By LARRY VAUGHT
John Calipari did not mince words about his team after Kentucky lost 73-60 Saturday at Arkansas in a game where a win likely would all but have solidified UK’s spot in the NCAA Tournament.
Instead, Kentucky got a taste of what Missouri felt when it came to UK a week earlier and a desperate Kentucky played with more passion, toughness and energy than it had been showing and won in overtime. But at Arkansas, it was the Razorbacks who out-everythinged Kentucky from rebounding to intensity to defense to hustle to toughness.
Arkansas turned 17 UK turnovers into 30 points. Arkansas won the rebounding 44-37 — and had 20 offensive rebounds — after UK had beat Missouri, the nation’s top-ranked rebounding team, on the boards. Arkansas got 26 more shots and that’s why it won so easily even though UK shot 47 percent and the winners only 34 percent.
“We weren’t as tough as them. They deserved to win. They played better. They were better coached,” Calipari said.
Was he expecting this from his team, which had won three straight home games after losing by 30 points at Tennessee in the first game after Nerlens Noel went down with a season-ending injury?
“I don’t know. I wake up every day and don’t know how the team would play. I had hoped we were (past this point), but obviously …,” Calipari said in his postgame press conference. “I think we got a couple of guys overwhelmed by stuff. Typical freshman stuff. No one has won here. It’s not like we were expecting to come in and win by 20. Knew it would be a good game, but it wasn’t.”
Excuse Calipari for being a bit sarcastic. After watching way too many of his players wilt against Arkansas’s physical, aggressive defense, he couldn’t help but be perplexed.
“We are not as tough as them. We are not as physical. Their staff is saying as we walk off, they are soft. I have to say that is what it looks like. When we get overwhelmed, that’s what happens. You get anxiety and back up,” Calipari said.
And that’s exactly what UK did.
37 Responses to Calipari knows Cats were not tough enough and admits he does not know what to expect from this team
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I did something for the first time ever – quit watching the game except sporadically. I saw no will whatsoever. I was hoping if nothing else the team would get riled up because of what they were chanting to Archie. But, nope, that didn’t work. I have to finally admit it – this team is not very good.
Sarah, coming from you, the eternal optimist, that says a lot about this team
That was a tough loss. Our boys just got smoked Can’t sugar coat it.. BEAT FLORIDA!
I’m ready for some football!!!
It looks like we need to put on the boxing gloves about five minutes before we hit the floor on any away games…we appear a wee bit timid!
UK has a better chance to beat florida in football. Where is Wiltjer? 5 pts for a highly rated sophomore stud is disappointing.
I was expecting more today after the last two wins when our guys played like a team. Cal may be right about them being better coached today. It seemed we couldn’t shake the defense and set up plays. That reminded me of several games earlier when the guys looked lost on the floor. I felt bad for them because not much went right today. Arkansas was pumped for this game and play very well at home. I think we can get it together for GA and would love to see our boys put a beat down on Florida.
hand checking by Ark. Shows from Little Rock, one handed rebound attempts from KY, poor shooting, lack of shooting, turnovers, 3′s?, no swagger, no TEAM, bad shot selection when there was a possible shot, lack of enthusiasm, no heart, no soul, lack of playing to potential, no knowing where there teammate was on the floor, someo f the guys are too soft, no confidence, lack of leadership, lack of knowing what the heck to do, not guarding the basket, not guarding their man, lack of offensive and defensive rebounds or at least not getting the ones they should have, just a whole two hours of sucky basketball. Jim Boyers and his wife were in town for the weekend. I went to their hotel to watch the game with Jim. I enjoyed seeing Jim and spending time with him. As I was leaving, I told him how good it was to see him, but it sucked to watch what we watched today. I have tried to hold back my saying anything negative about this team. I will not single out one player by name. I still love them and they are still my team, however, I am just as bewildered as Cal. I am so glad I cancelled my trip to Nashville for the SEC, that would have been wasted money.
Wow. Linda never thought I would see you admit that not going to the SEC tourney was a good thing
I admit we didnt have much fight today but it is hard to run an offense when the opposing players are holding you, hacking you and pushing you all over the floor. It is the same strategy UT and Auburn used. There is a reason Ark is 33-5 at home in the last 2 years and 2-20 on the road. They are allowed to cheat at home; not so much on the road
Larry, I it was hard to do but couldn’t afford it this year. The trip was just a couple hundred dollars less then the trip to NOLA. NOLA was almost a week, this trip was just 3 days. I could not justify it. If I am going to go, I want to have a good time. Although we did not win the tourney last year, I had one of the best times of my life. Not just the basketball, but NOLA, I fell in love. Just wait though, next year I will be at the SEC, do you know where it will be?
