[TarHeelRavenParticipant]

 Another embarrassing defeat, this time to 178 ranked South Carolina after losing at home to Arkansas.  His army of Mcdonald’s all-americans should be out of the top 25 this week after a preseason number one ranking and talks of the greatest recruting class ever and a championship season.  I am not a Calipari fan by any strtetch of the imagination, but the guy does bring in talent every year and has a national championship.  He was seen as the best at bringing in a revolving door of guys every year and getting them to play as a team.  It worked the first couple years he was in Lexington, last year and this year, not so much.  How much of the blame should be on Cal for the struggles this year?  Kentucky is still a tournament team and could make a run in the touney, but they aren’t in the same galaxy as their pre-season expectations.  Should Big Blue Nation be calling for Cal’s head yet?  

[saylabParticipant]

Not the most astute observation you’ll hear, but his guards this year (the Harrison twins in particular) just have an arrogant look about them. I don’t know what it is. But everytime I watch Kentucky play, which hasn’t been often, those 2 just look more into it for themselves, than for the team. They make a scene when they get calls against them, force up ridiculous shots on drives… 

It’s like these kids are more caught up in the Kentucky/Calipari go pro scheme more-so than winning at this level.

Their cohesiveness as a team is abysmal. Watching them and then watching a team like Virginia, it’s night and day. Which is kind of sad. Because talent wise, Kentucky is the best team in the country. But they just play so disjointed.

To answer your question though, I don’t think you call for Cal’s head. Not with how he’s recruiting and not with that nat’l championship he brought in 2 years ago. He just needs to look for kids who are a little more grounded and coachable. He had problems with Goodwin last year (if I’m remembering correctly) and this year it seems like the Harrison twins are bent on trying to showcase themselves. Maybe Young/Randle as well.

If I’m wrong, and how they play is more a function of what Calipari has been enforcing, then correct me. I’ve had limited views of this Kentucky team, but they just look like one one man show after another. Very little team involvement, and I’d like to think that’s a product of his recruits/players, not the coach himself.

[saylabParticipant]

Not the most astute observation you’ll hear, but his guards this year (the Harrison twins in particular) just have an arrogant look about them. I don’t know what it is. But everytime I watch Kentucky play, which hasn’t been often, those 2 just look more into it for themselves, than for the team. They make a scene when they get calls against them, force up ridiculous shots on drives… 

It’s like these kids are more caught up in the Kentucky/Calipari go pro scheme more-so than winning at this level.

Their cohesiveness as a team is abysmal. Watching them and then watching a team like Virginia, it’s night and day. Which is kind of sad. Because talent wise, Kentucky is the best team in the country. But they just play so disjointed.

To answer your question though, I don’t think you call for Cal’s head. Not with how he’s recruiting and not with that nat’l championship he brought in 2 years ago. He just needs to look for kids who are a little more grounded and coachable. He had problems with Goodwin last year (if I’m remembering correctly) and this year it seems like the Harrison twins are bent on trying to showcase themselves. Maybe Young/Randle as well.

If I’m wrong, and how they play is more a function of what Calipari has been enforcing, then correct me. I’ve had limited views of this Kentucky team, but they just look like one one man show after another. Very little team involvement, and I’d like to think that’s a product of his recruits/players, not the coach himself.

[TarHeelRavenParticipant]

 Well said.  I’m thinking that Calipari doesn’t really care if his guys are "high character."  Archie Goodwin was just a train wreck last year and I think Cal yelled, "I can’t coach you!"  at one point during a game.  The Harrison twins are just bad.  You’re right, they’re so arrogant and immature.  It’s really sad to watch them play.  Just my opinion of course, but the way Cal runs his program is a disgrace to college basketball.  kentucky has to make college basketball purists sick.  I’m glad you mentioned UVA because if you heard Tony Bennett interviewed after they beat Syracuse for their first outright ACC title in 33 years all he talked about was team, no egos and guys enjoying playing together.  Basically the exact opposite of Kentucky and Tony Bennett has won with 2 and 3 star recruits, not 9 hamburger all-americans.  

