Selection Sunday Thread

[Joneslab]

Yeah, that thing Cal does where he says “I should have played So-and-so more” after games would irk the crap out of me.

[George]

In Cal’s defense, Bryce was a pudgy baby during his freshman year. Seemed soft and entitled — two things Cal cannot stand.

[KentuckyWild2020]

I liked Hopkins last year but the guy got his shots in. There were times he almost looked like a gun.

I think what he's saying is that Cal took him out when he did that. With Providence he's been able to play through misses and mistakes.

Understandable that he says that...but then again, I'm not sure letting a freshman who isn't a star be a gun was the right play on last year's team? Maybe he lets Hopkins play through some stuff and he's the key to getting us out of the first round. But I never saw anything in him that said, Man, that guy needs to play more or anything.

Exactly...Glad he's happy but he's not Corlis Williamson Glenn Robinson Chuck Person or Rodney Rogers, at least not now,still a chunky 3 stuck at the 4 spot.. Not athletic to play the 3 guard perimeter handle the ball and too small to really be a 4..A good season with some big numbers but it's Providence, not Kentucky...

I do agreed Calhas that Tubby Smith syndrome yanking players out not letting them play through mistakes but again, Hopkins was a decent ranked freshman but not D Rose Wall Cousins Towns AD type of freshman...

Hope we stomp the crap out of Providence to be honest, tired of all the negative towards Kentucky. We absolutely need a good showing this tournament if that's what Cal is really all about. Nobody and I mean nobody who's a real Kentucky fan gives a you know what about who he's sending to the pros, talk is cheap we want W's....

[DA#23]

[Jeff ROCKober]

That back injury really hurt Hopkins. When Hopkins usually did come in last year, he looked like a bull in a China shop. Likely, trying too hard to impress, but looked very raw. There is no doubt Kentucky could have used him this year. I would love to see Livingston come back for UK and have a season like Hopkins.
Hopkins has played just okay in the last 5 games. He is averaging less than 12 points in the last 5 games with 4 plus boards. Much less than his 16.6 points and 8.5 rebounds he is averaging for the year.

[justford]

Cal made sure to clear up his statement about Toppin being injured. He said Toppin had a hamstring problem but his players were not to use a injury as an excuse so Toppin said he didn’t have a injury.

[Lighthouse]

The comment by Hopkins where he said he felt like a robot. Sometimes I can see how some of Cal's players feel that way. When he's screaming at them, and jerks them out when a mistake or a bad play happens. His famous, if you don't guard you're out, comment is understandable and I agree with it, but sometimes he just goes to far. IMO.

[Lighthouse]

Has anybody mentioned how Vandy got the shaft yesterday? They should have made it in. And another joke was how they reported UNC was a last one out team. They weren't even close in my mind.

[Joneslab]

The comment by Hopkins where he said he felt like a robot. Sometimes I can see how some of Cal's players feel that way. When he's screaming at them, and jerks them out when a mistake or a bad play happens. His famous, if you don't guard you're out, comment is understandable and I agree with it, but sometimes he just goes to far. IMO.

Yeah, I agree with this.

He's had success with top-of-the-line players. Not so much with diamonds in the rough. We saw that with Charles Matthews, Johnny Juzang, Hopkins, a few others. (A guy like Shai would be a major exception here.)

Cal micromanages. With very young teams like he had in his first few years, that was a positive thing. With older teams I wonder if he just confuses things more than they need to be.

The irony is that defensively, this team looks like it's virtually uncoached. It doesn't do hardly anything to suggest they've been in there drilling concepts the way good coaching staffs do. I chalk a lot of this up to Cal but I also think Oscar might have some language barrier things going on that make it harder for him to "get" rotations. His learning curve defensively looks like it's been incredibly steep and Cal hasn't done hardly anything to help him. He also has severe limitations because of his size and jumping ability, as we all know.

[KCKUKFan]

Has anybody mentioned how Vandy got the shaft yesterday? They should have made it in. And another joke was how they reported UNC was a last one out team. They weren't even close in my mind.

If Vandy wanted to make it in, they shouldn't have lost to Southern Miss, VCU and Grambling in their putrid non-conference schedule.

If you're going to schedule as lightly as they do in non-conference, you better make sure you don't drop games.

[George]

Thank God Quade Green was such a turd and decided to bail. He could’ve single-handedly cost us the greatness that was SGA and PJ Washington.

[Joneslab]

The Seton Hall/Providence game is on YouTube if you're interested. This is the game where Seton Hall crushed them. I watched 10 minutes of it and Providence looked...um...beatable. Check that: they looked awful.

That's obviously not indicative of who they are but in that game their guards look pretty weak. Also Hopkins has a really bad tendency to overdribble. Had the ball just ripped away from him a few times.

(Also of note is how similar Seton Hall looked to St. Peter's last year. Holloway's got them in side pick and rolls all the time, every possession, and Providence didn't do a good job with it. The bad news is we do hardly no pick and roll.)

I don't expect either of those things to happen Friday night but if you're looking for a Monday pep-up, there you go.

[Joneslab]

The team Kentucky's played that Providence reminds you most of: Missouri.

[Lighthouse]

If Vandy wanted to make it in, they shouldn't have lost to Southern Miss, VCU and Grambling in their putrid non-conference schedule.

If you're going to schedule as lightly as they do in non-conference, you better make sure you don't drop games.

I forgot about those losses.

[lilproUK98]

Yeah, I agree with this.

He's had success with top-of-the-line players. Not so much with diamonds in the rough. We saw that with Charles Matthews, Johnny Juzang, Hopkins, a few others. (A guy like Shai would be a major exception here.)

Cal micromanages. With very young teams like he had in his first few years, that was a positive thing. With older teams I wonder if he just confuses things more than they need to be.

The irony is that defensively, this team looks like it's virtually uncoached. It doesn't do hardly anything to suggest they've been in there drilling concepts the way good coaching staffs do. I chalk a lot of this up to Cal but I also think Oscar might have some language barrier things going on that make it harder for him to "get" rotations. His learning curve defensively looks like it's been incredibly steep and Cal hasn't done hardly anything to help him. He also has severe limitations because of his size and jumping ability, as we all know.

Hit the nail on the head in that last paragraph