I guess I did surprise you a little with that statement. Geez, I’m amazing! LOL
Linda, hard for any sec experience to top the tourney in New Orleans. And no way trip to Nashville merits that kind of money. agree with you
Had a bad feeling on this team even before the season started, but had faith coach Cal could work his magic as in the previous 3 years. Really think coach was counting on getting Bennett and Shabazz ( one at least )and when we landed neither coach was left with a short handed team. I did not want Mark Lyons in a Kentucky uniform but he seems to be doing very well out at Arizona, maybe he would have added a little more glue. Him and uncle Julius would have made a nice tandem. Everyone in this group has had a up and down year and the lack of fight, being physical is hard to understand. Seventeen TO’s again today leading to 30 points and giving up 26 more shots is a true indication of no fight at all
Linda, 2014 SEC tourney is scheduled for Catlanta, 2015 back to Nashville.
Does anyone know what all they were chanting at Archie? Trying to look it up but can’t find anything on it. The only thing I could make out at home was “Archie sucks” near the end of the second half.
Anon, they were chanting “you are selfish” at one time
Trying to humiliate a kid is a part of college basketball that I do not like. Goodwin played through it rather well, I thought. But it happens everywhere. Remember several years ago when a kid from Florida was bombarded with chants related to homosexuality in Rupp. It was uncalled for last night and it was uncalled for several years ago. But who can stop it? In fact, what control does the home team have over the crowd anywhere? When fans storm the floor there is no control. A tragedy will happen sometime in the future.
Thanks, Mike, I plan on being in Catlanta. Have not been there in over 30 years! I sure wish it would go back to NOLA, I could get lost there and not care! Couple years ago I came up with WWRD? What would Rupp do, anyone have any idea?
This team really does not play well on road games and have struggled a lot. Julius had an off night and we can see how that affected the team scoring wise. We def need more production from Poythress and him being less on the bench. This team still hasn’t figured out how to play well on the road.
To be fair not many teams have played well in Fayetteville this year. They have beaten some good teams on that floor including Florida. Tennessee and Vandy (by 23 points). They’re 10-1 at home this year. That’s nothing to sneeze at.
That is not an excuse to lose. 19 Turnovers is not acceptable, 26 more attempts is just plain bad. We can say this team lost there and that team lost but every team has a chance tow in on any given night. Lets not make excuses.
The Cats never got into their offense on more than 10% of their possessions. It was really sad the way they kept getting trapped at half court and they made the same mistake over and over and over. Ark. knew exactly how to bait UK’s guards into getting caught in the corner just across the half court line. They made that spot look soft but once UK’s guards got there they never got out. They would spend half the shot clock just trying to get down to the area where they could run the offense and by then everyone was so out of kilter that getting the offense going was a pipe dream. Add that to Doug Shows and crew calling the game and it was over by the end of the first 10 minutes. The game tempo had already been established and UK never found a way to get untracked.
I was surprised UK’s guard play was so bad. Polson usually knows what to do even if he can’t always get it done but he looked as lost as anyone there tonight. It’s the very same thing that Pitino did to teams when he was at UK. It was Nolan Richardson all over again. Heck I saw the Super Kittens do that time after time. It’s basic basketball and the Cats didn’t get a passing grade. Sad, very sad. They should know this stuff by now.
There’s only a few things that can lead to such a lack of knowledge. If you don’t know that you’ll get trapped in that corner then you don’t know much about basketball. It’s either the coach or the players and I’ve seen Cal coach other teams that didn’t do these things. Maybe those guards showed up not knowing fundamental basketball but I have my doubts.
I also saw Polson totally blow an attempt to pass out of a double team down under the Ark. basket. He didn’t step to get around the defender at all. He just tried to extend his hand and pass. How can a college player not know that wouldn’t work in 100 years? But Polson isn’t the guy who’s charged with running the offense. Harrow is that guy. It’s telling that Polson was put in to try to get the job done.
