If Kentucky loses to No. 5 Texas Saturday the Cats will be only 22-22 against ranked teams in the last six years. (Vicky Graff Photo)
From the 2009-2010 season through the 2014-15 season, Kentucky was 41-15 against ranked teams. That included the 2012 national championship run as well as the 38-0 run by the 2015 team before it lost to Wisconsin. But even the 2013 NIT team went 2-3 against ranked opponents.
In the last six years, John Calipari’s teams at Kentucky are 22-21 against ranked teams going into Saturday night’s game against No. 5 Texas. Next week UK plays No. 12 Missouri and No. 18 Tennessee. The Cats have already lost to No. 9 Alabama twice along with No. 25 Louisville and No. 15 Kansas.
Bottom line by the end of next week UK could easily have an overall losing record against ranked teams in the last six years. How could that happen to the program Calipari calls the “gold standard” of college basketball?
Calipari tried to explain what has happened this year on his weekly radio show this week to a preseason top 10 team with the nation’s No. 1 recruiting class that is now 5-10.
“You understand, we had guys coming in shooting 40 shots a game. We were winning 30 games a year for 11 years, we had guys that had to change,” Calipari said. “The ones shooting 30 or 40 shots a game (in high school), they let me define how they play
“Again, we had the summer, we had the fall, we had all the stuff. We had the camaraderie of campus, the girls, the other stuff, the campus life. This is different. But it’s the same in that, ‘Let me help define how you play winning basketball.’
“It takes time, it does. It’s not my timetable or our loyal fans’ timetable, it’s their timetable. If it takes longer, it takes longer.”
Nice little parting shot by the UK coach there at fans upset with this season’s record. Guess they are not loyal fans if they thought this team should be better but I guarantee you there is not a player on the team that ever dreamed UK could be 5-10.
Injuries have not helped. Neither has horrific shooting, lack of a consistent low post scorer and no player that can consistently beat the defense off the dribble to create and make his own shot.
Kentucky’s recruiting class was overrated. One way that happens is normally when a player is recruited by Kentucky and then commits to UK, his recruiting stock often rises. Maybe it should, maybe it shouldn’t. But this year two freshmen considered NBA lottery picks in August — Terrence Clarke and Brandon Boston — just have not been all that good. They’ve been okay but a ton of freshman across the country — and in the SEC — have just been better.
It’s not the players’ fault Calipari does not emphasize shooting in recruiting. He has scorers usually but not shooters. Or at least not shooters who can make shots at UK. Many become better shooters at the next level and you can speculate on why that might be.
Throw in some stubbornness by Calipari for not being willing to change his offense — remember all summer when he talked about watching NBA games and how he was going to work new things into his offense — or play zone defense to protect players.
Bottom line UK is just not at the talent level it has been and then the talent it has just does not seem to fit together.
“I told one young man, ‘Look, you are so close. I’m just telling you, the things you do, I can’t teach. Just let me define how you play offensively. Please. Because it won’t be turnovers, it won’t be charges, just let me help you. The habits you have are not winning habits. Let me help define the way you play,'” Calipari told radio show host Tom Leach Wednesday.
