Archie Goodwin draws a foul against Louisville. (Victoria Graff photo)
By LARRY VAUGHT
He helped lead a late surge that almost enable Kentucky to overcome a 17-point second-half deficit at Louisville Saturday, but that didn’t make freshman Archie Goodwin take the 80-77 loss any better.
“I just, I hate losing. Any loss, no matter who it’s against, is going to affect me,” said Goodwin, who had 22 points and five turnovers. “I want to win so bad. I know my teammates do as well. It’s just one of those things where we should’ve won the game, we know we could’ve won it, and that’s what makes it worse.”
Here’s more of what he had to say after Saturday’s game.
Question: What changed after Kentucky got behind 51-34?
Goodwin: “We just had a grit about us. We knew that they were going to make a run and it was time for us to make a run and was time to get ourselves back in the game and we did that. We played lot more tougher than we were. All good teams make runs and we withstood that and made a run of our own.”
Question: Was this game still a step forward even though UK lost?
Goodwin: “I would say so because we fought hard the whole game and that is something Coach (John Calipari) has been preaching about for the last couple of weeks and something we have been improving in. But we didn’t get the ultimate goal, which we tried to. But we are still making strides forward. We’ve come a long way, especially just competing. That’s what we did today. We competed from the beginning to the end. We just didn’t get the win.”
Question: What did he learn about his team in the loss?
Goodwin: “We can play with anybody. That is something we can do. It’s just a matter of us doing it. We missed 12 free throws. I think if we made 10 of those, nine that was the game right there. But that was really one of those things that hurt us right there. It just showed that no matter what we do or how bad we shoot we can still stick with guys as long as we tough it out.”
Question: Were you surprised late in the game that Louisville center Gorgui Dieng was able to block your 3-point shot?
Goodwin: “I don’t know. I didn’t think it would be able to get to it, but he has great athleticism and length. That helped him get to the ball. I knew I was going to hit it. That’s what I think about every shot. I think I am going to hit it.”
Question: Did Louisville’s physical play bother the team and take time to adjust to?
Goodwin: “I would say that we came into the game ready for it, but at the same time we were sort of looking for calls a little bit that we thought we should have got but didn’t get. After a while, we just started to play through it and it started to work out for us. But we just didn’t get the win.”
Question: Did you realize when Louisville guards Russ Smith and Peyton Siva both got four fouls that you could penetrate and score a lot easier?
Goodwin: “No, I didn’t realize that. I was just trying to play off instinct. Coach really wants me to attack, and that’s what I tried to do. I tried to get us back in the game.”
11 Responses to Archie Goodwin knows Kentucky could have won and should have beat Louisville
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If this team continues to work hard and Alex can find his grit, then I like our chances come March! Cal has to find a way to compensate for lack of experience with these young teams early on in the season. We need two to three more quality players for next years team to over come the same situation. We need to recruit some quality four year players to mix with the one and dones!
Cal is doing a fantastic job and I am thrilled that he is our coach! I would not trade last years championship for any win over little brother. Very proud f how this team is coming together! What a great time to be a KY fan.
This game is very encouraging. I see nothing but success in the SEC and the possibility of a good run in the NCAA tournament. We must realize that with the one and done system freshmen, no matter how talented, need time to mold into a unit. And we have to realize that there will be times when it will bring brilliant success and there will be times when it will not. The system, as Calipari has practiced it so far, relies on about 7 players who get all but a few seconds playing time. There is no room for the role player who sticks around for four years and can provide leadership. Calipari is succeeding with the system as it is so it is unlikely to change.
This game reminded me of last year’s game in Rupp. UL hung around, got out of it, and hit some 3s as the game wound down and made the final score close. We will never know if UL had not gotten in foul trouble if UK would have been blown out or still made the comeback. The fact is that they did and that is what counts and that is what will remain in the brains of these young men. This game will pay big dividends as we move through the SEC.
Ah Archie…you might want to try and get into the head of at least Alex Poythress because he clearly doesn’t embrace your “hate to lose” mentality. Good luck in that endeavor.
Poythress will come around, Cal is doing individual workouts with Alex now, he is a very intelligent kid and we will see great dividends fairly soon. His thinking will soon transition into instincts and he will be fine, not all of these kids grasp what is expected at the same rate, I love our upside and see steady progress similar to the Harrelson / Knight team. Cal is doing his usual great job of bringing these kids along. This team does not have three players like last year with Final 4 experience, you can see their confidence grow….them Cardinal fans were really sweating down the stretch! I would not trade our team for any team in the country.
Kokamo Joe, you state ” there is no room for the role player who sticks around for four and can provide leadership”. Do you not recall players with the names MILLER, LIGGINS and HARRELSON. I realize they were not his recruits but you have to realize he utilized their experience and leadership.
Re: they were not his recruits
That’s the point. These were non one and dones who could play and he used them. His recruiting has gotten to the point that he brings in super freshmen every year. In order to keep the system going he must move out his stars as soon as possible. In order to move them out he must allow them to play in a system (dribble drive) which allows them to demonstrate their talent and give them them the leading roles on the team as well as allow them to play the most minuits. Please note that Calipari seldom goes outside his seven player rotation. Hood, Polson, Beckham, Malone, Latner and Long are window dressing which will not play unless, like Polson, Calipari is forced to play one of them. Now that Harrow is on track we will see less and less of Polson.
I cannot dispute Calipari’s system. It is working. My non basketball mind tells me that UK would be better off if the non contributers would be replaced with kids who can play and would stick around and give leadership like Miller, Liggins and Harrelson. But in order for these contributing subs to really develop and contribute Calipari would have to play them. He won’t. In order to do that he would have to ballance the super stars, meaning recruiting less of them with very good role players and if he did that the hook that he uses to bring these kids in would be gone.
The coulda’ve, woulda’ve, shoulda’ve crowd is just blowing smoke unless they can put it into action. If a player is not buying into the system, then either the system is lousy or the player needs to rethink his decision to play at this school because if he does not change his mindset, another freshman will be playing in his position next season.
RJ…I believe Cal’s system is working, elite 8, final 4, national championship, are you kidding me? It may not work for every talented freshman he brings in every year, but it is working. I assume you are talking about Alex? I say in due time he will be a great player. I look at it this way, if it don’t pan out for him this year, then next year UK will just have more depth. The guy is a freshman, give him time.
Motivation is the one weakness in Calipari’s one and done situation. Mock drafts project Poytress as high as number 3 and as low as 12. The kid knows that he is going to be drafted and that big money will flow his way. Logic tells me that the better UK plays and the better his numbers are the higher he will go. But do all kids who have been groomed and told that they are the “it” think that way? So here we have 4 players projected to be first round draft picks. Cauley-Stein may not go, but that would be dependent on who Calipari ropes in as he finishes his recruitment. The other three are sure to go. Think about what a challenge it would be for Calipari to convinence ALL of this year’s and future recruits that they need to go all out and be team players since they are the type of players who will be drafted on potential more than performance.
Here is one thing that Calipari can hold over the heads of Poytress and all of his present and future super frosh: He has next year’s team already signed and delivered and he has his center for 2014. That is going to continue year after year. If Poytress comes back next year he will have to sit on the bench, but will all of his players care?
Hey! I hope some of these kids stay a year or two.
I think we are saying the same thing. Although, I tend to be a little more blunt and unforgiving. These kids are given the opportunity of a lifetime and yet still somehow need additional movtivation!?! I’m just saying that Alex had better grow up and fast. The SEC schedule starts in about 10 days and that schedule is a real grind. No place for the faint of heart or who is unsure of his chosen vocation.