By: Ronald "Doc" Ball
General Impressions Overall, extremely disappointing. I came in like most of the BBN with high expectations based a large percentage of production returning, with a good mix of experienced players with fresh blood, and a roster that looked better than competitive. Lost was TyTy Washington and Kellen Grady who were replaced with players as talented in Cason Wallace and Chris Livingston. Plus adding Reeves to replace Mintz seemed an upgrade. Gone was Brookes but this meant more time for Toppin and Collins. Ah, but all for naught. The product on the floor this year was inferior to last year, seeding worse but we did overcome one of the most embarrassing ends to a season that happened last year. But the disappointment is less about the players but more about the staff and the culture around it. When I look at this team, it had the right ingredients but the way they were put together and used was not good. It's like a chef who was given all the ingredients for a gourmet meal but still made something you could get at Waffle House. They lacked a cohesiveness and purpose.
Jacob Toppin B- Definitely improved his play, his role and his potential. I felt he was the key to the season, and in some ways he was. When he played well, we did well. When he didn’t, we looked bad. Unfortunately we had little back up for his position and no real options. Look at his stats in some of our losses. Vs MSU he managed 10 and 4, vs UCLA 5 and 7, MO 0 and 4, AL 6 and 3, Vandy in Rupp 7 and 10, didn’t play vs S. Carolina. For the season he average 12.7 ppg and 6.8 rebounds, shooting 47% overall and nearly 32% from long range. He came into the season all full of bluster as seen during BBM when he basically called out his team in the dunk and three point shooting contests, but didn’t back it up during the season. Too often he disappeared rather than use his athleticism and length to his advantage. I still believe he has the potential to be an NBAer, to create generational wealth so to speak, but he needs to develop consistency.
Cason Wallace B+ His seasonal performance was on par with many of the current incoming freshmen over the last few years. I certainly expect a similar outcome to what Tyrese Maxey has done, or even SGA. Was the team leader in steals (61) and turnovers (62). His shooting was a respectable 43% overall and 34% from long range. But more importantly was his ability to run the team despite not always being 100% healthwise. In many ways he was let down by his teammates. Without him the season is disaster on par with 20-21
Oscar Tshiebwe B Some may disagree but his game dropped a bit from last year, and nothing was done to improve his game. Yeah, he developed some range on his jumper, to the free throw line, but his defense is sorely lacking as so many have noted. Also is very much intimidated, or limited when playing against taller opponents. In other words he plays small, which is an odd thing to say about a rebound machine. Watching him rebound is an joy due the hustle, effort and instinct. Add powerful hands and a every rebound is mine attitude and you have a bulked up Dennis Rodman without the antics. Many don’t see him as an NBA caliber player. Not me. Anybody who averages over 13.5 rebounds a game has a spot in the pros. Hopefully he ends up with a team that can hide his deficiency, or works to correct them. One of the biggest black hole centers offensively you will find and one who does not have any concept of how to defend the simple pick and roll. Too often he ends up guarding nobody with a “huh” look on his face as the opponent scores.
Sahvir Wheeler B- Much of that grade is not on him but how he was used. Don’t fault the player for not being what he isn’t. He should have been used 20 min +/- 5 a game, not the nearly 30 he got. He is an ideal back up PG to Cason who can give a change of pace. He isn’t a shooter, never was. But he is a point who can run a team and rest a player like Wallace. Instead we have the archaic 2 point guards on the floor that works on occasion. In a statistical oddity, Wheeler had the second best 3 pt % of the team at 36.6%. I find that shocking! He led the team in assist per game at 5.6, compare to Cason’s 4.3. But to me the team ran better with the ball in Wallace hands. While a shame he missed much of the season, something that I did not want to see, it was no shock as he has always been “frail” in my opinion.
Antonio Reeves B+ A mixed bag on Antonio. Clearly his presence was a godsend. Was our one consistent outside threat, until today. Overall shot 41% from beyond the arc, and 43% overall. Problem is he attempted only 191 in 33 games, which is just over 5. Should be twice that. Of course he took that many today so what do I know. His 35 assists was disappointing as well. That said, he is one player I would like to see return. I do believe with another year of high quality college ball, he could have an NBA future
Chris Livingston C Probably a lower grade than many would think but in my book he underachieved my expectations. I envisioned him as having a much greater impact based on what I saw in HS. I felt he had the potential to be the best player in the class, and the best player on our team. My grade is based on individual expectations more than strictly performance. The debate on him playing PF was a distraction IMO. Would have preferred to see him as a 3/2 because he has the range, something UK lacked all year. That said, his 3 pt shooting was the lowest on the team. But even so it was still 31%, which supports the argument by many that UK’s issue wasn’t poor 3 pt shooting but rather the lack of it. The one area he surpassed expectations, especially late in the year when he found his groove was his rebounding. His scoring left a bit to be desired at just over 6 a game. Now that isn’t bad for a “normal” freshman but less than I hope. He had just 5 games with double digit points (6 if you include today). For a starter, that falls short.
CJ Fredrick D+ Yes, injuries, I get it. However this is year 3 of “injuries”. The “sharpshooter” had the fourth best 3% shooting percentage behind Reeves, Wheeler and Wallace. I don’t blame his 31.7% solely on him as you need open looks, something his team did not work to create. His defense was lax as times, second worse on the team to Oscar in my opinion.
