Frank Martin important point re: Harrisons & Booker/Ulis

[revcort]

Frank Martin was asked a question after the game implying how great Booker and Ulis are. The comparison to the Harrisons was implied and he had a great answer that I think would be helpful to some here.

He said that UK is very fortunate to have the Harrisons back because they've been in the battles and they've been to a title game. They came back to win a title this year and they are the ones carrying that pressure.

Meanwhile, Ulis and Booker can come in and just play without carrying the weight of the team on their shoulders. They can be relaxed and just play. This often makes them look better.

I think this an excellent insight on Martin's part and something we UK fans should consider when we start comparing our backcourt players and talking about how superior the freshmen are. Fact is, they wouldn't be performing at such a high level if they were having to truly carry the full weight of leading the team on their shoulders.

 

[Bkocats]

Frank is very insightful. I agree with this -

Plus, another comment made about Tyler and Devin: they practice against those guys every day too

 

[RKulmer]

Now that is a great point. Thanks Frank.

 

[docholiday51]

Martin makes a great point,it is like Cal said earlier this week "if it rains in Lexington it is the twins fault,if there is an accident on I-75 and traffic gets backed up it's the twins fault"

Evrybody that plays brings something to the team,some nights they are great,some nights they are good and some nights they are average.We need them all to get where we want to go.

 

[TruBluCatFan]

Actually it's not Aaron's fault. Cal said it was all Andrew's fault. 😜
Posted from Rivals Mobile

 

[revcort]

Originally posted by docholiday51:

Martin makes a great point,it is like Cal said earlier this week "if it rains in Lexington it is the twins fault,if there is an accident on I-75 and traffic gets backed up it's the twins fault"

Evrybody that plays brings something to the team,some nights they are great,some nights they are good and some nights they are average.We need them all to get where we want to go.

Absolutely Doc.

There have been games we wouldn't have won without Andrew, Aaron, Ulis, and Booker. All these guys are contributing at different times. It's unfair to any of them to try to rank them or make statements about who is better or who deserves more minutes. Those things usually take care of themselves game to game. Our discussions are usually unproductive and end up devolving into useless debate. Fact is, they're all on the team and they're all needed. I'm glad we have all 4 of these guys.

 

[hoodro]

Brett Dawson touched on this point just a few days ago.

https://kentucky.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=172820

 

[minjo]

No good reason to compare players. They are all parts of each other. To compare a foot with an elbow or an arm with a leg is not an issue. It is the whole body as a unit that counts. To me This is a team, you can only compare it with other teams.
I would not change any of our players with any player of another team. GO CATS

 

[26MichaelUK]

Exactly what me and a few others were saying in the 2 Harrison bashing threads that were on here earlier.

 

[Graves51]

Thank goodness Frank cleared that up for us!

 

[ukwazoo]

I agree for the most part, but Ulis has hit some BIG, pressure-packed shots this year.

 

[Big John Stud]

Too funny, a lot of you have been trashing players for years, there has always been discussions on who should get minutes and who shouldn't, now thats off limits and you're bashing the twins if you say Ulis and Booker are better?

 

[FFWhite]

Great having 4 kids who can win a ball game for you.

 

[know1]

Martin is a psychopath. I wouldn't give much credence to anything he says.

 

[ukwazoo]

Originally posted by MdWIldcat55:

"Ulis has hit some BIG, pressure-packed shots this year."

Yeah, when has one of the Harrisons done that for UK?

Why some Kentucky fans would prefer to have fewer quality guards with different but highly valuable skills sharing playing time is a mystery.

I don't disagree that the Harrisons have more pressure, but to say Ulis has little to no pressure is laughable. Cal has had him in there in clutch spots and he has taken some big shots. Now, if we lose, the Harrisons probably would take more heat than the other two guards, but if Ulis was stinking up the joint this year, he would NOT get a free pass from the fans. So again, I agree for the most part with Martin's opinion, but the freshman guards have some pressure, too. This is Kentucky, where everyone is under the microscope.

