Calipari: ’Cats’ season not over
You thought five losses in a row was bad?
How about a six-game losing streak when the most recent defeat came at the hands of your archrival? And what if that loss came in the same way so many of the others have with late-game miscues throwing away a chance to build some positive momentum?
That’s the situation Kentucky basketball finds itself in after a 62-59 loss to Louisville, dropping the season record to 1-6.
“Everybody is going to say it’s over,” Kentucky coach John Calipari said after the game. “OK, I don’t believe it’s over. We haven’t played a league game yet, so I don’t believe it’s over. Let’s go do what we do, let’s keep coaching them. Our true fans, the fans that are really with these kids, keep cheering them on. You think they want to play like they’re playing, keep losing games like this? You’re crazy. They want to win every game, and they want to win it for you.
“I’m not budging, I’m not cracking. I’m hacked off, now. I’m not happy that we’re losing. You guys know me well enough, but I’ve got to worry about this team and where they are and where can I take them more than my ego about winning the game.”
Where does Kentucky go from here? Here is a closer look at three implications of the loss.
Counting a Calipari-coached UK team out of making a run before the new year seems silly based on recent history, but with Southeastern Conference play starting next week, Kentucky may have already dug too deep a hole to feel confident in earning an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament.
Just two SEC teams were ranked in the most recent USA TODAY Coaches Poll, offering few chances for resumebuilding victories in conference play. An SEC/BIG 12 Challenge matchup with No. 10 Texas still looms in January, but nothing about Kentucky’s play so far suggests the Wildcats will be ready to compete with a team of that caliber in just a month.
The struggles of the rest of the SEC at least make it plausible that Kentucky will win at least seven more times than it loses in its remaining games, thereby earning the .500 record needed to be eligible for an at-large bid, but anything short of a top-two finish in the SEC might not be enough to make a convincing case to the selection committee.
Does anyone really think this Kentucky team is capable of that kind of run?
“We have a chance to paint our own picture,” Calipari said.
Time to worry about Olivier Sarr: After charging back from a 22-point halftime deficit to have a chance for a buzzerbeating win against Notre Dame, Kentucky appeared to have found at least one competent offensive weapon in that game in senior center Olivier Sarr.
Sarr scored 22 points on 11-of-16 shooting against Notre Dame but missed a jumper at the buzzer that could have given the Wildcats the win. In the two subsequent games, he has failed to convert a field goal in 41 minutes against North Carolina and Louisville, scoring just three points at the foul line.
“He’ll be fine,” Calipari said. “This has been hard. Missing a couple shots. I’m
going to have to get with him before he gets on the bus to just say, ‘I love you man, you’re fine.’”
After not even attempting a field goal in 19 minutes against North Carolina, Sarr took shots on each of Kentucky’s first three possessions against Louisville but missed all three from close range. He did not take another shot until the final minute and did not score his only point until less than five minutes remained in the game.
“We went into the game, as many times as we can throw him the ball, we’re going to,” Calipari said. “That was the whole game plan. They did a good job of fighting, fronting and doing some things. He missed some shots. He missed a couple easy ones. When you start missing shots, it starts playing with your confidence. It’s not like we’re not trying to go to him.”
Still, Calipari drew up a chance at a game winner for either Davion Mintz or Sarr to take the final shot. With Louisville sending two defenders after Mintz, who led Kentucky with 19 points, the ball went to Sarr in a near carbon copy of his final shot against Notre Dame with eight seconds on the clock.
This time the shot appeared to be going down before the ball rolled out of the rim.
Calipari pointed to Brandon Knight, who missed his first few chances at game winners in the 2010-11 season only to hit multiple clutch shots in the NCAA Tournament run to the Final Four, as justification for maintaining his faith in Sarr in the key moment.
Role players show their worth: Kentucky’s best performances against Louisville came from an unlikely cast.
Mintz, the graduate transfer from Creighton, scored 19 points on 6-of-12 shooting and hit 4 of 6 3s. Jacob Toppin, the transfer from Rhode Island who was originally slated to redshirt this season, contributed 10 points and six rebounds. For the second straight game, Lance Ware offered a spark off the bench with his physicality, totaling four points and four rebounds in 13 minutes. Freshman point guard Devin Askew, making his first start in three games, contributed seven points, three assists and three steals.
Meanwhile projected stars Brandon Boston, Terrence Clarke and Olivier Sarr combined to go 3 for 19 from the field and 0 for 6 from 3-point range.
“Probably they also felt that (they would be stars) too,” Calipari said. “Now all of the sudden, you get punched in the mouth and you start tasting blood. How do you react? Do you blame? … ‘Look, here’s where I am. I can’t make a shot, so here’s what I’m going to do to help this team win.’”
Clarke attempted to play through an ankle injury but missed all four of his shots without a rebound or assist in 16 minutes. Boston made some strides down the stretch and made all five of his free throw attempts, but converted just 3 of 11 shots and missed the possible gametying 3 at the buzzer. Sarr recorded just one rebound while missing all four of his field-goal attempts.
The play of Kentucky’s perceived role players is a much-needed step for a wellrounded team, but for now the Wildcats look like a group lacking star power. That has rarely been the case in the Calipari era.
“We can’t expect one person or two people to score 25 a game,” Toppin said.