Panic is Not in Order Yeahbut
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Published on 12-09-2013 07:48 PM
Old Yeahbut is kicking and screaming to get out of lockdown but for now he has to remain in perpetuity. The young basketball Wildcats are in some quarters creating a state of trepidation amongst the BBN. This early in the season is not the time to throw the baby out with the bath water. Granted this class was advertised as the best recruiting class in history. And given time it still could prove out to live up to those heights.
This is where the inimitable John Calipari comes into play..... Except for last season Cal has managed to mold his teams into top contenders by March Madness. Characteristically the period over the Christmas holidays is the key period for the most improvement. So this young team deserves a pass until such a Boot-Camp like period concludes. Things like focus, intensity, and desire can and most likely will be corrected. All of the aforementioned sums up the good news.
Now the bad news and the coach issues. Why with such a deep bench does he not play his bench more. No matter how depth he has he rarely seems to use it to it's fullest. This writer is often in quarters with the 'old-guard' that consistently goes to Cal's practice sessions. My question is how much time does he spend on zone defense. I'm told is token at best. The common belief in anything is if you don't see IT you are clueless when you have to face IT. Every coach has his hang-up and Calipari has made it known he doesn't like to play the zone defenses. All well and good because he has won a lot of basketball games through the years doing it his way. But it would be that it's the end-of-the-day results.
It's a commonly held opinion that opposing teams know they can't match up talent-wise and they have to pick their poison in their approach to defeating the Cats. So they feel that zoning the Cats is the great equalizer. Given the results of the two losses that philosophy is the best approach in contending for wins. Calipari knows that, yet in a detestable tone before the Baylor game he proclaimed "Bring on the Zone."
Cal's attitude toward the zone defense is analogous to the era when the three-point shot came into the game. Coaching greats such as Denny Crum and Bobby Knight were resistant to the change and it ate them up before the finally bought in. Seemingly the ideal position would be versatility. Like the aforementioned history would dictate that the player issues can be fixed but will the coaching philosophy issue be changed?
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