UCLA vs. Kentucky: Game Thread

[Joneslab]

UCLA probably would win two of three now. Kentucky still has a very high upside.

The point isn't to win some hypothetical three-game series but to have those issues worked out so that you're a better team down the road.

[Catsrock]

Might've knocked down some shots. We weren't playing defense anyway, and we lost by five. Maybe Mulder could've knocked down a couple.

Doubt it though. I haven't seen enough to make me trust him in big games.

I've seen enough that I'm glad for every shot he takes. Just great form and a good percentage. Granted...not sure he's ever been in a big game. That's what I don't get when we're behind and time is running out. Not saying he defends like Liggins but I watched other guards stand and watch open 3's in their face today. Mulder is not a horrible defender and we needed buckets.

[George]

I've seen enough that I'm glad for every shot he takes. Just great form and a good percentage. Granted...not sure he's ever been in a big game. That's what I don't get when we're behind and time is running out. Not saying he defends like Liggins but I watched other guards stand and watch open 3's in their face today. Mulder is not a horrible defender and we needed buckets.

He actually is a horrible defender. It's THE reason why he doesn't play.

But, again, in a game where defense didn't seem to be a priority for us and we still managed to keep it within single digits, a few long range shots from a high percentage guy might not've hurt.

[Joneslab]

The time we could have used something offensively was when we started to panic at about the 12:00 mark of the second half.

That little drought saw the game go from 6 to 16 I think, and at that point we couldn't stop them enough to put any kind of game pressure on them.

This game reminded me a little of when Duke was going through those defensive problems two years ago. They hit a stretch in the middle of the season where they just couldn't guard. Then they got it together and became a much better team, but it took them months.

They won a title with that team. There was a time when nobody thought they could guard well enough to win six in a row. Couldn't guard anybody.

[Joneslab]

5. Willis - He was terrible today. Sorry but he was getting beat non-stop defensively, standing around and not rebounding - so what he hit a big 3 at the end, did nothing else the rest of the game and shouldn't have been on the court so much. Yeah he's had a thumb injury but he's not played well all year in my opinion. Sure, he'll have a game here and there where he'll hit a 3 or get a nice dunk or even the 50/50 ball he laid out for. That's all great. But his lack everywhere is not helping the team. I'd play Gabriel over him all day long.

Willis had a really good run early in the game.

But what frustrates me about him is that he passes up a lot of shots. He didn't do this last year. If he's out there as a stretch, then stretch. If he passes stuff up he hurts the team because it's the best thing he does. Has to be willing to shoot it when the defense sloughs off.

I think as we go forward we might see more of Bam and Humphries at the 4/5.

[George]

Going forward, I just want to see more guys who can make shots.

That goes for this team and every team Cal coaches for the remainder of his tenure at Kentucky. We usually have one guy who can consistently knock down jumpers - two on a good day.

Same weakness every single year. I can't be the only one who sees it.

[Joneslab]

Monk's a big-time shot-maker. But re: Willis, you can't make them if you don't shoot them.

We needed guys to make more shots right around the basket. Even Monk had a couple of huge misses in transition. Bam missed two-footers all day.

[George]

Monk's a big-time shot-maker. But re: Willis, you can't make them if you don't shoot them.

We needed guys to make more shots right around the basket. Even Monk had a couple of huge misses in transition. Bam missed two-footers all day.

And this, in spite of his double-doubles, is why I feel like he's been a little bit disappointing. I agree that he gets after it all game long, but that guy shouldn't miss gimmes. Just no excuse for that.

[Catsrock]

:

He actually is a horrible defender. It's THE reason why he doesn't play.

But, again, in a game where defense didn't seem to be a priority for us and we still managed to keep it within single digits, a few long range shots from a high percentage guy might not've hurt.

I respect your opinions but we'll have to disagree on this one. He's not a great defender but is far from horrible. In fact if you want a single reason why he can't get minutes I'd say it has a lot more to do with the fact he didn't have 5 stars 4 years ago.

The longer I harp on this the more it makes it look like I think he's our best player. That is NOT my deal. But he's earned 10-12 minutes a game especially when we've gotta have buckets.

Monk on a wing, Mulder on the other with Fox making the decisions and we may have closed the gap.

[Joneslab]

I respect your opinions but we'll have to disagree on this one. He's not a great defender but is far from horrible. In fact if you want a single reason why he can't get minutes I'd say it has a lot more to do with the fact he didn't have 5 stars 4 years ago.

The problem with that argument is that Hawkins is getting Mulder's minutes. Hawkins had fewer stars than Mulder.

Cal loves guys who will defend. In a choice between two similar players, he'll go with defense every time. (Hawkins did hit a three today.)

I've listened to his coaches show for the last two weeks and he's talked about Mulder's defensive issues in both. (He's also praised Mulder a lot.) I think in a game where it was obvious we couldn't come close to stopping UCLA, he was trying to go with the guys who had a better chance to guard.

If it were a 55-50 type of game you'd have to think Mulder would've gotten some run.

[Joneslab]

And this, in spite of his double-doubles, is why I feel like he's been a little bit disappointing. I agree that he gets after it all game long, but that guy shouldn't miss gimmes. Just no excuse for that.

Think the learning curve is sharper with big guys than guards.

But he isn't a guy who has a polished interior game. He isn't Karl Towns. What he gives you is all-out effort. I think he gave us that in this game today, but he really struggled when Cal clearly was trying to get him going in that critical movement in the second half. That's when the game got away from us.

I like Bam a lot mostly because of how viciously hard he plays, but he needs to keep improving offensively. Got himself in bad angles today.

[George]

In fact if you want a single reason why he can't get minutes I'd say it has a lot more to do with the fact he didn't have 5 stars 4 years ago.

If this were an issue, why would Cal have gone after him in the first place? Mulder had plenty of game tape before joining Kentucky; Cal knew what he was getting and clearly had a reason for extending an offer. To say his high school ranking prevents him from playing after Cal reached out to him just doesn't make much sense. There's a clear reason why Cal only puts him in in certain situations.

Cal played Ramon Harris and Perry Stevenson; neither of them were five-star recruits. He played Liggins, who was a four-star. Jorts got starter minutes; we all know his story. As Will said, Hawkins wasn't a five-star and he plays. Willis plays, too. Wasn't a five-star.

Mulder's minutes have nothing to do with his HS ranking and everything to do with the fact that he gets burned on defense every time he gets in the game. It's almost a given. There's a greater chance of that happening than him hitting a three.

[George]

Think the learning curve is sharper with big guys than guards.

But he isn't a guy who has a polished interior game. He isn't Karl Towns. What he gives you is all-out effort. I think he gave us that in this game today, but he really struggled when Cal clearly was trying to get him going in that critical movement in the second half. That's when the game got away from us.

I like Bam a lot mostly because of how viciously hard he plays, but he needs to keep improving offensively. Got himself in bad angles today.

I agree, but he missed dunks today. Open slam dunks. Those don't require polish. That's something he can and should easily clean up.

[Westtncat]

So is it safe to say Alford has Cals number yet?

[George]

So is it safe to say Alford has Cals number yet?

He and Kevin Ollie.