[TarHeelRavenParticipant]

 Well said.  I’m thinking that Calipari doesn’t really care if his guys are "high character."  Archie Goodwin was just a train wreck last year and I think Cal yelled, "I can’t coach you!"  at one point during a game.  The Harrison twins are just bad.  You’re right, they’re so arrogant and immature.  It’s really sad to watch them play.  Just my opinion of course, but the way Cal runs his program is a disgrace to college basketball.  kentucky has to make college basketball purists sick.  I’m glad you mentioned UVA because if you heard Tony Bennett interviewed after they beat Syracuse for their first outright ACC title in 33 years all he talked about was team, no egos and guys enjoying playing together.  Basically the exact opposite of Kentucky and Tony Bennett has won with 2 and 3 star recruits, not 9 hamburger all-americans.  

[tuck243Participant]

terrible at allowing his PG’s shine.  Outside of players that had crazy talent ala D. Rose or John Wall the rest was in his dog house majority of the season.  

I’m not a fan of Andrew Harrison at all.  It seems to me he was pumped up to be an PG which gave him an advantage as he’s 6’6 but he really has no clue what he’s doing.  Can’t even throw a pass into the post correctly.  But like I said Coach Cal doesn’t really let his guards loose like that so who knows what’s really the issue.  James Young just shoot 3’s.  I watched maybe 7 games of UK this season and all he does is shoot 3’s.  Jesus Christ.

  

[tuck243Participant]

terrible at allowing his PG’s shine.  Outside of players that had crazy talent ala D. Rose or John Wall the rest was in his dog house majority of the season.  

I’m not a fan of Andrew Harrison at all.  It seems to me he was pumped up to be an PG which gave him an advantage as he’s 6’6 but he really has no clue what he’s doing.  Can’t even throw a pass into the post correctly.  But like I said Coach Cal doesn’t really let his guards loose like that so who knows what’s really the issue.  James Young just shoot 3’s.  I watched maybe 7 games of UK this season and all he does is shoot 3’s.  Jesus Christ.

  

[StewParticipant]

 Lets wait till the end of season and see what happens

[StewParticipant]

 Lets wait till the end of season and see what happens

[mikeyvthedonParticipant]

You realize their coach before him was Billy Gillispie, right? Tubby Smith was not attracting the type of recruits that Calipari has. Yeah, they have slipped up at times, they are young. The guy still has put Kentucky firmly in the minds of type recruits. The "one-and-done" thing may not be the image of building a team, but not everyone is a "one-and-done". Their tend to be no more than 10 per year. Despite the expectation of every recruit leaving Kentucky after a year, they have some that stay and that clearly can help with depth.

If you do not want your head coach getting top recruiting classes to your school, than maybe you want John Calipari to move on. It is fine if you do not like him, hell, he is not my favorite. Though, look through the eyes of a BBN supporter. You had Tubby win with Pitino’s boys, than 9 years without a Final 4. You have Billy Gillispie pull two incredibly forgetful Kentucky teams together and offer an 8th grader that eventually played DII. Do you want the head of a coach who has amazing connections and keeps attracting huge recruits?

He is bringing in AT LEAST two players at guard who are not going to be "one-and-done" guys next year. Yes, I know, it sucks that they are McDonald’s All-Americans. Their front court will be absolutely stacked. If the Harrison’s stay, maybe mature as well, than that would be great. If not, they will move on. Still, to think that a rough skid is putting Calipari on the chopping block just makes no sense. You don’t have to like the guy, just don’t tell me he has not done an excellent job attracting top recruits. My guess is that if your school would not be saying no to the players he has brought in these last few years.

[mikeyvthedonParticipant]

You realize their coach before him was Billy Gillispie, right? Tubby Smith was not attracting the type of recruits that Calipari has. Yeah, they have slipped up at times, they are young. The guy still has put Kentucky firmly in the minds of type recruits. The "one-and-done" thing may not be the image of building a team, but not everyone is a "one-and-done". Their tend to be no more than 10 per year. Despite the expectation of every recruit leaving Kentucky after a year, they have some that stay and that clearly can help with depth.

If you do not want your head coach getting top recruiting classes to your school, than maybe you want John Calipari to move on. It is fine if you do not like him, hell, he is not my favorite. Though, look through the eyes of a BBN supporter. You had Tubby win with Pitino’s boys, than 9 years without a Final 4. You have Billy Gillispie pull two incredibly forgetful Kentucky teams together and offer an 8th grader that eventually played DII. Do you want the head of a coach who has amazing connections and keeps attracting huge recruits?

