By LARRY VAUGHT
When Kentucky freshman Archie Goodwin is good, he’s very good. When he’s not good, he can sometimes frustrate UK fans perhaps more than any current player.
“He struggled today. He was a little bit out of control, playing too fast,” Kentucky coach John Calipari said after Tuesday’s win over Tennessee. “We are trying to get him to shoot the runner, which when he did, he made it; the one he missed, we rebounded and made.
“So it’s what we have been working on, but we have been working on him to jump, stop; jump stop. So he goes driving down the lane, left his feet and threw a wide-open pass to the corner, I think it was to Julius, I believe it was, for a three, but he left his feet. But we work every day on jump stops, so there are things that, you know, these guys are growing with.”
What do teammates think of his play?
“Archie has been consistent for the most part. He’s scoring when he needs to. He is making jump shots. He is looking for players. He is making more basketball plays. He is playing well for the most part right now,” freshman Alex Poythress said.
Still, he’s being called selfish by some because of his propensity to sometimes force difficult shots and try to finish plays. But remember he is UK’s best playmaker and Calipari has encouraged him to be an aggressive scorer.
I asked ESPN analyst Bruce Pearl, who recruited Goodwin when he was coaching at Tennessee, if he thought Goodwin was selfish.
“There’s not a selfish bone in his body,” Pearl said. “I just think he’s struggling to learn some things, but he’s such an intense competitor and wants his team to win so much that at times he can maybe do too much. But I believe he values winning way over individual numbers.”
So do I and that’s why Goodwin is so important to UK. He’s the team’s best perimeter defense, has shown he can pass the ball and has shown he can hit big-time shots. Has he made mistakes? Absolutely. But so has every other UK player this season.
13 Responses to ESPN analyst Bruce Pearl does not buy theory that Goodwin can be selfish
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Their is a fine line between being selfish and driven
Great point Grant. One I wish I had thought of
He may not be “buying it” that Archie is selfish. But take that with the full knowledge that he actually “bought” those incredibly offensive orange suits that he wore when they played UK. Doesn’t exactly make me trust his opinions as a “consumer”.
All kidding aside, I don’t know how you couldn’t call some of the things Archie does “selfish”. They are the very definition of the term. I don’t think he is a selfish PERSON, I think he is SOMETIMES a selfish player. Either that or he doesn’t recognize the bad situations he is going into when he drives, headlong, into 3 or 4 opponents in the lane, throwing up a ridiculously stupid shot that has ZERO chance of going in. Either way, he needs to get with the team physician and schedule an immediate Headfromassectomy, because this team needs him.
I don’t think he is selfish either as a person or player. I think he is in the process of acquiring wisdom. Wisdom is being able to apply knowledge. Right now he may know what Cal wants him to do but in applying it is still what is missing at times. I think all of them are that way. I think Kyle got wiser last week and played wiser the last game. We see it happening with different ones at different times. Remember, that the whole team is still learning and learning how to apply what they are learning. It would be WISE if us fans learned that too!
Bruce Pearl is a known liar. Therefor his credibility is zero in my opinion. Just sayin
I agree with your observation of orange brucie, never liked him, never will.
I was at the Baylor game and Archie has been on my $*it list ever since… Flailing around in the lane on drives and LITERALLY bouncing a shot off the shot clock was not the way we were going to beat a talented Baylor team with something to prove. I really just hope these guys jump on the “buy in” train and start playing like the talented young men we know they are!
I do not believe Archie is selfish. At times, his decision making is a bit suspect, but about what you would expect from a freshman. I’m glad they are working on the floater in the lane with Archie–that is a play that is not used enough IMO.
I have written here on Larry’s blog saying,” that from what I have watched he has missed dishing off the ball on several occassions to wide open guys on the wing’s”. Now it is only my OPINION! I think he has been selfish at times throwing up ridiculous shots. I still think he is a great ball player and I am glad we have him but think if Kyle, Mayes or Poythress are open when the oppenent’s collapse down to try stop him, he should kick it back out. I seen flashes of that the other day and it seemed to work.
Love my Cats and looking forward to Football next year for sure!
He sure gets to the free throw line a lot.
Archie has had quite a bit of success at splitting two defenders and getting to the rim as well as overpowering players with the same result…if he can learn to keep his head up, know where his team mates are positioned on the court, continue to work on the tear drop and lob shots, I can live with the occasional charge and circus shot. He’s learning what he can and can’t get away with as an inexperienced freshman. However, when there is a set rule established by your coach that you always give the ball up to the guy in front of you on a steal and break away, and you violate that understanding, you better have a real good explanation for the coach and the team mate you didn’t respect–especially when you blow the shot. Keep learning and working Archie!
Who on the team can be the aggressive component you need if Archie’s not it? Prior to the last two games, Wiltjer has been very passive. We all know about Alex.
He’s an out-of-control freshman slasher. That’s it. I think we’ve lost perspective with our criticism of Archie’s “selfishness”. The last thing we want to do is turn Archie into a passive player.