The Good, The Bad, Kentucky Isn't Good at Basketball Right Now: Utah Valley Edition

[Joneslab]

The Good

* Fly the W. We won the game. You could tell the haters were out in full force pulling with all their might for UK to lose that one. From UofL fans to Jeff Goodman to...well, virtually everybody who's not a Kentucky fan, there was a veritable chorus of hope that the Cats would drop two embarrassing games in a row. Didn't happen (thank God).

* Johnny on the Spot. Really thought Johnny Juzang did some good things. I like him a lot going forward. Plays with a good attitude, plays hard, has great size for his position. I don't quite know how much he can give this year, but like Keion Brooks and honestly Kahlil Whitney, he's a guy who I hope stays around and matures. None of those guys is anywhere close to an NBA player right now and if they would've come into the program in 1992, we would be ecstatic to see how they matured.

* Board Stiff. Kentucky redeemed itself a little on the glass last night, putting up a +19 over Utah Valley. Along with outside shooting (see below...if you dare), rebounding has been the biggest issue for this team so far.

* Freebie Jeebies. Kentucky was 31-34 from the foul line. They're shooting 80% from the year from the stripe as a team, and if you're looking for any positives outside the Michigan St. win, it's probably how this team has shot foul shots.

* Nick-le Tax. I really liked Nick Richards last night. Yeah, he got torched on a couple of defensive assignments. And yeah, he blew a couple right at the rim, including an alley-oop Anthony Davis would've dunked with his pinkie toe, but he showed off that great touch he has, and dang if I didn't see him stick a couple of guards out on the perimeter. He showed last night that he could be a game-changing player and honestly, with as (don't say it) mediocre as Kentucky has been this year, Richards has been one of the few bright spots.


The Bad

* Almost Didn't Fly the W. Kentucky lost to one mid-major on its home court and had to fight another for 40 solid minutes. That's Billy Gillispie stuff. That absolutely shouldn't be happening with the game's highest-paid coach.

* Injury Bug. What's with the injuries on this team? I didn't hear anything about Kahlil Whitney's finger after the game, but if he has to miss any time it's possible Kentucky could go with six scholarship players this weekend. That's...absurd. I put up a thread after last season about the ridiculous way John Calipari is building teams. It's still somewhere in the WCN archives unless Isis took it from us, those animals. But the gist of the thread was basically this: big-time programs shouldn't be putting teams together like Kentucky has been the last two or three years. But if you start missing in recruiting and you start having guys go pro who shouldn't go pro, you're left with situations like this, where you have to have baseball players suit up. We honestly might have to play walk-ons in that game this weekend if things don't go the right way. Oof.

* Sestina Means "Matador" in Slavic. Nate Sestina's defense is...well, it's about the worst I've seen in the Cal era. He can guard no one. I'm not going to say any more about that but I will point out that it's really hurting Kentucky, and you worry that he's going to have to play way too many minutes if E.J. Montgomery is as raw as he looked in the exhibitions and against Michigan St. Sestina needs to be a 22-minute sort of player. Last night he played 34. Way too many, but (see above) we have no choice.

* Stepping Out. Kentucky isn't alone in this because it's happening all across college basketball, but players are having a hell of a time staying in-bounds on the sides when the ball is rotated. The lengthening of the three-point distance has wreaked havoc on college sets, and UK has fallen victim countless times already this season of having a player making that jab step and toeing the sideline. Every time it happens I want to kick a defenseless piece of furniture right in its teeth.

Kentucky Isn't Good at Basketball Right Now

* Clank City. This team is having such a monumental time hitting shots that it has almost given me an ulcer. Last night: 1-12 from three. On the season: 21%. That's cartoon territory, and you look around at this team and worry that that stat isn't going to get much better, what with Hagans out there getting back-pedaled on like crazy with teams daring him to shoot, Maxey looking lost, and Whitney getting a lot of minutes at the 3. It's really hard to beat teams in this sport if you can't hit outside shots, and you worry that Kentucky is just going to see a steady diet of zone all year and we might not have the personnel to thwart it.