The plain fact is that this team lacks a knowledge of fundamental basketball. I hate being so harsh but I’ve been holding back on this the entire season. I kept thinking they would get past it. They aren’t going to. It’s too late now. They aren’t even a good NIT team folks. Cal has been absolutely great for UK and he’s had some of their best teams ever. But even Rupp had off years. No one is perfect and this year sure proves that. The one and done system can be a big time roller coaster for sure. Things happen in a big hurry from year to year. They went from one of UK’s best teams ever to a team that would make some of Smith’s teams look well coached. But I don’t think it is the coach. I won’t think that until I see more evidence. But whatever the cause the team has been a failure this season. They are my team and they always will be. I stuck around through the dark ages of UK basketball (Smith and Clyde) and I’ll be here through this season for sure because UK will be back just as fast as they fell off. Those teams (and refs) getting their jollies this year may want to remember what’s going to happen to them next year. I had really hoped this corner was turned but clearly it hasn’t been. Not by a long shot.
You said: The plain fact is that this team lacks a knowledge of fundamental basketball
I disagree with that post. UK has a lack of players, no knowledge. The Cats don’t have an elite PG. They don’t have returning veterans who were starters the year before. And, they don’t have strong bench play. This team is what it is, short handed on the bench and void of elite talent at the PG position. I still say they will make the tourney, but will likely get bounced out by poor foul shooting, foul trouble, or going up against a physical team.
It is painful to read your comment, but I have to, with sadness, agree. Our guard play is weak. We have no upper-class leadership. We have no bench. The player who hustles the most is a former walk on who was never projected to be more than a seldom used mop up player…a kid with a Kentucky connection to balance against the great freshmen gathered from the entire country. It also pains me to say that it is the responsibility of the COACH
Hit the wrong button and clicked out before I intended to. ………………………………… TO CONTINUE…it is the responsibility of the coach to recruit, discipline, teach and bench coach his team. Just as Calipari gets the credit for the past UK success, he is also responsible for this year’s team…a team that in spite of great talent…is no better than Billy Gillispie’s last team. There is a difference though between the two years. Gilliapie is gone and Calipari will right the ship next year. BUT HERE is one thing that IMO we have to accept: Calipari’s system of recruiting the best talent and having them leave as soon as possible makes veteran players who can compete on a “Gold Standard” level impossible. Players come here to go pro and the expect to be placed in a staring role. If that does not happen we will get less and less of the blue chip players. There will be years when the freshmen will get it right away. There will be years where they will not. We have to take the bad with the good.
You’re right about that. It’s not going to be easy to sign a great team every year. But I think Cal’s system still produces a bunch of championships because talent is a big part of winning. Yes it takes playing intelligent basketball and that’s something many freshmen just don’t know how to do. Some players never seem to learn in fact. Let’s not forget that Harrow does have experience. He was a starting pg for an ACC team. No it wasn’t UK but still it’s not chopped liver either. He does have experience. The weird thing is that he did better in categories where it shouldn’t have mattered where he was playing. Like FT percentage for example. He shot quite a bit better at NC State. Go figure. I guess some people can’t handle the pressure at the top and there is a world of difference between playing at UK and playing at NC State.
Well “elite” pg’s get that way to a great extent by knowing what to do with the ball. I know fundamentals and I saw them lacking in the Ark. game. I explained it. Driving the ball right into the teeth of a trapping defense is not smart. Not trying to step around a double team to pass the ball is not smart. You can think what you want friend but I know a lack of fundamentals when I see it. Passing, ball handling, protecting the ball – those things are fundamentals. When you drive into the teeth of what you should know is going to be a double team then you are not playing sound fundamental basketball. And not stretching your body out as you step to one side while you’re trying to pass out of a double team is very weak fundamentals.
If you take a look back at some of UK’s very best teams they won despite not having what most would consider an elite PG. Let’s talk about Anthony Eps for a minute. There’s a guy who knew basketball extremely well. He wasn’t fast, he wasn’t tall, he couldn’t shoot particularly well and he certainly couldn’t jump. There was nothing elite about him except his fundamentals. He never got to play pro ball. Yet UK won big time with him at the point. It doesn’t take an “elite” talent at PG to win. It takes someone who knows the game and can move well enough to advance the ball and run the offense. I don’t think you will ever find anyone who would say Eps was an “elite” athlete. But the Cats were 34-2 and one of the games they lost was precisely because Eps didn’t play PG. A true elite athlete did. It was a guy named Tony Delk playing the point that night. Which would you consider an “elite” player? Everyone knew that the Cats needed to play someone else at the point after that game including RP.
Not many people would really call Wayne Turner an elite PG either. He had more ability than Eps but he was no Wall. He did manage to play one year of pro ball getting into 3 games in the season. He was a great college player because he was a smart college player more than anything. Yes he was quicker than Eps but “elite”? I don’t think so. You might think he was but it gets down to why a player is considered elite. For a pg that always starts with how well they run the team and that is about being the coach on the floor. And when your guards are making mistakes then your whole team will suffer for it.
