TheCatsDomain.Com Message Boards: A loss really brings out the ansgt

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Posted by Tiptree (Member # 844) on 01-25-2017, 04:49 PM:

...but really?

The amount of derision towards Monk and Briscoe amazes me.

Briscoe is offensively inconsistent, but he is a tenacious defender and an excellent rebounder. Most of the time, those 'effort stats' are praised. He is also a clear leader on the court. In a team loaded with offensive stars, Briscoe's defense and rebounding are nice balancing factors. I would keep him.

Monk's defense needs work... but so do all the freshmen. He does hotdog it, and needs to share the ball more. All true. But he usually gets 3-5 assists per game, grabs 3-4 boards, and is a lethal threat to score from anywhere on the court. I wouldn't take too many players over him.

Bam sure could use some variety in his offensive moves, and frankly, his rebounding has been disappointing. But he is a good player, with the potential to get much, much better. I would give Humprhies a little more PT just to motivate both of them, but Bam's problems are all correctable with continued coaching. And I see no evidence that he is not receptive to good coaching.

We lost a game. Cal said to expect it, and every bit of common sense said we should have expected it. The key is that we have great players that need time to improve individually, and most importantly, as a team. This group may not mature as fast as we would like, but it will be a joy when they do.

Posted by m hamilton (Member # 127) on 01-25-2017, 07:23 PM:

I don't have any angst against any one of them. I think the whole dang bunch, save maybe Hawkins, couldn't guard the water cooler if you put it on wheels and rolled it around on the gym floor!

Posted by Old Norm (Member # 1482) on 01-25-2017, 07:45 PM:

I'm glad you posted that, Tip. After I read the criticism of individual players, I seriously considered posting something similar. But then I thought about the responses to those kind of posts I made last year and decided to keep my thoughts bottled up. Maybe we need a Pro team here in Kentucky, so we can have adults to whine about, rather than 18-20 year old kids.

Posted by EnterpriseCat (Member # 2881) on 01-25-2017, 11:20 PM:

No clear cut favorite to win it all this year and the Cats could do it, but I think the defense has to improve drastically. I like the talent on this team and I hope it gels at just the right time. No angst here, just disappointed in the poor effort at Tennessee last night. Go Big Blue!!!

Posted by boomdaddy (Member # 2644) on 01-26-2017, 07:20 AM:

I would rather the Cats lose to UT and win against Kansas. It is better for the SEC. These young men should not want to get embarrassed, two games in a row.

I had thought early in the season, that UT would beat them in Knoxville. Then the Cats started playing really well and dominating teams, and I started wondering if they could run the table on their league schedule. For some reason, I forgot how young the team is.

I do think they have the most talent. They just have to gel into a great team. I like UK's chances in the tourney. I will take talent over experience, seven days a week. In a series, UK would most likely have two or three more titles under Calipari. In a one and done tourney, any team can win. Just have to look at the 1985 Villanova victory over Georgetown, where David beat Goliath.

Posted by handycat (Member # 2323) on 01-26-2017, 08:28 AM:

What's a angst? I thought it was a type of cow but I don't think anyone would call Monk or Briscoe a cow.

Posted by EnterpriseCat (Member # 2881) on 01-26-2017, 08:51 AM:

No clear cut favorite to win it all this year and the Cats could do it, but I think the defense has to improve drastically. I like the talent on this team and I hope it gels at just the right time. No angst here, just disappointed in the poor effort at Tennessee last night. Go Big Blue!!!

Posted by PaulCat (Member # 513) on 01-26-2017, 10:16 AM:

Is stating the obvious really considered derision? [Wink]

Personally, I don't think anyone here has been THAT harsh towards Monk and Briscoe. I think everyone agrees that those two have great talent, but they're just not as far along as we all expect them to be at this point.

Posted by Bama Cat (Member # 153) on 01-26-2017, 11:17 AM:

We are spoiled and when we don't play well we start thinking it's a failure. What it is, is not meeting expectations. We seem to get a new class of freshmen every year and we see all the ratings for the new class and we expect them to be as good, right away, as a previous outstanding class, such as Towns and Davis or Wall and Ulis. We need to understand that predictions of high school seniors don't always pan out like the experts think they will. Right now Bam is nowhere near a Davis and Briscoe is no Wall. Our critiques of their performances will just have to be taken with a grain of salt. I do hope all of the team can improve their performances where we think they need to. I understand that some of them may never get to where they need to be but such is life and we'll just have to live with it.

[ 01-26-2017, 11:18 AM: Message edited by: Bama Cat ]

Posted by PaulCat (Member # 513) on 01-26-2017, 12:04 PM:

I think you hit the nail on the head, Bama Cat. Nice post.

Posted by Old Norm (Member # 1482) on 01-26-2017, 02:26 PM:

Agree.