Matt Jones talks Kentucky's opening round loss to the Oakland Grizzlies on Thursday in Pittsburgh. Click below to subscribe to KSR Radio on RU-vid ⤵️ / @watchksr #kentucky #kentuckywildcats #sec #secnews #bbn
Im really, really, really going to miss Antonio Reeves. Such a privilege to watch him play at UK. He's the one I feel the worst for because he did his job last night. He is the epitome of what I love to see in a wildcat uniform. Walk softly and carry a big stick. Without a doubt, the season MVP.
I personally thought he was the best player in collège basketball uniform this year he came back and redeemed himself for last year he was incredible makes it really frustrating for antonio
I agree Reeves has played with excellence and unfortunately it will be somewhat tarnished because the loss in the first round. He has my vote for best player on the team and then some. I hope he has a good career in the NBA he earned it.
The two older guys did their job. i wish he had went smaller with Mitchell, Adou, Reeves, Dillingham and Edwards and rotate in Shepherd. The 7ftr's added nothing on offense and little on defense.
What broke me with Coach Cal when he lost the 1st game of SEC tournament. "He leans back smiles and said "I took them Bowling: he doesn't care at all anymore about winning! He has to be fired
This loss finally broke me. I have been optimistic after each of the last few years when it didn’t go our way. This year has done it for me. I am broken. I am done until a change is made. I will always love uk basketball but my stomach is turning right now.
I think UK is at a real ‘soul searching’ moment in time. Id encourage the entire department to shake the foundation loose and start over. Decide that you want to build an awesome program, and that players are to work towards a degree. If you’re only interested in churning out NBA talent, I think your program will continue to falter in March. Invest in players that will be around 4-5 years, that gel with discipline, routine, working with one another- and develop upperclassmen who successfully work with underclassmen. You cannot depend on the frosh who are eyeing the NBA. You need to be Kentucky focused if you want your program back. G Evans, M.Ed.
Btw, as a former educator who very much encourages college students to commit to the distance of a degree, please check your spelling. Whomever typed the UK banner ‘Time For A Seperation? It’s spelled ‘Separation’.
@@GraceEvans-us7uyunfortunately no one learns to spell anymore. That’s not going to change. Smart phones have taken us back 50 years. Everyone’s face is always in a phone that has spell check and auto correct. It’s a shame
As a resident of Southern Indiana and a highschooler. It’s hard to keep believing in this team when you get made fun of every time we lose to terrible teams. Evansville, Saint Peter’s, Oakland. This has been terrible, my dad keeps on talking about the days in the 90’s and I wish we were still there.
Oakland is not TERRIBLE…these kids play with the same PASSION, DETERMINATION, PREPARATION and DISCIPLINE! Only fans that’s NEVER competed at a high level would say such a thing…Get use to not being in top anymore KENTUCKY
I’ve defended Cal over the past couple of years because I believed the run in the first half of Cal era earned him some slack. I also felt that he would be as good as whoever we got to replace him. No longer. That was an absolutely pathetic performance. Absolute coaching malpractice. We were completely unprepared. I watched 5 minutes of Oakland and knew exactly what they were going to do to us and we were lost from the tip. He has to go. Has to
I agree 💯 , he had a lotta good will banked with me after the first 7 yrs and I was one of the few who was still defending him after St. Peter’s and I vehemently went against my fellow UK brethren and went to bat for him , I would have been ok not happy but lived with losing to NC State but this is it , I can no longer defend a loss vs 14# & 15# in 2 of 3 seasons , I felt we could have won this game with player 7-12 in our rotation only playing ,but I’ll deal with a rebuilding phase if that’s what it takes better to get it over with now than later, I agree I’ll be a UK fan no matter who the coach is but it’s tuff because the good times wit Cal were some of my greatest memories and on the same hand some of my worst .
I mean I don’t think started Reed would’ve been a good idea after the way he played…and we actually weren’t down 10 to start a game lol probably cause the Golhke kid started on the bench
@@timmyglass4869The way they played defense and pushed our guards out to the parameter, without a plan to consistently get it inside really showed the lack of coaching prep.
