Maybe it’s time to change the focus - The People's Defender

By Mark Carpenter

I have made no secret on these pages over the past 11 years that I an a die-hard University of Kentucky basketball fan. Of course, I have taken a lot of abuse for that loyalty, but I’m proud of it, got it honestly from my blue-blooded parents.
But I, like many others in Big Blue Nation, are feeling a bit “blue” these days, as our beloved Cats are wallowed in an early season slump that doesn’t look like it is going to end any time soon. A record of 1-4 is certainly not acceptable in the Commonwealth and perhaps more disturbing is the continuing “one and done” trend that doesn’t seem to be working any more.
I don’t fault any of these young men who spend a year in college to chase their ultimate dream. If someone told me I could be a doctor or lawyer and only need to spend one year in school, I’d quickly find out where to sign up. But for Coach Cal and his Wildcats, the act has begun to grow very thin.
Sometimes the one-and-done process works, for example the 2012 team, but most people forget that team had one key cog whad been in Lexington for four years- Darius Miller. This year’s version of the Cats is totally lost with absolutely no leadership from upperclassmen and a bunch of freshmen who, up to this point, seem to have only their own careers to concern themselves with. Selfishness is a hard habit to break.
Fans get all excited each season as Coach Cal racks up the McDonald’s All-Americans and gets another top recruiting class. Then they step on the floor for college basketball and soon find out that they ain’t in high school any more. Perhaps in the AAU meat market, they could spend their entire game driving and dunking and playing “me,me,me”, but that’s not going to fly. At the college level, those are offensive fouls and turnovers, something Coach Cal’s teams have mastered over the past couple of seasons.
In this crazy year where there were no preseason exhibitions and practice time was limited, the teams that are loaded with juniors and seniors have a distinct advantage and teams like UK’s merry group of freshmen seem to be totally lost, with no real direction seeming to loom in the near future.
Coach Cal has a track record of rounding his young pups into shape by season’s end but this season is going to be different and they have already dug a hole they may never crawl out of. So we think, maybe these guys will just come back next year since they obviously are not professional ready, but no, can’t do that. Gotta shove a few out the door to make room for the next batch of All-American recruits who can’t shoot, pass, or defend.
What is odd is how much better these UK players perform at the professional level than they do in their time in Lexington. Example- Devin Booker was an inconsistent, never know what you might get player at UK, now he puts up 70 points in NBA games. It makes you wonder what the focus really is at UK and if it’s time to change the thought process. Coach Cal loves to bask in that spotlight on NBA Draft Night, but maybe it’s time for him to bask on graduation day. I know I’m just dreaming but I continually harken back to the days of Robey, Phillips, Givens, and Macy. I for one as a UK fan for life, would much prefer Final Four trips and NCAA title banners as opposed to top 10 draft picks. Not to say that Coach Cal doesn’t have a nice NCAA tourney track record, but things just seem to be out of kilter at the moment.
Maybe the second half comeback in the loss to Notre Dame will provide a spark, or maybe it was just a big tease. Only time will tell.

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Maybe it’s time to change the focus - The People's Defender
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