 

[BigBlueTom1_rivals]

They absolutely have pressure, but no where near the pressure they would have if the twins hadn't come back, and no where near the pressure the twins had to endure last year. I've tried to explain that to some fans all year long that want to bash the twins. We have the perfect balance the chemistry is great and the players aren't complaining, but yet there are still some ignorant fans that want bash the twins and claim that Ulis and Booker should be playing more. Get over it and enjoy the ride. GO BIG BLUE!!!

 

[SkyPrince1]

It's not like Andrew has to cure cancer to get fans off his back. Just play better.

You really can't argue that the bar is set to high considering the current class of SEC PG's.

Puzzling that Andrew couldn't perform better against a team like Vandy when he seemingly had the physical advantage over his opponents.

I watched Andrew absolutly destroy Cat Barber three years ago when both were HS JR's. I think Cat has closed that gap considerably.

We as fans have to root for Andrew to become more consistant. I just hope that he will be ready for the chalenges that lie ahead in March.

 

[jpbky2]

The same people that bash the twins are the ones that will be on "pins and needles" in April hoping they come back for one more year. We have a friend who is a manager for one of the SEC teams and he says that their guards say Andrew and Aaron are as good as anybody they played. He said they are as strong as an ox and they make you go where they want you to go. Plus, they are 5-1 in NCAA tournament action and I'll take that going into this year's tournament. If you ever went to practice, watch how Andrew and Aaron post up Ulis and Booker and you can see why they will be valuable at the next level. It won't happen on this team, but for my money, Aaron is the best post up player on the team. If you don't believe me, pull out some tape from the games in the Bahamas.

 

[Hjack]

Originally posted by Bkocats:

Frank is very insightful. I agree with this -

Plus, another comment made about Tyler and Devin: they practice against those guys every day too

BKO, totally agree. I have been saying all year that the key to this team is the simple fact that they have to practice against a top 10 team every day.

The guys probably look forward to most games because they are playing a much easier team.

 

[It'saDoneDeal]

@ people actually taking to heart what a coach says to the freaking public/media.

When you get beat double digits at home, you're one goal post-game is to not say anything that is disrespectful or creates any kind of controversy/distraction. You say some nice words, and you go onto the next one.

What do people expect him to realistically say? "Well, you know I really impressed by the floor game of Ulis, thought Aaron played aggressive, and that Devon Booker, wow, he's something special... But you know, that Andrew Harrison sure was underwhelming. You guys are talking about that guy being in the NBA? If that kid makes a NBA roster I'll show you the worst roster in NBA history, c'mon."

And for the record, I don't think any one is on here criticizing "the Harrisons." Last time I checked, Aaron and Andrew are different human beings and basketball players. Aaron is playing fine. But if it helps some people on here create strawman arguments and deflect against valid basketball talk, so be it.

 

[J.C.D.M.]

Originally posted by ~Keyser Soze~:
Too funny, a lot of you have been trashing players for years, there has always been discussions on who should get minutes and who shouldn't, now thats off limits and you're bashing the twins if you say Ulis and Booker are better?

I think that's because of the make up of this particular team. Trying to keep 9-10 players happy is hard, and chemistry problems are the one thing that can definitely ruin this team. Right now, one the best attributes of this team is their chemistry. If they want to be special, then that chemistry has to continue to grow.

Players are already sacrficing minutes as it is. Taking even more minutes away from any of them, and possibly causing chemistry problems will not help this team in the long run. The twins are happy. Ulis and Booker are happy. The rest of the team is happy. Cal is even happy. The only people who aren't happy are UK fans. Imagine that. UK is 19-0, #1 in the country, and favorites to win the title. Why even attempt to mess with that just to give a couple of players 5-10 extra minutes a game?

Anything that could possibly cause chemistry problems, and derail this team from becoming special and reaching their ultimate goal like we all know their capable of doing isn't worth discussing. I guarantee if you ask any player on the team what they want most, a title or more playing time, 100% will not even think twice to say a title. The fans should feel the same way. Who cares who gets more minutes as long as UK strives to reach their goal? That's what the players are focused on and the fans should be as well.
This post was edited on 1/25 8:56 AM by J.C.D.M.

