He’s also a very prideful man, so this losing must be killing him. Eventually he’ll run out of people to throw under the bus but we all know the last person he’d point at is himself.
So maybe Jerry Jones and crew need to kick in some more NIL $$ to help Cal out. Seriously tho, Arkansas isnt Kentucky but its not Mississippi St either. They have a long history of basketball success. This is year 1 for Cal and I dont think Musselman left him much talent, but if they dont win long term it's on him.
Cal's approach at Memphis State and then at UK was to get future NBA guys and then just out-talent the opponent. His dribble-drive offense was what he was selling, claiming it was the only thing the NBA wanted. That may have been mostly true at the time. Anyway, if his roster that well, starting with the point guard, then his teams were hard to beat by March. If they didn't fit it well, so be it. He was never one to fit his strategy and offense to his players' strengths.
Yes, then the Golden State Warriors happened and it changed the landscape of the NBA. That and Team USA losing in international competition playing the old iso out-talent you style but would get beaten by ball movement, spacing, cutting and 3pt shooting. Pretty much every NBA team plays like that now and most college teams, except Texas apparently. That was a complete throwback offense, but I digress. You're right, Cal never really adapted his style or recruiting focus to adjust to the times. Me thinks because he was making so much money being a conduit to the league that focusing on recruiting top HS players was a far better business and more important for/to HIM that he didn't have the $$$ incentive to change. You know he had to make an absolute killing under the table with WWW acting as conduit to the NBA and shoe company contracts etc for soon to be multi-millionaire kids. He has coached 58 players that went to the NBA. That's a lot of kickback money. Why change if you're mostly about ("helping kids") the money. I truly think that coaching for him is a side hustle, his true passion is cash
18-2. 5-2 SEC. #5 in Kenpom and nipping at the heels of Iowa St. Will be very interesting to see what Handlogten will add to this team
FYI as bad as Richard shot from 3 to start the season, he's now 23 of 52 in his last 10 games, after going 4 of 8 today. That's 44.2%. If he shoots like this and we get what we have been from Clayton and Richard, we are that much tougher to beat...especially given all the ways Richard has improved his game this year, both on offense and defense. It will be very tough to find a better backcourt in college basketball.
We are no longer a good team. We are absolutely elite. I don't think the addition of Handlogten to this team, and the growth of Haugh and Aberdeen, can be understated. When Condon comes back, who has a better front court than us? We took it to Auburn at Auburn in the front court without Micah. A rotation of Condon, Chinyelu, Haugh and Handlogten (no offense to Alexis, but when Micah gets his legs under him he is a big improvement) has to be the best in the country. And who has a better backcourt rotation than Clayton, Martin, Richard, Aberdeen and Klavzar? We are 9 to 10 deep now and as versatile as we need to be. The thing that stood out to me about those National Championship runs under Donovan was how you have to be able to play against a lot of different styles of basketball teams. We needed Big Al to play bully ball against Purdue, we had to hit a bunch of 3s and defend the 3 against a high flying Oregon team, we had to throw a bunch of Bigs at Odom in the Championship game, we had to shut down the three speedy guards from Villanova, and on and on. You have to have versatility to make a deep run and I think we now have that. We can play big, we can play up tempo, we can defend any type of team, and we have six legitimate 3 point threats. Might be a blessing that Condon, Clayton and Martin all missed time with injuries, because it has made us better in the long run and primed for a great run in the tournament.
yes 5 assists, a couple steals, a block or two...he has added about 15-20 pounds too. 7'1 255 is a good size for him. Once he gets back into game shape, watch out. It's crazy to think that as well as Condo is playing, Michael started over him last year. Imagine if he can get to the same level as Condo, that's an 8-player rotation all with starter-level talent...
I can't disagree that we're elite. I didn't want to change the title until after we win the NC, just in case
Better than i expected and he was forced into a lot of minutes because Chinyelu can't help but get in foul trouble.
One thing about this team that reminds me of the 04’s is that we have a couple of bigs that can take the ball down the court, just like Horford and Noah. This can make a big difference on a lot of plays.
Yep. Condon is the guy we go to when we need to break the press or inbound against pressure, just like Horford and Noah.
Chinyelu is actually massively improved on that score from a year ago (down to 7.7 per 100 possessions against 9.5 last year), and is better than Handlogten was a year ago. Also better than Alexis this year. Looking back at those stats, what amazes me is how much better Condon has been. Last year, he was at 7.0 per 40. This year, he is down to 4.4! That’s nearly guard range.
I'm glad you mentioned Awbrin. I said before that game that they hadn't faced a front court as good as ours. Broome couldn't go crazy even though he was single-teamed by Condo. Now, with the ability to throw Handlogten into the mix, we just got stronger. Broome won't get the easy buckets on him either.
I'm hoping Handyman is getting in some wind sprints after practice. We need him to be able to go full steam ahead in games. I hope we can get him another 15 to 20 minutes vs. Oklahoma. Game time is what he needs to really get in sync with the rest of the guys. That said, I loved how experienced he looked last night in scanning the floor and delivering the passes.
Yes agree as long as we use him in spurts, maybe 4-5 minutes at a time. At 7'1 255 when you're not yet in game shape I'm sure it'd be easy to tweak something, or put stress on knees, ankles, back...so let's hope he gets back into game shape without having to sit a game or 2 with soreness of some kind. I love what he brings to the team though, an additional rim protector and offensive boards...and yes some court vision. With Condo back we're going to be a real force inside for anyone to play against.
Since Chins is good for 3 fouls in the first half, Handles will get his minutes. That said, i don't think Chins picked up any foul in the 2nd half against the Cocks. At halftime, I told my wife that Handles will tell Chins "No more fouls!"
Yes but that now with Handyman it means Chins can go into full beast mode, now he has an SEC starter/#4 in the country in offsensive rebounds 7’1 255 backup to wreak a new havoc on them if he gets into foul trouble