* Burned to Ash-ton. Ashton Hagans had a good game offensively last night but he could not stay in front of anyone. It got to the point that Jimmy Dykes of all people was scolding him relentlessly--something I've never heard in a Kentucky game. Hagans at times is like one of those football players who tries to rip the ball out and cause a fumble rather than tackle. He would be much better served just sitting down in a stance and staying in front.

* In Ashton's Defense... Kentucky's help defense is atrocious right now. This is almost always the case with these young teams in November, but after a good showing against Michigan St. we've regressed. There's a lot of panic out there for Kentucky right now and I suspect a big reason for that is that we have trouble scoring, and that bleeds over to your defense.

* A is for Apathy. This was discussed in the game thread, but there is a lot of apathy right now around UK basketball. That was going on last year after the Duke game, but the difference was that team had a much more consistent roster. This team is obviously more raw, and as we've all seen they're very hard to watch. You wouldn't call what we've seen so far entertaining. UK fans will forgive that if the players have been around for awhile and we've had a chance to get to know them. Bad basketball like this played by people who the fans don't know isn't something UK fans are going to abide by. We're too basketball savvy for that.

* #9 Team in America? The announcers got into a debate last night about where Kentucky should be ranked, #9 or #29. Sadly, they're not either. They're probably not in the top 50, possibly lower. Yes, you have to cut them a little slack because of the injuries. But given what we've seen the last week, this UK team is well behind the Ryan Harrow/Archie Goodwin team, and that's a scary thought.

[Catsrock]

Very accurate in my opinion. And the astonishing thing is how quickly we went from feeling like we could grow into a title contender after beating MSU to feeling punched in the gut with what may be a miserable season. The annual unknown over the summer...to big-time hopes...to wanting to go deer hunting in the blink of an eye.

If we by some miracle figure this out and have a strong team by March Cal (and the media) will chide us irrational UK fans for our knee-jerk reaction here early. But what else can we feel with what we've been looking at? It's awful and appears to be a shamefully incomplete team. If EJ coming back (assuming his season is not over--who would ever know with the way they report on injuries) is the only hope we have then we're in deep doody.

[Dwight Schrute]

As angry as people were about the schedule, thank god it's not any tougher or we'd be screwed. Rupp Arena was a ghost town last night. Tickets were reportedly going for $7 on StubHub. In my life I never thought I'd see that, especially during the Calipari years when we're a top 10 team.

I don't enjoy watching these games. I didn't catch the second half because of a newborn baby girl who decided she wasn't happy (I don't think it was related to the Cats). Had we been at the game I'm pretty sure you'd have heard her on TV.

[Joneslab]

I don't enjoy watching these games.

No, not enjoyable at all.

Of course it belies a problem in college basketball generally: way too many of these buy games. There are almost 400 D1 teams, and because of that you don't have a lot of excitement in the early-season with the exception of the showcase games like the Champions Classic or the awesome Thanksgiving week with all the tournaments.

If Kentucky had a powerful team then that'd be one thing. Watching the 2015 team for instance was pretty fun. Ditto 2012 and even a team like 2011, who knew what they were doing and could really X-acto knife these weaker teams apart.

But with a team like this, which has players who are just as raw as players on these mid-majors, it's the equivalent of pulling teeth while waiting in line at the DMV. It sucks the entertainment value out--and Kentucky basketball is about entertainment when you boil it down to its essence.

It's what happens when the rock that is the one-and-done system is picked up and you get to see all the nastiness underneath.

[lilproUK98]

No, not enjoyable at all.

Of course it belies a problem in college basketball generally: way too many of these buy games. There are almost 400 D1 teams, and because of that you don't have a lot of excitement in the early-season with the exception of the showcase games like the Champions Classic or the awesome Thanksgiving week with all the tournaments.

If Kentucky had a powerful team then that'd be one thing. Watching the 2015 team for instance was pretty fun. Ditto 2012 and even a team like 2011, who knew what they were doing and could really X-acto knife these weaker teams apart.

But with a team like this, which has players who are just as raw as players on these mid-majors, it's the equivalent of pulling teeth while waiting in line at the DMV. It sucks the entertainment value out--and Kentucky basketball is about entertainment when you boil it down to its essence.