 

[Spanish Radio]

Originally posted by J.C.D.M.:

Originally posted by ~Keyser Soze~:
Too funny, a lot of you have been trashing players for years, there has always been discussions on who should get minutes and who shouldn't, now thats off limits and you're bashing the twins if you say Ulis and Booker are better?

I think that's because of the make up of this particular team. Trying to keep 9-10 players happy is hard, and chemistry problems are the one thing that can definitely ruin this team. Right now, one the best attributes of this team is their chemistry. If they want to be special, then that chemistry has to continue to grow.

Players are already sacrficing minutes as it is. Taking even more minutes away from any of them, and possibly causing chemistry problems will not help this team in the long run. The twins are happy. Ulis and Booker are happy. The rest of the team is happy. Cal is even happy. The only people who aren't happy are UK fans. Imagine that. UK is 19-0, #1 in the country, and favorites to win the title. Why even attempt to mess with that just to give a couple of players 5-10 extra minutes a game?

Anything that could possibly cause chemistry problems, and derail this team from becoming special and reaching their ultimate goal like we all know their capable of doing isn't worth discussing. I guarantee if you ask any player on the team what they want most, a title or more playing time, 100% will not even think twice to say a title. The fans should feel the same way. Who cares who gets more minutes as long as UK strives to reach their goal? That's what the players are focused on and the fans should be as well.

This post was edited on 1/25 8:56 AM by J.C.D.M.

A small subset of UK fans and various trolls that come over to this board from IU's board, Louisville's board, the UNC*** board, and the Memphis board . Much of the unhappiness comes from listening to talking heads who get paid to spout garbage and who wouldn't last two seasons as a coach at a D1 school.

 

[revcort]

Originally posted by It'saDoneDeal:

@ people actually taking to heart what a coach says to the freaking public/media.

When you get beat double digits at home, you're one goal post-game is to not say anything that is disrespectful or creates any kind of controversy/distraction. You say some nice words, and you go onto the next one.

What do people expect him to realistically say? "Well, you know I really impressed by the floor game of Ulis, thought Aaron played aggressive, and that Devon Booker, wow, he's something special... But you know, that Andrew Harrison sure was underwhelming. You guys are talking about that guy being in the NBA? If that kid makes a NBA roster I'll show you the worst roster in NBA history, c'mon."

And for the record, I don't think any one is on here criticizing "the Harrisons." Last time I checked, Aaron and Andrew are different human beings and basketball players. Aaron is playing fine. But if it helps some people on here create strawman arguments and deflect against valid basketball talk, so be it.

Actually, I'm chuckling a bit at you man. We're supposed to dismiss a man's opinion who has been coaching for 20 years but we're supposed to accept YOUR opinion because you say it's likely he's telling us what he thinks we want to hear? That's funny. Martin likely knows a bit more about these sitatuons than you. I'm just guessing.

And actually, if you listen to his comments for yourself in context (and I doubt seriously you have), you'd be able to tell that his comments weren't intended as a defense of the Harrisons at all. In fact he had just raved about Booker, saying, "God he's good!" Should we dismiss that too or does that fit your opinion better?

No he's offering his educated view and it makes sense. It's reasonable. He wasn't asked "so some say the Harrisons aren't nearly as good as Booker/Ulis. What's your opinion?" He just volunteered this. He didn't even have to address it. So I think I'll listen to what he says and take it for what it's worth- an experienced and expert opinion. I'll take yours for what it's worth also. An anonymous message board poster who is telling the rest of us we're dumb for listening to an opposing coach's opinion. That's not worth much to me.

 

[Crawfords Corner]

Very simple. It doesn't matter who is better than who because they are all very good players and bring different things to the table to HELP their team win. They aren't on opposing sides. They give UK one of the top 3-4 back courts in the nation. Perhaps the best back court overall in the nation. And the great thing about that is we get to cheer them all on because they play for our Wildcats.