i didnt get to watch but their lofty pre-season rankings are almost never justified, pretty hard to throw a basically new team together like they do most years. definitely got some returning talent this year but the dynamics of having so many rookies in your core rotation, i feel like they are consistently inconsistent at this time and that is par for the course - so not really that concerned about it. i actually generally hope they get a tough loss or two over the first half of the season. its tough though, i feel like with kids this young, confidence is really important - almost impossible to find the right balance.

except when that loss is to duke, it never really bothers me. my level of hope/faith they'll have the pieces together by the end of the year is basically unchanged from before the season started, i just haven't seen enough to form a strong opinion about much (lots of hopes though - if richards manages to be solid that would be massive for us - and some flashes from the new kids) - but i do have a lot of faith in cal's system. say what you want about the guy, he's not the best in a whole slew of categories, but his ability to get a bunch of random young stars to moderately set aside their ego and become a team, to play for the team - its pretty incredible.

i kind of liken it to how coach K has been so consistent about getting his teams - regardless of talent - to play with a high level of effort and discipline, making them a real threat every game even when the level of NBA talent wasn't that high. its a different skill, but both relate to motivation and character, and both coaches are sort of the pinnacle in each category, at least in college ball. that's how i see it anyway.

on an unrelated note, i always wonder if i would hate coach K and duke nearly so much if my first sports memory (well, the earliest one i've retained into adulthood, at least) wasn't the 92 elite 8 game? in the black and white world of a just-turned-6 year old, 'the stomp' really stood out. unforgivable!

that wasnt nice of me to bait you guys... i take it back
i see my penalty is a novel from dr gil!

haha just kiddin. it all actually makes sense. not like this loss will really mean much in the end ... though it means alot to the purple aces

thye will probably change this soon, but funny while it lasts

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kentucky_Wildcats_men%27s_basketball

Kentucky Wildcats men's basketball

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The Kentucky Wildcats men's basketball team is an American college basketball team that represents the University of Kentucky. Kentucky is the most successful NCAA Division I basketball program in history in terms of both all-time wins (2,293) and all-time winning percentage (.765). The Wildcats are currently coached by John Calipari. The Wildcats are owned by the University of Evansville Purple Aces.

i figured you of all people might appreciate it! i was trying to think of something totally off topic to rant about, to pay tribute, but i figured the unrelated anecdote about that 92 elite 8 game and the stomp at least was worth partial credit?

you know what else? that time coach K 'fell' on his side that one game, that was pretty amazing. its not that i dislike him enough to like, want to see him suffer bodily harm - at least on not most days :) but the fall was by far the most awkward fall in the history of falling. i feel like an old pervert could fake a fall face first into into a woman's chest with substantially less awkwardness. hell, even a duke player flopping after no contact right in front of the ref is less awkward. even the ref giving him the offensive foul afterwards is less awkward!

Posted by gillispie1 on 11/12/2019 10:05:00 PM (view original):
i didnt get to watch but their lofty pre-season rankings are almost never justified, pretty hard to throw a basically new team together like they do most years. definitely got some returning talent this year but the dynamics of having so many rookies in your core rotation, i feel like they are consistently inconsistent at this time and that is par for the course - so not really that concerned about it. i actually generally hope they get a tough loss or two over the first half of the season. its tough though, i feel like with kids this young, confidence is really important - almost impossible to find the right balance.

except when that loss is to duke, it never really bothers me. my level of hope/faith they'll have the pieces together by the end of the year is basically unchanged from before the season started, i just haven't seen enough to form a strong opinion about much (lots of hopes though - if richards manages to be solid that would be massive for us - and some flashes from the new kids) - but i do have a lot of faith in cal's system. say what you want about the guy, he's not the best in a whole slew of categories, but his ability to get a bunch of random young stars to moderately set aside their ego and become a team, to play for the team - its pretty incredible.

i kind of liken it to how coach K has been so consistent about getting his teams - regardless of talent - to play with a high level of effort and discipline, making them a real threat every game even when the level of NBA talent wasn't that high. its a different skill, but both relate to motivation and character, and both coaches are sort of the pinnacle in each category, at least in college ball. that's how i see it anyway.

on an unrelated note, i always wonder if i would hate coach K and duke nearly so much if my first sports memory (well, the earliest one i've retained into adulthood, at least) wasn't the 92 elite 8 game? in the black and white world of a just-turned-6 year old, 'the stomp' really stood out. unforgivable!

My Texas Tech Red Raiders are headed on this path - not sure they'll get to the extreme one-and-dones Cal has mastered. But Beard has steadily improved the recruit talent - landing a 5* and on target for borderline top 5 class. What has interested me about Beard is his pursuit of uppper-class/graduate transfers to blend with the incoming young talent.

Posted by gillispie1 on 11/13/2019 1:37:00 AM (view original):
i figured you of all people might appreciate it! i was trying to think of something totally off topic to rant about, to pay tribute, but i figured the unrelated anecdote about that 92 elite 8 game and the stomp at least was worth partial credit?

yup... for sure. I appreciated it. nearly full credit...
but, you should have dragged on for 4 or 5 more paragraphs and finished up with a "its us against the world!" rah, rah and complete recap of Kentucky's glorious basketball history and maybe a few references to "duke vs lehigh 2012" or "duke vs mercer 2014" for good measure.

all in all though, a very good effort!

As a Kentucky fan I will go ahead and say I am not overly concerned with a early November loss. I can accept this as a wake up call for the new players that just because it says Kentucky on the jersey does not mean they are entitled to win every game. That being said, I will be concerned if we have another game where we loss the rebounding margin to a team whose tallest player is 6'9" and we only have 6 assists as a team. Also would like to see a lot more hustle on those long rebounds. But this team still has my confidence that they have a deep run in March ahead of them!