Just when you think things couldn’t get much worse, they do.
Well, I guess its not “worse”, per say. Those problems turning the ball over are still there. Still can’t apply defensive pressure on ball-handlers. Still not getting Patterson enough touches. Still looking completely confused in when faced with a zone defense.
A lack of talent versus spurts of poor execution. We’ve seen it for about 5 games straight now. Today’s second half featured defensive breakdowns and showcased our inability to accurately defend guards running through screens. At least that was new.
Part of me is actually enjoying this frustrating time. Not necessarily just because I laugh at how some Kentucky fans react to adversity and losses. (One dude called in to WLXG Sports Radio’s post-game show and never stopped screaming the entire time, and suggested that A.J. Stewart should have been guarding Lord Vaden. That was hilarious.)
This is still a Kentucky season, and still our team. The losses are reinforcing the lessons taught by our coaches. Eventually, it’ll come together; maybe not this season, but possibly the next. We have too many talented coaches and players to stay at this frustrating level.
So take advantage of it while you can. Later on, when we’re playing as such a higher level, it might be hard to find good criticisms to talk about on the radio shows. For now, we’ll Bitch! Bitch! Bitch! for the Blue and White!
Yes, it is very frustrating. But, Billy’s got to have time to turn this program around. We didn’t and don’t need a “quick fix”. We need a solid foundation that will produce elite basketball and deep tournament runs every year. Billy will do that, I truly believe!
That being said, once Jasper is back to run the point and Meeks is back to be our most consistent scorer AND play excellent defense, we WILL be a different team! A much better team!
Once those two get back healthy this team will put a nice run together the rest of the season and come March…we all know that anything can happen!
On a side note:
might I add that we are only 1 game behind Louisville in terms of wins and losses. So, while we are struggling, it always softens the blow when the ‘ol cardinals are losing too!
It’s great that you guys are so positive and supportive. I have long lamented the BBNation’s tendency to go all Chicken Little. But it’s time to face some reality, folks. People talk about “rebuilding” and “solid foundation” and “give it time”, etc., etc., when asking us to cut B.G. some slack. The people who say that, though are completely missing the point - the University of Kentucky does not NEED “rebuilding”! We are already built! We are not A&M, and we should not be held to that standard. We need “maintaining” and “re-loading” and in some cases “up-grading”. An NCAA “appearance” was a BIG thing for B.G.’s previous stops - but not at UK. Frankly, unless things change in a hurry, this team will not make the Big Dance. The more we as a fan base talk about “rebuilding”, the more it will confirm our coach’s misapprehension that he is a savior of something horribly broken. Wrong answer - he was given the keys to a Cadillac in need of some repairs, and he’s treating it like a junker needing a complete overhaul. Not only that, when the engine doesn’t turn over, he blames the cylinders, not the mechanic.
Which brings me to my next point - I’m getting pretty tired of hearing our coach throw his players under the bus. Over and over his postgame comments talk about somebody “didn’t do this” or “forgot that”. Umm - what about the fact coach puts together lineups the way a Parkinson’s patient sews dresses? How long do you think it will take for that kind of excuse-making and lack of personal accountability to drive away players and recruits? They’re not stupid - they read the papers and listen to SportsCenter, too. An Alex Legion episode this early and in his first season is a bad sign of things to come, not a fluke defection. Bottom line - you can recruit all the blue chippers you want, but if you can’t coach in games, you shoulda stayed home.
P.S. Jasper should be medically redshirted right now - bite the bullet and keep training Porter at the point. Microfracture is an iffy procedure, and a year is a reasonable rehab time. Best case puts him back in the lineup after conference play is already underway. What good can he do then? Chemistry (or lack thereof) has already been established, and he’ll end up losing a year of eligibility for what will essentially be a lost season. Train Porter all this season at the point, then you have TWO high-quality point guards next season when Meeks and Darius Miller (and God willing, Patterson) are going to need good passes.
Porter will never be a high quality point guard at D-1 level, I don’t care if he takes steroids, hgh, and magic beans.
Billy will get us in the right direction, but you’ve got to give the man some time. He inherited, “career underachievers” in the senior class, no juniors to speak of, our two best sophomores are hurt and P. Patterson is tearing it up when the scrubs on the floor can get him the ball.
08-09 season, this team will be a top 10 team!
Right now, I’ve noticed a lot of people in the national media our focusing on the “blame game” being played in the Bluegrass. Most people are quick to say Tubby is blameless in the situation; that something like this never happened under his watch. Be that as it may, I think it is important to remember what we lost last year and what we continue to be without this year. Last year we lost four players that had contributed to our front court. Granted, Thomas and Orbzut were never stellar, the depth we lost with them along with Perry and Morris is devastating. No matter how good Patterson is, he can’t replace 4 players in our front court. Also, not to beat a dead horse, but also being without our starting back court is devastating as well. Just a thought, but perhaps Tubby didn’t leave this past year because the pressure had become too much, but because he saw trouble ahead (remember, Patterson had not signed with UK when Tubby bolted for Minnesota).