Lance Ware B- Lance has a role, one he knows and one he plays. He was usually good for 7-10 minutes a game, enough to give Oscar a rest had that been incorporated into the game plan, but it wasn’t. He bring toughness and leadership.
Adou Thiero B- This could be the player many UK fans long for. One who can progress over a few years if he stays that long. Has the size, just needs the confidence and experience to be a D’Andre Liggins type kid. Played 19 games, averaging 10 a game in those he played.
Ugonna Onyenso C I was vocal about not wanting him to play much. Apparently Cal heard me. However I was also vocal about playing the bench early and often. Apparently Cal didn’t hear that. This team was so incredibly rim defending poor that the kid who played a total of 109 minutes was second on the team in blocked shots! That is how utterly worthless our rim protection was. He played in 16 games, 1/10 of the minutes Toppin, and swatted the 16 shots, the same number as Jacob did. Would it have helped had he played some in Nov, Dec and Jan? Might not have but it also might have. Offensively raw? Sure but don’t put him in as an offensive option. Half the game is defense.
Daimion Collins C My heart goes out to him for the family tragedy and I suspect that had an effect. He showed his commitment to the school by coming back and hanging in. I hope he stays but more importantly I hope the staff see the benefit of having a rim protector. Offensively, he is the ideal player to run lobs and backdoors for yet that wasn’t in the playbook. All summer we saw clips of him shooting jumpers from the corner. Why? Why work on that when you could work him around the riim? Other teams do it effectively with thin, lanky leapers. Not us
Coaching F Where to begin? I want to say it’s the worse coaching job I have seen at UK then I look back 3 years ago, or I look back at BCG’s years, or the end of Tubby’s tenure. Maybe that gives me hope as UK has come back from such debacles. For me this is totally expected. The issues that fall at the staffs feet are many.
• The lack of developing a bench when you have that much talent is criminal. The idea that we can win with a 7 man rotation is stupid, but not just stupid, it is unnecessary. In a season when there are over 1300 minutes and you can’t carve out more than 200 minutes for Onyenso or Collins, so they develop, so they don’t move on to a school that will. Did you learn nothing from Hopkins or Fletcher or Juzang?
• The player fatigue and injury also falls on their feet. Playing 30 minutes or more a game is taxing. It harms you physically and mentally. So while not allowing player development, it also harms those “main” guys. Late season flame outs like today and last year are nothing that surprises me. I hope they don’t happen but clearly they do. I don’t mind people making mistakes, just learn from them. This stupid 7 player rotation and riding those ragged is frustrating and wrong.
• The actual lineup is confounding. This team had 2 (TWO) point guards on its entire roster, so lets start both. Why? Our weakest position depth wise is the one you can’t hide. You can play without a center, you can play without a SF by going 3 or even 4 guards, nowdays SF can play SG, etc…. but you can’t be successful without a PG. We had all year to address it but it wasn’t until Wheeler when down did it become apparent to the staff. It was asinine to play all those minutes with Wheeler and Wallace together. UK should have started Wheeler for the first few games then moved Wallace and have Wheeler off the bench for a change of place and to rest Cason. But nope, Cal needs the dual PG be it Wall/Bledsoe or Hagan/Quickly or SGA/Green. I feel like its his signature lineup. And we will have it again next year too!
• Good coaches use the early season to identify player and team weaknesses, then address them, be it by developing schemes to hide them and working with players on those weaknesses to correct. Not Cal. He unabashedly touts “I can’t hid our faults” so he doesn’t. Instead we see players like Oscar never become capable defenders, we won’t see Oscar pass the ball, we won’t see anybody set screens for shooters, etc… and the players who are not the chosen few, aka the rotation 7 will see 2 minutes of PT before grabbing pine after an mistake.
• The horrible relationship with the fans is a direct product of ego. Fans are mocked, coaches and staff are not held accountable. Cal rants like an idiot on the sideline because it about him as much as it is the players. Oh, he claims Players first but don’t fall for that. Its about Cal and HIS EGO. The generational wealth produced is something he keeps track of, just like the number of players HE has gotten into the NBA. He isn’t at draft night for the hor d’ouvres. He is there for face time, for the same reason he acts like an idiot on the sideline.
Officials F Until official are publicly held accountable, there will be no improvement. Until media is allowed access to call out the bad ones, there will be no improvement. Until the audience gets explanation as why calls are made or ignored, it won’t improve. And until the NCAA gets a method to remove people like Pat Adams, it won’t improve. The best thing about the NCAAT was the officials, despite the lousy crew for UK vs KSU
Commentators No grade here other than to say those with catch lines and phrases need to put them to rest. It seems the more annoying a commentator is the farther he goes. Give me one I don’t know their name every time.
Other I stated it before, this seasons end is more a relief than a disappointment. Unfortunately that is becoming the norm. I used to cry when the clock hit 0:00 in our final game. No more, now I just shrug and finish dinner. As for the future, expect no different next year. We will see the 7 man rotation, we will see 30+ minutes for at least 4 players a game, we will see untimely unexplained losses, we will see late season injuries and we will see an underachieving group. Too bad because for the support the school and fans give this team, they should be on par with anybody.
NOTE: stats courtesy of Jon Scotts site, and I believe they are thru the Providence game
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