Cal has done something even Billy couldn't do.... have 7-10 of our worst losses ever. The record books at UK will not favor Cal except for # of pros. That's all he has. Worst tourney losses ever, worst home losses ever, most in a row since Rupp was built, etc.
When Coach Cal goal is sending highly touted recruits to the NBA and not winning March, you get these results. His goal should be developing players and winning March basketball.
@@KingHampton-ul1iw dude claimed all he had as the number of pros. That's false. The national title destroys that idiotic statement. It doesn't matter how long ago it was.
Nahhh...the Committee knows Cal like a book. They know exactly what gives his teams problems. A mature mid major, with good offensive execution and plays zone. Same song. Basically Cal is being out coached.
Chris Beard took over Texas Tech from Tuby Smith and in 3 short years became Big 12 coach of the year and took them to the March Madness finals. He then took over Texas from Shaka Smart and in 2 short years turned them into a Big 12 champ and made the Elite 8. In his 1st year at Ole Miss he took them from a 12-21 record and flipped it into a 20-12 team. Chris Beard gets it done quick and he's one of the best defensive coaches in the nation. Now imagine that combined with Kentucky level recruitment and NIL.
Thing about Rick, is if he was hired again he wouldn't take even a split second for granted. If he had stayed he would've more than likely had a dynasty unrivaled by ANYONE.
He just needs the shy away from his whole mentality of one and done. If he wants a build app a team, he has to expect that we might not be good for a couple years. Because we need seniors, we need good "college" basketball players not just one and done nba players
that’s an excuse, because Texas A&M DID afford Jimbo Fisher. you can eat $33 million unless you couldn’t afford it. get rid of him. who cares if we are bankrupt. i rather be garbage than have expectations every fkn year and come up well BEYOND short
I have been a fan since 1962, but as of now I am putting that on hold. I will become a fan again when Calipari is replaced. You could dig up Rupps bones, put them on the bench and the team would not be any worse than a Calipari coached team is.
Same here. Me since 1969. Seeing a coach fall decline more each year and getting watching 18-22 year being taught to bowl and not defense is not worth it.
Me too. I will not be watching anymore Kentucky games with him as coach or waiting for Big Blue Madness. I have a granddaughter going to University of Alabama in the fall. Who knows? Maybe "Roll Tide".
He has the players and the NIL support. He isn't getting it done on the coaching end. This was a great team. They deserve better. They deserve a coach who knows how to teach defense and holds them responsible. Ditch Mitch for giving anyone a lifetime contract and Calipari has to go with him.
If you recall when Cal 1st got to UK, he said that he's not here to win, he's here to change lives. That has stuck with me ever since. We knew then and there what his priorities were. The last 4 yrs, or so, have been terrible, from a fan standpoint. Giving someone a "lifetime" contract is ALWAYS a mistake, because you remove any incentive to excel. Cal has definitely gotten lazy, he doesnt want to coach defense. We saw it all yr. but we dismissed it because the team was scoring 100pts/game. Another telling point about Cal is that he says the SEC tourney doesnt matter. Hey, Cal, it DOES matter. All games matter and the SEC tourney prepares you for the NCAA. We saw that today, his team wasnt prepared.
Really? It sure didn't help bama last year. Cal is right in changing these kids families lives with financial security for the future. Uk isn't going to do jack after they are done bringing in millions into the program. He won't have enough time to turn off his phone should he is fired.
Why was he not only in the game in the last 2 minutes, but handling the ball and making critical decisions? It was obvious the moment was too big for him. He should have been sitting on the bench for the last 6-8 minutes at least.
@@Don-md6wnthe same reason Cal left the Harrison twins in against Wisconsin so many years ago and stood there while it melted down. He coached the game like it was November, not March.
They were completely unprepared. the players , all of them looked like they had no idea what they were doing against a zone. Sheppard played neutral.. didnt kill us but didnt do anything good either. A team can survive that and should have 100% still beaten Oakland. The team couldnt handle Dill not doing much, the bigs not doing anything and Wagner doing nothing . The team just needed a 3rd person to step up beside the seniors and it didnt happen. its not Reeds fault as much as Cal's fault for not better preparing the team
@@happybuttersblast8334 Nah...Sheppard was NOT neutral. That was bad. Not terrible, but it was definitely bad. Its not Reeds fault, but he wasn't "neutral".
