Dead legs

[RCS]

Not sure if this has been discussed already but I hadn't seen it. I am wondering if BCG has overworked this team. They looked totally dead. They were constantly getting beat off the dribble by not very athletic kids. We are not the quickest team ever, but we are certainly more athletic than Gardner Webb. I hope he backs off the brutal practices a little the next two weeks.

[TrueblueCATfan]

Don't know if it is the brutal practices everyday but maybe cut out the practices on game days..just a thought

[BamaCat86]

Guess not....I heard that the team watched the replay of the game last night and had another practice session before going to bed.

Anyone care to confirm this story????

I can see BCG wanting to toughen up this team, but holding a full workout the day of a game the day after a night game is a bit much.

No wonder the team had dead legs.

[matt57]

good, i hope they practiced again. it was obvious to me that they haven't absorbed what BCG is teaching.

[KY Native in IN]

I hope he backs off the brutal practices a little the next two weeks.

after the outcome from last night, i think the "brutal"-ity will continue...it will be Coach G's way or the highway out of Lexington....just as it should be....like that scene in "Miracle" (the USA hockey movie) where they get their butts kicked and Kurt Russell makes them do those sprints back and forth again and again, i can see Coach G doing that

[FCFS82]

Not sure if this has been discussed already but I hadn't seen it. I am wondering if BCG has overworked this team. They looked totally dead. They were constantly getting beat off the dribble by not very athletic kids. We are not the quickest team ever, but we are certainly more athletic than Gardner Webb. I hope he backs off the brutal practices a little the next two weeks.

Weren't we looking forward to weeding out some of these guys on the team because BG was going to bring a tough style of hustling play, blah, blah, blah...

Now we're backing off because its too hard for the poor boys?

Are we all backpedaling with our thoughts if we subscribe to this?

:shrug1:

[Rockober]

Billy G knows whats best for this team. If he had practice last night so be it. The man has coached two games and many want to tell him how to conduct a practice, rest players,etc.etc.

I am steamed about last nights loss but I also know that Billy G knows 100 times more than I do. Well, most of the time;)

[Radiated]

I think it's time to do away with the full practice on gamkeday.

[bcbaxter10]

Don't know if it is the brutal practices everyday but maybe cut out the practices on game days..just a thought

It's a good point. But I heard today on 630 Cameron Mills talk about how Pitino would do about the same. Granted, I don't know the extreme that BCG puts the boys through, but C-Mills said that they would practice for a full hour, at "Game Speed" before games.

Now, in the early years, game speed for Cameron might have been a brisk walk to the water cooler to refresh Tony Delk, but we don't know...

[KY Native in IN]

It's a good point. But I heard today on 630 Cameron Mills talk about how Pitino would do about the same. Granted, I don't know the extreme that BCG puts the boys through, but C-Mills said that they would practice for a full hour, at "Game Speed" before games.

Now, in the early years, game speed for Cameron might have been a brisk walk to the water cooler to refresh Tony Delk, but we don't know...


man, that last comment made me laugh out loud...that's freakin' hilarious...

[colonelcatfan]

What ever it takes to toughen up, weed out, and wake up this team, I say go for it. I hate to loose, but it's November people, I care what happens in March.

[matt colvin]

man, that last comment made me laugh out loud...that's freakin' hilarious...

:icon_mrgreen:. TD was bad news though :icon_mrgreen:

Cameron looks like he could use a little work-out these days as well :icon_lol: J/K of course

[Wildcatcrazy11]

I think it's time to do away with the full practice on gamkeday.

This is what I want to understand... what advatage does your team have if they go through a "billy g" practice on the same day as a game. I am not saying we lost because of the gameday practice because we should have won anyways. But why put your team in the hole to begin with? Doesn't make much sense to me. If Billy G is practicing our team the same day as the UNC game or the UofL game, I am going to have a problem with it.

I feel like we could fall into a thought process of "quantity over quality" Anyone who has ever played golf seriously knows what I am talking about. You don't get any better beating balls for hours upon hours. The quality of practice is what matters. Getting these boys into shape is one thing but working them hard the day of a game is something totally different. With that said I have to trust Coach at this point because I have no reason to belive his methods won't work.

[Valhalla]

Dead legs?Good.I say let Billy Clyde do his job.Run them into the ground until they "get it".This team is in good, but not great basketball condition.This team will get better.

[ChattyKat]

Kentucky Coach Billy Gillispie halted a drill when he noticed Patrick Patterson out of position. When he asked Patterson for an explanation, the heralded freshman began saying, "I thought..."
Gillispie cut him off. "Don't think!" the UK coach barked. Then he pointed toward one of Rupp Arena's lower arena aisles.
Patterson began jogging up the stairs.
That this routine practice scene came hours before Kentucky played in the 2K Sports College Hoops Classic lit a fire of speculation. That leg cramps sidelined Patterson during the loss to Gardner-Webb only fanned the flames.
Are Gillispie's practices the day of games counter-productive? Did practices Tuesday and Wednesday afternoons contribute to UK's wilting defense Tuesday and Wednesday nights? Are practices on the day of games a radical approach that leads to tired legs?
That's a plausible explanation for UK getting beat on backdoor cuts by Gardner-Webb. It could explain Gardner-Webb players consistently beating the Cats to loose balls.
One big problem: A quick check around the country found that practices on the day of games are a common occurrence.


http://www.kentucky.com/276/story/225774.html

[Gunsmoke]

We have to be in better condition than all of the other teams we play or we are going to be in a world of hurt.