He is bringing in AT LEAST two players at guard who are not going to be "one-and-done" guys next year. Yes, I know, it sucks that they are McDonald’s All-Americans. Their front court will be absolutely stacked. If the Harrison’s stay, maybe mature as well, than that would be great. If not, they will move on. Still, to think that a rough skid is putting Calipari on the chopping block just makes no sense. You don’t have to like the guy, just don’t tell me he has not done an excellent job attracting top recruits. My guess is that if your school would not be saying no to the players he has brought in these last few years.

[McDunkin]

 MikeyV I kid you not I always thought that kid that was offered in 8th grade was Jon Hood.

 

But let’s be honest Calipari lost when he put our boy Cheyenne on eternal redshirt status 

 

 

http://nbadraft.net/forum/hello-nbadraftnet-forum-members-my-name-cheyenne-lawton

[McDunkin]

 MikeyV I kid you not I always thought that kid that was offered in 8th grade was Jon Hood.

 

But let’s be honest Calipari lost when he put our boy Cheyenne on eternal redshirt status 

 

 

http://nbadraft.net/forum/hello-nbadraftnet-forum-members-my-name-cheyenne-lawton

[doubledribblerParticipant]

If you recruit the players then you are responsible for them. Don’t put the blame on the players for being selfish and not put any blame on the coach for recruiting selfish players. Cal needs a new approach. It doesn’t lend itself to long-term success. If anything, the one championship he has is a gift from the NBA. The lockout forced a few people to stay behind and he was fortunate to have two guys come in that were not only talented but mature beyond their age.

He has no control over his team. He basically guarantees the new guys a starting role or top sub role and his goal is to push them straight into the NBA. Essentially, you are gifted a role. You don’t have to earn anything. His players don’t respect him. He doesn’t develop guys. I think the guys that consider staying are scared that they are going to get buried on the bench if they stay. It’s cool that he is a great recruiter, but he has obviously done the least with the most.

If Cal was smart he would build a real team. Get guys that fit. Go ahead and get you two or 3 high recruits, mix those in with some guys that can do the little things and not push guys out. Give guys a chance and make people earn their spots. Build a real culture. Guys want to curse you out or not listen, then they don’t play. Don’t want to play defense or move the ball, then go warm the bench. If he did things the right way they probably achieve a rediculous sustained level of dominance despite his lack of coaching. Right now he is basically playing the freshman lottery every year hoping to strike it rich.

[doubledribblerParticipant]

If you recruit the players then you are responsible for them. Don’t put the blame on the players for being selfish and not put any blame on the coach for recruiting selfish players. Cal needs a new approach. It doesn’t lend itself to long-term success. If anything, the one championship he has is a gift from the NBA. The lockout forced a few people to stay behind and he was fortunate to have two guys come in that were not only talented but mature beyond their age.

He has no control over his team. He basically guarantees the new guys a starting role or top sub role and his goal is to push them straight into the NBA. Essentially, you are gifted a role. You don’t have to earn anything. His players don’t respect him. He doesn’t develop guys. I think the guys that consider staying are scared that they are going to get buried on the bench if they stay. It’s cool that he is a great recruiter, but he has obviously done the least with the most.

If Cal was smart he would build a real team. Get guys that fit. Go ahead and get you two or 3 high recruits, mix those in with some guys that can do the little things and not push guys out. Give guys a chance and make people earn their spots. Build a real culture. Guys want to curse you out or not listen, then they don’t play. Don’t want to play defense or move the ball, then go warm the bench. If he did things the right way they probably achieve a rediculous sustained level of dominance despite his lack of coaching. Right now he is basically playing the freshman lottery every year hoping to strike it rich.

[surveParticipant]

 he can win with this team but I dont like his coaching for the most part.  you dont call for his head, thats going too far.  but their struggles are due to his inability to make them gel.  sometimes its easier than others but depending on the coach…some are more consistent at getting desired results than others.

I really think Poythress is getting the raw deal here.  You can see his hustle and attitude is there and he is really trying to earn his minutes but for whatever reason Cal just doesnt afford him the mistakes that he does others like Young.  the twins were overrated anyway but I really have never seen true PG instincts from Andrew.

its tough because he has to spread minutes around but thats his job…to make it work.  inconsistency has plagued them and now its starting to affect Randle’s game on the offensive end.