@@user-tq5cs2bs7v Reed had the most assists with 4.... had 2 steals... was 1-3 from 3pt range.. He only gave up one 3 on bad defense by falling for a head fake. If you mean bad as in we needed 12+ pts from him and he didnt do that.. ok.. but bad is generally doing more negative than good and he didnt do that many bad things on the court.. he just didnt do anything good other than 4 assists and 2 steals
Imagine Ricky boy with the roster Cal had this year. He’s a recruiter not a coach, that’s blatantly obvious. The only reason I even followed them this year was because of Reed. I just hate that this may be the last game he plays as a Wildcat and go out this way. I understand why he’s probably going on and I don’t blame him but at the same time he’s going to have to live with that the rest of his life if that’s what he decides.
Is BBN really shocked and surprised by this? I'm certainty not. He was completely outcoached, and is more often then not. The team couldn't outplay his poor coaching.
UK wasn't even prepared to play this game. Dillingham's post game comments totally proved that they overlooked this team. Calipari's teams are never mentally prepared to play teams that are hungry and want to WIN.
i am not a big collen herd fan but this is a good show and he brings up the fact that calapari has said a few times that he is not about winning championships but he is about putting players in the pros. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-c-7evuhfU1o.html THE HERD | It's time to move off him - Colin calls for Kentucky to move on from John Calipari now Write to Cary Lynn Dowdy
Matt this team was fun but what's not fun is being a Kentucky fan. I'm actually glad this roller coaster of emotional highs and lows is over. Kentucky has become highlights of teams setting records against us. Kentucky can definitely make you famous!
I don't watch the NBA. I don't care about the NBA draft. UK is no longer feared and why should they be? They have no will to win. Glass jaw. This place just isn't for Calipari. It's not for everyone. 😐
@@Dapper1948 Their coach tipped their plan earlier in the week. Crowd the shooters and ignore the three 7 footers on defense. Cal fell for it. He should have went small. Reeves, Dillingham, Edward's, Mitchell and Adou with Shepherd /Bradshaw coming off the bench. On defense they had to do one of two things. Stop the shooting guard or everyone else. They did neither.
I like all of BBN watched every game this season and this 1st Round loss fits perfectly with the previous 32 games. After barely sleeping ultimately, came to grips with the fact that with John Calipari as our “coach” this will be the norm going forward. A team is a reflection of their coach. Buy the guy out and show the world that Calipari’s goals no longer align with UK hanging banners!
Chris Beard took over Texas Tech from Tuby Smith and in 3 short years became Big 12 coach of the year and took them to the March Madness finals. He then took over Texas from Shaka Smart and in 2 short years turned them into a Big 12 champ and made the Elite 8. In his 1st year at Ole Miss he took them from a 12-21 record and flipped it into a 20-12 team. Chris Beard gets it done quick and he's one of the best defensive coaches in the nation. Now imagine that combined with Kentucky level recruitment and NIL.
Watch wonderful film ‘My Many Sons’ about late winning coach Don Meyer. He insisted team get their degrees, and he built great teams at same time. Btw, I think Coach Calipari ought to give back the rest of his contract earnings if he leaves UK. That would be the classy, winning thing to do.
I’m not from KY. So when I saw so many fans holding their hands or towels over their faces, I didn’t quite get it. Now, knowing of your last dozen years or so, I understand those fan reactions now.
I said it from day one and even after the championship… Calipari, is at best, a great used car salesman. Everyone gave me hell forever… Well. Welcome to the club everyone!
Albert Einstein described what Kentucky Basketball is today years ago when he said, "insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results"
Amen. I’ve been saying this for years. Every season, we have a stacked team full of AAU all-stars and we consistently wash out, early. What’s the actual point in having all of that “talent” if it’s just going to walk out the door every March, leaving the cupboard bare? There’s a reason guys like Pelphrey, Feldhaus, Woods and Farmer are beloved by the Wildcat faithful. They *wanted* to wear the uniform and represent the state and its people. They weren’t just playing to boost their draft stock. They were playing with pride and playing to win. Every. Single. Game. If Cal’s main goal is to build “generational wealth” for a select few, let him do it elsewhere. We need a basketball coach, not an overpaid babysitter/financial planner for a bunch of kids who won the genetic lottery. Sorry for the sour grapes but I’m thoroughly disgusted with the status quo.