King, I want to piggyback on what you wrote: When Uk has archie, polson, and mays out there at the same time and polson is running the show , and archie gets the ball , it throws any continuity out the window. Archie gets the ball as the 2 guard and the play is over. Perception for me appears to be the guards are interchangable whether intended or not. What am I trying to say, hell I don’t know I’ve confused myself, but I wish Polson was better from long distance or that he would shoot more from 3 , why not ? He gives the ball up and its dribble and shoot fest archie goodwin 2013 like he is trying out for the pro’s. Polson becomes 2 guard by default after he gives the ball up , so I wish he could shoot better , and maybe the never to be seen again basketball would find its way back to him and he could shoot the damn thing.
IMO Polson gives it all that he has. He just is not the talent that we take for granted at UK. So let us not place blame on a kid who never played before this year and who won’t play next year. The boy could have gone to Transy or other schools at that level and gotten an immediate scholarship and played for four years. He choose to walk on at UK and was given a scholarship. Calipari’s philosophy is that giving out the maximum number of scholarships creates jealousy, so he chooses to load his bench with kids that he does not expect to contribute. Because of the weakness of UK’s guard play, Polson has to play, and he does great for his talent level and size.
kokoma, If you are thinking I am blaming him by what I wrote I came across wrong, I wish he was the least bit selfish and shoot the eyes out. I am not picking on him .
I think the world of Polson actually. He plays with heart all the time. But there really isn’t any excuse for any player not playing fundamental basketball well. You might blame this one on the coach to be honest. I think Polson usually plays pretty smart basketball too. But no one played smart at Fayetteville.
There were other less than elite pg’s to play at UK and do well. Sean Sutton was considered a bust by many Cat fans yet he led Ok. St. to 2 straight sweet 16 appearances, something that had never happened before for that school. He was the leader of that team without a doubt and is well regarded by OSU fans still. He went on to become a pretty successful coach too.
Some other notable pg’s that did well despite less than elite talent would be Billy Donovan, Roger Harden (third on UK’s all time assist leader list), Sean Woods, and Travis Ford (great shooter and floor leader but elite???). None of these players posses the Rondo / Wall / Knight / Nash / Parker type abilities. But all of them did great things mostly by being great at the fundamentals.
The pros want players who can create their own shots because the shot clock is so quick they often don’t have time to run an actual offense. That shot clock ruins pro basketball IMO. It makes it into a game designed for players like Archie. I can’t say as I don’t understand why Goodwin does what he does but it isn’t good for the team. He had been playing much better though. At Ark. the plain fact was that he needed to take the ball to the basket since they couldn’t get an offense going. I was actually cheering for him to drive the ball (not that he could hear me from my living room in Ohio) but someone needed to shoot and no one else seemed to be able to get a shot off that wasn’t just a prayer.
The breakdown came before Archie got the ball usually. It was the same kind of situation the pros face. If you don’t have time to run an offense you take whatever shots you can get. And if takes 20 seconds to get the ball past the hash mark then that doesn’t leave much time for an offense.
I know it stinks that the team kept getting in the position where Archie had to drive just so they could get off any kind of a shot. I’d much rather see the kind of play we’ve seen the past few games. But between Ark. and their hacking D and the Shows Show it did get to the point where Archie shooting was about the best they could hope for. Sad, I know.
What’s really sad is that a pro team will take Archie because he can drive the ball and score at times. He’s definitely no Kidd-Gilchrist but there are lots of draft slots above the #2 spot. Archie will get one of them. He’ll be a better pro IMO. Yes the way he plays can be selfish at times but he has done better lately. The last game was different and I’m not ready to assume he will be playing that way all the time again. We’ll see on that I guess.
Stat of the game—KY had 5 assists total…not too many games won with that tag line.
arkansas had 26 more shots thats a hell of a stat
It sure is. I think that has been a big failure of this team to be honest. They just aren’t that good at passing. They had looked much, much better the past few games but they were back to their old form against the Razorbacks. They won’t get far in the tournament playing like that because a lot of teams will be playing at their peak “if” UK gets to play at all.
Give up 20 offensive rebounds and pull down only 6 offensive rebounds, and turn the ball over nearly 20 times and victory is nearly impossible.
What is UK’s SEC record this year with Doug Shows as the ref?
I don’t know but I would bet we haven’t any with Dough Shows ref’ing.