It's what happens when the rock that is the one-and-done system is picked up and you get to see all the nastiness underneath.

Doesn't make a huge difference to me, but I'm glad the "one and done era" is almost over. At least in its current form. The vast majority of CBB fans have grown tired of it. We'll see what CBB transforms into, but you'll still have players leaving after 1 and 2 years...and the biggest talents won't even play CBB....

Will post one and done CBB be better??? I'm not so sure.

[Joneslab]

Will post one and done CBB be better???

No. We know that because college basketball already tried it.

But it might be better for us. We'll have a different coach, obviously, but the upshot (and it's a big upshot) is that we can go back to getting to know the players. It'll be more like true college basketball and I think most UK fans miss that.

Personally I think the one-and-done system gets too much grief. You can test that because it was getting grief even as Kentucky was powerful. I remember all the calls to Matt Jones in 2012 with UK fans squalling about how "ONE AND DONES AIN'T NEVER GONNA WIN NOTHING."

Let's be honest with ourselves for a moment, WCN friends. Kentucky fans overreact to things. Full stop.

But UK fans are also pretty smart. We know what we like. And what we're seeing right now is the one-and-done system gone haywire.

I think if we can make it through this we'll be okay because we should have returners and we've got a better class coming in next year. But it's going to take some insane patience, and that isn't something BBN is really known for.

[Dwight Schrute]

Doesn't make a huge difference to me, but I'm glad the "one and done era" is almost over. At least in its current form. The vast majority of CBB fans have grown tired of it. We'll see what CBB transforms into, but you'll still have players leaving after 1 and 2 years...and the biggest talents won't even play CBB....

Will post one and done CBB be better??? I'm not so sure.

I think it will on the whole. You'll lose out on the James Wisemans of the world but you'll get players more invested in being in college and ideally players who'll stick around longer. If the NIL rules actually go into effect and players can make money off their likenesses, ideally more players will be able to make college work for them.

I too am tired of the one and done era, especially now that we're getting these raw players who aren't anywhere near ready.

[Dwight Schrute]

No. We know that because college basketball already tried it.

But it might be better for us. We'll have a different coach, obviously, but the upshot (and it's a big upshot) is that we can go back to getting to know the players. It'll be more like true college basketball and I think most UK fans miss that.

Personally I think the one-and-done system gets too much grief. You can test that because it was getting grief even as Kentucky was powerful. I remember all the calls to Matt Jones in 2012 with UK fans squalling about how "ONE AND DONES AIN'T NEVER GONNA WIN NOTHING."

Let's be honest with ourselves for a moment, WCN friends. Kentucky fans overreact to things. Full stop.

But UK fans are also pretty smart. We know what we like. And what we're seeing right now is the one-and-done system gone haywire.

I think if we can make it through this we'll be okay because we should have returners and we've got a better class coming in next year. But it's going to take some insane patience, and that isn't something BBN is really known for.

I'm skeptical that next year's class is going to be as good as it's reported, simply because we're going to have two guys who should still be in high school playing major minutes for us next year.

[Joneslab]

I'm skeptical that next year's class is going to be as good as it's reported, simply because we're going to have two guys who should still be in high school playing major minutes for us next year.

Terrence Clarke will be 19. Only reason he's supposed to be in high school because 90% of these guys are holdbacks.

Askew is a little younger but Devin Askew is probably one of the five or six best young guards in the world. He's a guy I've actually seen play at the Peach Jam. Killer. He'd be great for this team right now and IMO he'd take Ashton Hagans' minutes.

The problem next year might come down to too many similar players--we'll have a fleet of "positionless" athletes--and not enough skill. (Also you worry that we may not have the power inside because it's unclear if we'll even have a true frontcourt.)

The thing about the really good Cal teams, particularly 2012 and 2015 (and I'll even throw 2011 and 2017 in there), is that they had skilled players and not just young phenoms running around running and jumping.

A lot of times recruiting rankings are deceptive because they look at upside. Measurements. Intangibles. Length and twitchiness and athleticism.