Absolutely unequivocally. UK needs solid upperclassmen to help lead and carve great players who are the new kids in town. When whatever’s not working keeps on not working, it’s time for major change.
Love him or hate him the last really good coach Kentucky's had was Rick Pitino. I'm not a Kentucky fan and never have been but I know a good coach when I see one and I think Calipari is pretty good at getting some of the best talent, individual , but as a coach developing great TEAMS with that talent? I just don't see it. You can't just have good players you have to develop great teams. Think about the dominant college teams going back to 1960. Who we're their coaches. Plus the one and done isn't helpful -- now you have the transfer portal and NIL. I don't know how you can do it.
Matt you are exactly right! Think about this, it would only take 330,000 people to chip in $100 to buy Cal out. There are 4 million people in Kentucky. Surely that many people in Kentucky live basketball enough to get rid of Cal!
The NCAA tournament is always one of the most divisive times for the biggest teams in college basketball. Most people expect these 10-16 seeds to come out and have the game of their life. That's what defines this tournament alot of the time. But at the end of the day the big teams are expected to win. This is the 3rd year in a row John Calipari has completely whiffed in the post season. This is the 4th year in a row Calipari has underachieved with this level of talent. Cal has always cared about getting guys in the NBA but until the end of the KAT teams season he cared about winning. After that 38-1 run he's put getting these guys into the NBA over anything else and it's seriously starting to hurt the program as a whole. I'm not gonna jump and say fire him but if I'm Mitch Barnhart I'm scheduling a 1 on 1 meeting as soon as possible and having a very serious talk with him.
Matt saying Tre Mitchell "kept them in the game" on Twitter shows how little he understands about the game of basketball. Just a complete basketball simpleton and always has been.
Yep. Just looking at the basic stats. Oakland was completely willing and wanting to let Mitchell have an okay game stat-wise....it proved their strategy was working.
The thing is he’s right tre shouldn’t of played but cals terrible lineup for a Stretch tre held it together in cals horrible lineup decision tre actually kept it together
These big whatever programs are going to realize that other schools have great players and coaches as well…the parity is beautiful…get use to it Kentucky, Duke, UNC, Kansas…everybody’s time will come when your not on top anymore…I LOVE IT!
Cal doesn't want to be here. He doesn't even live in Lexington April-October anymore. We love ya Cal but it's time for a divorce. Go to Michigan and have fun trolling UK by poaching every recruit we want and we'll figure out a way to manage with our plan b prospects with a coach excited to be hear and in his prime. Youre Denny Crum circa late nineties, Youre Bobby Knight circa Texas Tech yrs. Youre Bobby Bowden his last 5 years. I would say end of career Jim Boehiem, but i cant do ya that dirty! I dont want you to leave but you cant win with this loaded of a roster, youre not willing to put in the late nights going thru film sessions and studing the portal analytics and stuff you have to due to win and the players deserve
Sick of his pressers. Starts of with "Yes" like he's doing everyone a favor then goes into his 'you guys are dumb, I've been doing this a long time' schtick. The "these kids are not robots" thing is way old. Right, but maybe you are, Cal? Starting to have a visceral reaction to this guy.
@@slocumb1270 His press conference antics jumped the shark when he stopped winning. I wish the media would just walk out of every pre-game conference when he sends in one of the assistant coachs cause he cant be bothered!
This is doom and gloom for UK basketball. It seems the UK brand may be tarnished beyond repair. There are many good programs that are surpassing the old school traditions. Recruiting top talent is now in jeopardy given the dismal record in after regular season performances. Calipari, for me, has always been huckster, but was bolstered by tradition. The tradition has been fractured. It’s sad to see.
He blamed freshman didn’t put it on himself he blamed the freshman.. Wehrer that’s true or not is irrelevant.. he’s then asked are you going to stop recruiting one and dones and he talk about how he’s helped so many families.. All of his one and dones would’ve been one and done anywhere they went..!! He takes credit but never blame and that’s narcissistic and horrible..
