Does the recent stretch (not just the UK game, but winning 4 of 5 SEC games) make it less of a Golden conundrum?
“The conundrum this presents … a program desperately needs enthusiasm and momentum to gain the support… $$$ …. to land players and compete.” We certainly have momentum; and I would hope some enthusiasm around the program. And so yes… at least for now, this lessens the conundrum. Speaking of $$$… I noticed one of our biggest donors sitting behind the Gators bench tonite.
Was that the dude that looked like an over cooked piece of bacon? I have no other way to describe him, and sorry if that sounds crass, but dude back away from the heat lamps.
Well, we don't have a lot of room on the roster for a big class right now. So we've got two guys coming in as freshmen that could fill needs, and one of them is the tallest teenager on the planet. I expect Denzel will be penciled in at the moment at starting PG, but if we have a chance to land another Zyon in the portal we'll definitely go after one. ZP might be MVG right now.
Perhaps having so mamy new players has analytics taking a backseat to managing lineups, skillsets, egos, etc. Add in dealing with specific challenges we've had with free throws, defense, learning how to deal on SEC level... And much more well documented and undocumented. I can see Golden maturing and putting it all together in the next few years. Impressed with the talent he's gotten.
Here's a really, really good SDS writeup of the game and the season. It says: The analytics site Bart Torvik ranks Pullin as the SEC’s 2nd-most efficient and impactful player this season, behind only Alabama’s Mark Sears and just ahead of All-American candidate Dalton Knecht at Tennessee. Also: At UK, with 9 minutes to play, Kugel was given the unenviable task of guarding the prolific Reeves. After Golden moved Kugel onto Kentucky’s star scorer, Reeves went 2-for-6 from the field, committed 2 turnovers, and was denied the ball consistently in overtime when the Wildcats were desperate for makes. That's pretty cool.
If you are a college basketball player, why wouldn’t you want to play for a coach like Todd Golden? He’s just a cool dude. Genuinely cares about his players. Plays at a fast pace and lets talent shine. We have a rising star in CTG and I hope he stays here for a long time. There is no conundrum.
I noticed that about Kugel covering Reeves in the 2nd half. He earned his PT with that and CTG rewarded him by keeping him on the floor the at the end. Going forward, Riley may be our designated perimeter stopper. Put him on whoever is hot.
The Unlaced documentary series about WBB makes a similar point about CKRF. Hearing Zippy's parents talk about Kelly Rae...it's just really clear, there's something about her that reminds us of what's right about sports. I hope she gets the runway to figure out the winning.
Kelly Rae's program makes progress but keeps getting hit with hard setbacks. This season, she lost Zippy before the season, and although Z returned she just hasn't been the same player. Then, more recently, we lost 40% of the starting lineup to injuries. Hard to compete in the SEC with these body blows that just keep coming. But we'll get there; Kelly Rae has a banner class coming in to make sure.