In reference to CatFanStuckinNC’s car metaphor, what you are suggesting is asking a mechanic who repairs foreign made cars to fix up your Cadillac. By bringing him in as our head coach, we essentially brought his system to UK. It is going to take time to make these changes, but I really believe things are going to get better. GO CATS!
This man had 3 Mcdonald all-americans on his roster to start the season, and lost to Gardner-Webb. I believe a lot of people are glossing over this fact. He has never reached a final four not even with someone elses players. For the kids sake I hope they turn it around, I don’t see it though.
I play the blame game a lot but I can’t believe I’m hearing this. What team could lose their starting backcourt and still contend? Nobody. Louisville lost their center and they’re getting beat around, much less their backcourt.
What I have enjoyed is that while we still are losing, our players aren’t quiting. Crawford is showing more emotion than he has the past four years, Bradley is playing with confidence and Patterson is developing the way a star freshman should.
Against UAB, 3/5 of our starting lineup shouldnt’ have even been playing at any point, but that’s all Billy G. was left with by Tubby. If Tubby were still here, we’d have the same record but Patterson would be scoring 5ppg and Darius Miller wouldn’t be on his way.
Wait till we get Meeks and hopefully Jasper back, two our top five players. We can play with many teams then. Then next year, you look at a lineup like Jasper, Meeks, Miller Patterson and Curry or Stevenson or maybe another big recruit…wow…we could be pretty good.
CatFanStuckinNC is an absolute idiot, maybe if said cadillac was missing the drivers seat, motor and transmission, you would have a reasonable comparison. I think we should just sit around all year and make jokes, namely ones with the ending “Tubby was great”, and enjoy next season when we have a few more players than enjoy winning. Go Big Blue, and Go BCG, you can skinny dip with Legions girl more now.
throwing in the towel already Big Daddy? I threw in the towel the minute they hired an unproven coach to lead the team with the most wins in men’s college basketball history. No one else worth a nickel wanted the job. Why would they? If winning 76% of your games, and a national title and not missing the big dance one time isn’t good enough, then really what is? I’m sure that if by some chance UK dosen’t make the tourney this year and Minnesota does, its only because Tubby is using someone elses players again.
Can we quit with Tubby already? Do you really think Tubby could win with this lineup? With no point guard, only one pivot player worth their salt? Tubby’s players showed no effort, no emotion. That’s why he’s gone, thank God! Tubby was given the keys to a BMW and he let it rust out into a wood beaver. Did Billy D convert Florida into instant winners? No. In fact, I think we all put way too much emphasis on the coach. As long as players generally like and respect the coach, they make the team. Players hated Tubby, they wouldn’t play for him. Billy D looks like a great coach when really, he just had great players who probably would have won back to back titles without him. You can’t give up on Billy G yet. I agree, Kentucky should never lose to Houston, UAB or Gardner effin Webb, but sports are different these days, talent is more spread out, there aren’t any real dynasties left.
I’ll post this and never speak of it again. I was a huge fan. I dind’t blame the former coach for bolting, I could care less about the team now. I can’t root against them, but I don’t take it as hard when they loose now. You have no proof the players hated Tubby, maybe they did, who cares he coached at the highest level when he was here and I’m sure most universities would love to have had his record. So we are stuck Billy G now enjoy his coaching execellence. By the way, 10 loss Tubby, sure sounds better than 10 win Billy.
Then you never were a “True Blue huge” fan. Because True Fans don’t quit rooting for their team when things go wrong for a while.
We (True Fans) and Billy will be fine. Please don’t ever refer to yourself as a “huge” fan again. You were a “fair-weather” fan….. just “CallingitlikeICit”.
I’ve actually never have been called a “fair-weather” fan before. That’s funny, I thought in Kentucky we only strive for excellence. What I saw last night was an embarrassment. The program will survive, I just think that hiring Billy was not the answer, I would have thought the job demanded a proven coach, I don’t give a damn about how much you love the little dude, he was not proven, sorry, maybe for a lesser school, this job requires a coach that is proven or at least has a connection to the program and understands what goes with the program. When I saw his first press confrence I saw someone who somewhere in the back of his mind was thinking “how in the hell did I pull this off?” Well he didn’t he is sinking fast and is way, way, way in over his head. By the way…great recruiter VS. Tubby, Ralph Sampson III. That’s all I’m going to say.
Whether you like the coach or not, if you consider yourself a huge fan of a team, you still root for them either way. That’s just the way it goes, if you are, indeed, a true fan!