forgot.

They looked awful in the games before that against Elon and Central Michigan (?). IIRC were down in both games in the second half.

Of course Harry Giles only played in one of those games. And he only got six minutes...but then again he only got 10 last night and scored 5 points.

So he's either not 100% or is having trouble adjusting to the game for whatever reason.

I maintain that it's so hard to play this game at a high level if you don't have a point guard. Duke literally has no point guard 100% of the time.

[GOCAT15]

Ah. Forgot.

They looked awful in the games before that against Elon and Central Michigan (?). IIRC were down in both games in the second half.

Of course Harry Giles only played in one of those games. And he only got six minutes...but then again he only got 10 last night and scored 5 points.

So he's either not 100% or is having trouble adjusting to the game for whatever reason.

I maintain that it's so hard to play this game at a high level if you don't have a point guard. Duke literally has no point guard 100% of the time.

No doubt, they have lacked a good PG a lot of years it seems and that really hurt them....but that's also why they won it a few years back because Tyus was a great freshman point guard.

And in my opinion people don't give Teague enough credit for how he played the season we won it all. He wasn't super flashy and was by no means ready for the NBA, but he was all that team needed. Just a good facilitator that could hit a few shots and didn't turn the ball over.

[George]

Let's say Diallo comes in and plays this year and is just good enough to be taken up in the lottery of the draft.

All of a sudden, we're out of a shooting guard next year and we're REALLY in trouble.

Guard play is not our biggest concern on this team, and it's not like we're really struggling, anyway.

We should keep him on the bench and get him ready for next year.

This. A million times, this.

[George]

Believe they were at full strength when they lost to Virginia Tech.

Duke is in trouble right now. They have the same issues we have defensively, but theirs seem to be worse.

They also have no point guard, which is always a risky gamble in college basketball.

The field looked uber powerful a month ago. Now it has thinned out some. Not really a super powerful team up there except maybe UCLA when they click. Villanova can be at times but I think their margin for error is a little smaller.

Kentucky is right there regardless of what happened last night. Every team UK has ever had has gutted out ugly road wins. It's basically just a thing you have to do.

Often at Vandy, too. Last night was nothing out of the ordinary.

[George]

Of course Harry Giles only played in one of those games. And he only got six minutes...but then again he only got 10 last night and scored 5 points.

So he's either not 100% or is having trouble adjusting to the game for whatever reason.

Have you paid much attention to him thus far? Every time I've seen him play I've detected some attitude. I might be wrong or just hoping for bad things for Duke, but I see signs of discord.

[Joneslab]

Have you paid much attention to him thus far? Every time I've seen him play I've detected some attitude. I might be wrong or just hoping for bad things for Duke, but I see signs of discord.

I haven't had a chance to watch them much since he's played. Every time I watch he doesn't appear to be on the court.

Bolden is way behind as well and his minutes are nothing to write home about.

That's one risk you run with teams stacked with phenoms. If they don't play a lot the locker room can implode. Much more is riding on these guys being out there than you average player.

[GOCAT15]

I haven't had a chance to watch them much since he's played. Every time I watch he doesn't appear to be on the court.

Bolden is way behind as well and his minutes are nothing to write home about.

That's one risk you run with teams stacked with phenoms. If they don't play a lot the locker room can implode. Much more is riding on these guys being out there than you average player.

Which is what is so impressive with Cal....it seems he always gets these guys to buy in and understand that you can accomplish your personal goals just as easy if the team as a whole is successful.

I might be wrong but it seemed a few times last night it looked like SKJ was not looking very thrilled on the bench.

[Lighthouse]

I just watched the game again grading the officials, and some things jumped out at me that I didn't notice last night. First, When Vandy shot FT's they never had rebounders, the other 4 went back on defense. Second, I'm not as upset with Gabriel as I was. He hustled, blocked out, and played better defense than I thought. He, like others made some very dumb fouls, but he played better than I thought. Same with Hawkins. He had some tough fouls called on him when he was working hard on defense, and he never looked for a shot. Willis and Mulder on the other hand, were awful.

[Blue Heaven]

I may have missed it, but was there a Bad or Ugly reference to Humphries? We heard all off season about how improved he was. He was better last year. The guy jumps about two inches off the ground and either gets blocked or badly misses his shot every time. Outside of a meaningless board or two spelling Bam, I have been more disappointed with him this season than any other player on the team. It seems he has regressed.

[Blue Heaven]

And what is it about Vandy players? Their names alone fit nicely into what it calls for to play for Vandy. LaChance. Kornet. Fisher-Davis. Freije. Goheen. See what I mean? Then you see them. Yep, definitely Vandy guys. I don't even know what it means to BE a Vandy guy. They just fit nicely into it. There is no team in the SEC, or anywhere else possibly, that I want to beat more on their home floor than Vandy. Just a sad sack of a program with fans who know nothing about the sport. "Overrated" chants while you are losing? Really? I hate Vandy basketball. I hate that illegal court they play on. I hate the term "Memorial Magic". I hope we make them pee down their leg when they come to Rupp in a few weeks.

[Joneslab]

David Przybyszewski wants to know what's wrong with his name.

[GOCAT15]

Lachance has to be an illegitimate child of Coach K, because just like daddy, he looks like a rodent.....At one point in the game last night I yelled out "I just want to punch that mouse looking BLEEP in his face".

[Joneslab]

Very mouse-like gentleman, I agree.

I also imagine him in somebody's basement stealing bitcoin from a Chinese bank.