phoenix
03-20-2006, 10:08 AM
I would have to characterize this season as one of those coulda, woulda, shoulda things that you sometimes see in sports. I don't think the play, the heart, the maturity, the confidence, the hustle, the coaching were up to the level of what we have come to expect from KY teams or from OT Smith. There are a bucket of reasons these things occurred. I wouldn't neccessarily characterize them as excuses, they were complex, and to me, a typical fan outside the inner circle of the program, they were vexing and confusing. Obviously the team, the fans, andthe coaching staff suffered during the season, as it ran toward it's less than glorious conclusion.
However I thought there were some very positive benchmarks reached.
#1 I think the sophomores really advanced with the season. I think they did it without particularly great senior leadership, or upperclass leadership. Regrettable thing that it wasn't there, but some teams are comprised of non leaders, we aren't always gifted with a Bogans, a Fitch, a Hayes, players that were heads down, charge and pedal to the medal when they hit their senior season. Slumps, missing men, playing out of position, injuries, recoveries, all contributed, and impacted the earlier season. I don't think they got it early but I do think they got it late. Their late wins in the face of BAD SHOOTING should tell them something they had to learn on the court, superior effort yields superior results. I think they had to come to this knowledge through this rather tortuos route, to arrive where they were at the end of the season. They didn't have upper classmen demanding it or slamming it in their faces when they stepped out.
#2 Tubby was the engineer of a train headed toward the cliff into the second half of the SEC season. He got it back on the track and headed the right way before the season ended, and I think that was extremely important. I would have hated to see the season end the way it was headed after the first round of SEC play. It would have led to a total collapse for another year or two at least. I think Tubby avoided that and I think he turned over every rock to fix it. I don't forget he was the engineer early in the season or that he may have made wrong decisions earlier. No free pass on that, but I don't expect a coach to have every answer every season, nor have all the right pieces of talent every year. Talent development is unpredictable. You never know what you will have when you get done. I think in Tubby's case he started with basically good kids, with QUALITY personalities, and that some of this stuff was unexpected. Some will still argue that Tubby proved his metal by letting the train go off the track, but I look at his record in DIV I coaching and think that more likely he proved his metal by getting it back on track.
#3 Watching the development of kids on the team is always a gratifying thing for a true fan, and I believe that Crawford, Bradley and Morris all made tremendous jumps this year. I think they all will be better next year and I look forward to that. Rondo has had an eye opener of a year, but doesn't shake my belief in this kid one bit, he is a great one and KY is fortunate to have him. The UAB game should paint the picture for everybody that suffered through the UAB loss a couple years ago. Put Rondo in that game and we win, no sweat. Rondo gives everything he has every game, and as the structure of the team changed toward the late part of the season, Rondo also changed his game to fit that. Rondo is a point guard of the quality that UK doesn't see that much of. Yes, he has a couple holes in his game, but he also has a bunch of stuff that coaches can't coach and players can only bring to the court with heart. Give me 10 Rondos on the floor any day of the season, we'll win.
#4 It was an emotional roller coaster this year, but heckuva ride like UK basketball always is. Might not have won as many as usual, but the subplots and excitement never waned all season long. Fascinating and rivetting to watch and contemplate this year. Ended on a good note if not great.
#5 Our team at the end of the season was much better than the team at the beginning of the season. To me, that is a heads up for a much better year next year. Our sophomores will be juniors, they now understand the full cost of winning and they have to be a little hungry after the way this year went. We have a great coach, and some great players. I see the program continuing to go forward with quality people, play, and season records.
It mighta got a little ding but it aint broke folks. :thumbup
However I thought there were some very positive benchmarks reached.
#1 I think the sophomores really advanced with the season. I think they did it without particularly great senior leadership, or upperclass leadership. Regrettable thing that it wasn't there, but some teams are comprised of non leaders, we aren't always gifted with a Bogans, a Fitch, a Hayes, players that were heads down, charge and pedal to the medal when they hit their senior season. Slumps, missing men, playing out of position, injuries, recoveries, all contributed, and impacted the earlier season. I don't think they got it early but I do think they got it late. Their late wins in the face of BAD SHOOTING should tell them something they had to learn on the court, superior effort yields superior results. I think they had to come to this knowledge through this rather tortuos route, to arrive where they were at the end of the season. They didn't have upper classmen demanding it or slamming it in their faces when they stepped out.
#2 Tubby was the engineer of a train headed toward the cliff into the second half of the SEC season. He got it back on the track and headed the right way before the season ended, and I think that was extremely important. I would have hated to see the season end the way it was headed after the first round of SEC play. It would have led to a total collapse for another year or two at least. I think Tubby avoided that and I think he turned over every rock to fix it. I don't forget he was the engineer early in the season or that he may have made wrong decisions earlier. No free pass on that, but I don't expect a coach to have every answer every season, nor have all the right pieces of talent every year. Talent development is unpredictable. You never know what you will have when you get done. I think in Tubby's case he started with basically good kids, with QUALITY personalities, and that some of this stuff was unexpected. Some will still argue that Tubby proved his metal by letting the train go off the track, but I look at his record in DIV I coaching and think that more likely he proved his metal by getting it back on track.
#3 Watching the development of kids on the team is always a gratifying thing for a true fan, and I believe that Crawford, Bradley and Morris all made tremendous jumps this year. I think they all will be better next year and I look forward to that. Rondo has had an eye opener of a year, but doesn't shake my belief in this kid one bit, he is a great one and KY is fortunate to have him. The UAB game should paint the picture for everybody that suffered through the UAB loss a couple years ago. Put Rondo in that game and we win, no sweat. Rondo gives everything he has every game, and as the structure of the team changed toward the late part of the season, Rondo also changed his game to fit that. Rondo is a point guard of the quality that UK doesn't see that much of. Yes, he has a couple holes in his game, but he also has a bunch of stuff that coaches can't coach and players can only bring to the court with heart. Give me 10 Rondos on the floor any day of the season, we'll win.
#4 It was an emotional roller coaster this year, but heckuva ride like UK basketball always is. Might not have won as many as usual, but the subplots and excitement never waned all season long. Fascinating and rivetting to watch and contemplate this year. Ended on a good note if not great.
#5 Our team at the end of the season was much better than the team at the beginning of the season. To me, that is a heads up for a much better year next year. Our sophomores will be juniors, they now understand the full cost of winning and they have to be a little hungry after the way this year went. We have a great coach, and some great players. I see the program continuing to go forward with quality people, play, and season records.
It mighta got a little ding but it aint broke folks. :thumbup