That won't fly if that's all you have in this game. Because basketball is a sport where you can offset those intangibles with togetherness and fundamentals and heart.

Cal's really good teams have been skilled and you look out there this year and don't see a lot of that. When you build your team around highly ranked players and you don't have anything but those guys, sometimes you've got a lot of high-wire highlight-reel athletes but you don't have the requisite BALLPLAYERS to be a good college basketball team.

[lilproUK98]

No. We know that because college basketball already tried it.

But it might be better for us. We'll have a different coach, obviously, but the upshot (and it's a big upshot) is that we can go back to getting to know the players. It'll be more like true college basketball and I think most UK fans miss that.

Personally I think the one-and-done system gets too much grief. You can test that because it was getting grief even as Kentucky was powerful. I remember all the calls to Matt Jones in 2012 with UK fans squalling about how "ONE AND DONES AIN'T NEVER GONNA WIN NOTHING."

Let's be honest with ourselves for a moment, WCN friends. Kentucky fans overreact to things. Full stop.

But UK fans are also pretty smart. We know what we like. And what we're seeing right now is the one-and-done system gone haywire.

I think if we can make it through this we'll be okay because we should have returners and we've got a better class coming in next year. But it's going to take some insane patience, and that isn't something BBN is really known for.

Your second paragraph is the truth. Most fans are tired of Cal and one and done being such a grind during the season IMO. I am not fwiw, but most fans clearly are. Sure, we like the end result of being one of 6-7 teams in the conversation every year, but not getting back to the FF since 2015 and the way the seasons have ended since 2014 has really worn on fans. That's the biggest problem with UK basketball IMO.

[DA#23]

Empty seats are one thing that can end the Calipari era sooner rather than later...he said as much when he was hired.

[Joneslab]

Empty seats are one thing that can end the Calipari era sooner rather than later...he said as much when he was hired.

Yep. I'm not sure Utah Valley at 7:00 on a Monday in mid-November is indicative of a trend, but we've seen pretty spotty crowds off and on for UK early the last three or four seasons. This particular team has a chance to see a whole new level of emptiness in Rupp because of the way they play.

Friday night will probably be a notch better because it's a weekend, but watch a game like Farleigh Dickinson on December 7th. That has a chance to dip down into the 17K range and that's getting sketchy.

(I do think there's a debate to be had about attendance being down everywhere in college sports, so Rupp Arena isn't alone in this. I'll also give credit to Kentucky fans, because we usually come out to support the team in tough times; after Billy Gillispie's Cats lost to Gardner-Webb, for instance, there were 22K there to see the next game--almost four thousand more people than were there last night.)

[Dwight Schrute]

Are peopled tired of Cal? I don't know if I'm tired of Cal or not but I'm tired of the current status quo. Hopefully next year's recruiting class will sate a lot of concerns.

[Dwight Schrute]

Yep. I'm not sure Utah Valley at 7:00 on a Monday in mid-November is indicative of a trend, but we've seen pretty spotty crowds off and on for UK early the last three or four seasons. This particular team has a chance to see a whole new level of emptiness in Rupp because of the way they play.

Friday night will probably be a notch better because it's a weekend, but watch a game like Farleigh Dickinson on December 7th. That has a chance to dip down into the 17K range and that's getting sketchy.

(I do think there's a debate to be had about attendance being down everywhere in college sports, so Rupp Arena isn't alone in this. I'll also give credit to Kentucky fans, because we usually come out to support the team in tough times; after Billy Gillispie's Cats lost to Gardner-Webb, for instance, there were 22K there to see the next game--almost four thousand more people than were there last night.)

Yeah, I just wonder if there's more here than just the schedule. Big screen TVs are cheap now and picture clarity is good. I wonder if UK's pushing the ticket pricing envelope a little much.

[TrueblueCATfan]

Are peopled tired of Cal? I don't know if I'm tired of Cal or not but I'm tired of the current status quo. Hopefully next year's recruiting class will sate a lot of concerns.

I'm not tired of Cal.....but don't understand why we have 3 schlorships available right night..why weren't they filled... we could use more bodies right now