[UKhoov]

There were complaints about conditioning the last couple of years, then we bring in Holsopple and everyone is all on board for"toughening the team up"

Then Gillispie is brought in and everyone is all like "he has boot camp and I hope it toughens this team up"

Now we have some of the hardest practices that many have seen around here in a long time. Everyone is on board and excited.

We go through 4 games 2 exhibitions and 2 regular games, and everyone starts to see that we seem to hit a wall at some point, and take notice of this.

The last game we have, we get out hustled, out worked and out played by a less talented team.

So what happens...ALMOST EVERYONE starts to question how hard coach is pushing and making these guys practice.

Was the practice on days we have consecutive games a bit excessive, maybe. But Gillispie has proven he can get less talented teams turned around by the same methods.

So why do we start the thoughts about "full practice on gameday is a bit too much", when coaches ALL OUT philosophy is part of the reason most wanted him here in the first place?

We know he can get us going in the right direction, we have seen what he can do with less, so dont start questioning his tactics until he has a chance to get his methods established.

It has only been 2 games into the season, and frankly we have a LONG way to go. The road to the Final Four is a long one, give him a chance to do what he does, and Im sure we will be happy with the final results. Just dont question what does based on one game, give him a chance to have a full body of work.

[Gunsmoke]

The tough practices and the extra running is just to get the players to learn what he wants them to do in the game.

[RCS]

Just to clarify, I don't mind tough practices, and even gameday practices most days is fine. But 2 practices and 2 games in 2 days is just stupid. I am sorry. They are still human. They can't recoup that fast. Also, we talk about Pitino, but if you look at his early UL teams they all ran out of gas and looked beaten down physically by mid January. I will trust BCG knows what he is doing, but just because he is coach doesn't make him infallable. The teams was clearly tired and a step slow in that game. It wasn't the only reason they lost, but it was a big part of it.

[JayB]

Just to clarify, I don't mind tough practices, and even gameday practices most days is fine. But 2 practices and 2 games in 2 days is just stupid. I am sorry. They are still human. They can't recoup that fast. Also, we talk about Pitino, but if you look at his early UL teams they all ran out of gas and looked beaten down physically by mid January. I will trust BCG knows what he is doing, but just because he is coach doesn't make him infallable. The teams was clearly tired and a step slow in that game. It wasn't the only reason they lost, but it was a big part of it.

I have no clue about anything conditioning wise, but I do know PP was dead tired throughout the game... I have video proof of that lol he was out of breath and was sloshing around by the end of the game. But its a blessing in disguise I think. Only time will tell.

[Realist]

It doesn't really matter what Pitino or other coaches do, collective stupidity is still stupidity. Pitino had an incredible amount of talent on that team. Some athletes succeed in spite of their coaches and their insane training programs.

99% of the time when you see a team get outhustled, outworked, and outplayed by a less talented team it's due to fatigue. Use Occam's razor-the simplest explanation is usually the best.

You've got 3 McDonald's All-Americans along with several other top 25-100 recruits and a walk-on for Gardner Webb slices you for 22 points at home? You've had 2 practices, 1 game, 1 two hour film session ending at 1 AM in the last 28 hours and you wonder if their legs were dead? Of course they were dead. Billy G just thought the Cats were so much better than Gardner-Webb it wouldn't be a problem. Now, let's see if he learns anything from it.

[DCWildcat]

Weren't we looking forward to weeding out some of these guys on the team because BG was going to bring a tough style of hustling play, blah, blah, blah...

Now we're backing off because its too hard for the poor boys?

Are we all backpedaling with our thoughts if we subscribe to this?

:shrug1:

No.

There's pushing kids too little. There's pushing kids too hard. And there's pushing kids just the right amount. Any rational UK fans wants Gillispie to do the last of these. Some people who wanted that think that's not what Gillispie is doing; rather, he's pushing them too hard.

That's not backing off.

[poodoo]

It's a good point. But I heard today on 630 Cameron Mills talk about how Pitino would do about the same. Granted, I don't know the extreme that BCG puts the boys through, but C-Mills said that they would practice for a full hour, at "Game Speed" before games.



Personally, I think a huge difference was that we were playing two consecutive games AND that the practices were two hours long, not an hour-long as Pitino's practices were. It was most obvios that the UK players were a step slow, as someone posted.

A small factor is that Gardner-Webb had also had three more hours rest, period. I mention that because such was always a big deal to Pitino. He would complain, for instance, when a division champ UK team would have a later start than a lower seed in the SEC Tourney.

Coach G has proven in the past, though, that his way generally works. Although I don't personally think the brutal practice Wednesday was a good idea at all, I will still defer to Coach G. At the same time I will not be so upset with players for not playing harder and better Wednesday night. The players obviously did not have their legs, and there was a reason for that.

The next time we play on consecutive days should be in the SEC Tourney. Yes, I certainly hope Coach G does not have two-hour, full-speed practices those days. :) GO CATS! GO COACH G!