 

 

 

[surveParticipant]

 he can win with this team but I dont like his coaching for the most part.  you dont call for his head, thats going too far.  but their struggles are due to his inability to make them gel.  sometimes its easier than others but depending on the coach…some are more consistent at getting desired results than others.

I really think Poythress is getting the raw deal here.  You can see his hustle and attitude is there and he is really trying to earn his minutes but for whatever reason Cal just doesnt afford him the mistakes that he does others like Young.  the twins were overrated anyway but I really have never seen true PG instincts from Andrew.

its tough because he has to spread minutes around but thats his job…to make it work.  inconsistency has plagued them and now its starting to affect Randle’s game on the offensive end.

 

 

 

[reborG80Participant]

they hurting becuz the Andrew wont drive the lane on a constant like your 6’5 215 and the spacing for the team is always horrible one of the reasons randle had so many turnovers in the post is that he teammates jus stand around and watch him instead of moving and letting him have his space to move

[reborG80Participant]

they hurting becuz the Andrew wont drive the lane on a constant like your 6’5 215 and the spacing for the team is always horrible one of the reasons randle had so many turnovers in the post is that he teammates jus stand around and watch him instead of moving and letting him have his space to move

[thatdude44Participant]

The talent Coach Cal brings in year after year is elite, I honestly think these kids are more into the "one-in-done" thing more then trying to get better, play for each other and the result being a team win. Instead you have players that seemingly look out disengaged. The bad body language, the selfishness, and not having no real leader erases the how good the class is because there not preforming to the standard they should. Honestly because of these issues outside of Randle and Young, the other players should all stay, to learn the game, get better and become a team. 

[thatdude44Participant]

The talent Coach Cal brings in year after year is elite, I honestly think these kids are more into the "one-in-done" thing more then trying to get better, play for each other and the result being a team win. Instead you have players that seemingly look out disengaged. The bad body language, the selfishness, and not having no real leader erases the how good the class is because there not preforming to the standard they should. Honestly because of these issues outside of Randle and Young, the other players should all stay, to learn the game, get better and become a team. 

[FastAndFuriousParticipant]

 Cant call for Cal’s head, not even for a finger, last year was a shakey team, this years team is good but obviously its not what everyone expected it to be.

But Cal is still bringing top flight talent in year in year out that alone is always going to keep him at UK or a job period,I think the problem Cal is having is the recent kids arent buying into his system and they all just got one and done in there head.

 

Look at Eric Bledsoe NOBODY except Cal and his UK teammates knew how good he really was,sure Bledsoe could have went anywhere else and put up big numbers but he bought into Cals system let John run the point and went to the league.

 

Anthony Davis is an NBA hall of famer in the making but for UK he was 5th in shot attempts even tho he coulda averaged 25,he bought into the system and won a ring and was drafted #1

 

John Wall coulda averaged crazy numbers other places, but he played his PG role at UK and followed the system and had a very good run.

The new guys arent following the system it has nothing to do with Cal in my opinion

38-3 Elite 8

29-9 Elite 8

38-2 National Champs

21-12 N.I.T

126-26 Two Elite8 apperances and a National ship,most coaches would kill to have that resume and thats just Cal at UK.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Edgecat20Participant]

second year was a final 4

[Edgecat20Participant]

second year was a final 4

[FastAndFuriousParticipant]

 Cant call for Cal’s head, not even for a finger, last year was a shakey team, this years team is good but obviously its not what everyone expected it to be.

But Cal is still bringing top flight talent in year in year out that alone is always going to keep him at UK or a job period,I think the problem Cal is having is the recent kids arent buying into his system and they all just got one and done in there head.

 

Look at Eric Bledsoe NOBODY except Cal and his UK teammates knew how good he really was,sure Bledsoe could have went anywhere else and put up big numbers but he bought into Cals system let John run the point and went to the league.

 

Anthony Davis is an NBA hall of famer in the making but for UK he was 5th in shot attempts even tho he coulda averaged 25,he bought into the system and won a ring and was drafted #1

 

John Wall coulda averaged crazy numbers other places, but he played his PG role at UK and followed the system and had a very good run.

The new guys arent following the system it has nothing to do with Cal in my opinion

38-3 Elite 8

29-9 Elite 8

38-2 National Champs

21-12 N.I.T

126-26 Two Elite8 apperances and a National ship,most coaches would kill to have that resume and thats just Cal at UK.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Author]

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