I hate to say this but if Cal is coach next year, I may actually have to hope for a disastrous season to force Mitch to get rid of him. No more banners (SEC or NCAA) are going to happen with Cal as coach.
I usually never agree with Matt Jones’s politically or on Cal but this is very well said. It’s time for UK basketball to turn the page. Cal has brought a ton of great memories for me and this fanbase but it’s time. Let’s get Pearl in here and get a fresh start
These keep popping up in my feed and I’ll comment on all of them. I can’t believe how torn up people are over losing the first round. Just reading a bunch of comments from fair weather fans irks me. You all have been wishy washy since I was a kid. Cal did his job. The boys said he had them fully prepared. They fell apart because of performance anxiety. They were anxious. They’re young and need to continue playing college ball to grow some like Reeves and Mitchell have. They’re older and they’re the only two who had nerves of steel and did their jobs. Why? Because they already had the experience. With all that said, I’m proud of the freshmen. They’re young and will grow and become more consistent. I fully believe they learned a lesson through this loss.
Cal is the most accomplished coach at UK since Rupp. You don’t fire him after 4 down years. You have to let him finish out the contract and see where we are. What top coach will go somewhere that gave a coach a “lifetime” contract and then fired him?? That will kill our credibility.
A lesson to be learned by the AD is do not ever offer a lifetime contract to any employee, much less a position that is the face of the university athletic program
I am completely aligned with Matt on this. I support the program, the team and the coach, but this pattern, not just this loss, but this pattern is unacceptable. It cannot continue.
I’ve defended Cal throughout this slump and was thinking this years team was built different and he’d get the swag back in UK basketball but at what point do you change your thinking? That point has came for me that I’ll no longer back him and all the bs he feeds us. Other than our 2 seniors this game was way too big for our freshmen and they weren’t prepared well enough it seemed. I’m not claiming to be a coach or expert on basketball but what I saw on the floor I know wasn’t near good enough. I’ve finally took the thought that all he’s worried more about getting these guys to the next level than winning. Not to say he don’t care but first priority should be to win. I hope I eat my words in the future if he stays and turns things around but like many others I just don’t see it.
We have a good class coming in. Imagine if Reed comes back along with some of these other guys. Cal has to bring in a defensive coordinator because our defense was the reason we lost alot of games. Still a winning season I like the idea of guys coming back as well as our class next year. I'm heartbroken but I'm comfortable but if cal comes back we have to get someone to get going on the defensive side idk who it is but dammit look for him.
I'm done with a team playing like a bunch of high school players. Saint Peter's and Oakland. Absolutely unacceptable for a treasured basketball school. No one wants to watch a team not even try. Time to go Calipari.
Cal is only concerned about getting his freshman to NBA, not winning championships for the fans and school. He has said that the freshman to NBA for their families is first priority. That is not right.
If the UK fan base is very large. We could chip in a $ 10-20 and the university of Kentucky chip in about the other say 50 % I think we could buy out the John Calipari's contract. This sounds like a possible solution.
Do they want to pay $33 million or win games? If anyone thinks this is going to get better they're kidding themselves. We're going to lose more at home, lose more first round games, lose more period
If you don't have a dominate shot blocker to cover your mistakes, you had better play good TEAM defense . Talent level can't keep bailing you out. Poor fundamental coaching.
There are some major concerns, but I feel like the biggest is the results WITH the talent. Cal will need to reinvent himself, his staffing, his game plan maybe even his identity to stay relevant in this changing NCAA playing environment. What DOES stay relevant is hustle, discipline, and great defense. If we would have played Houston instead of A&M last night, it would have been rolled. We aren’t that caliber, figure out why…
No offense to Oakland, because they did what they had to do and showed admirable grit, but they don't have anyone on their team good enough to even earn a scholarship at Kentucky. This is inexcusable. It cannot happen again. Kentucky basketball as we have known it is basically dead, and Cal killed it.
Remember how excited you all were when "Big Z" got eligible ? He's a really tall player with limited skills and you thought he would be coached up. What would Rick Barnes do with him?