The open looks they had from three was very concerning. Gotta tighten that up a bit as the good teams aren't gonna miss those. Go Cats!!
Great win, but....
- Thread starter BucN1Cat
- Start date
Yep.. there gonna be a time where teams start hitting wide open threes .
I really doubt Pope was pushing them to get out on the shooters. They are a horrible shooting team. It was probably the plan to back off
That’s what I’m thinking as well.
I know a certain team that will have players left open on purpose to shoot the 3…. In Pope we Trust
I guess the OP never heard of the phrase, "there is a reason they are open!!!"
They came in the game shooting under 32% from 3.
They came in the game shooting under 32% from 3.
They started 2-20 from three. Seems like the game-plan was solid.
I'm not sure any coaches plan would be to let a team shoot wide open 3's.
If a team is hitting their 3's , Pope will adjust.
No only are you all correct on laying off guys, but per Lipscomb coach they felt like their 3s were contested due to our length. It got in their heads for sure, even if we were not right up on their guys.
If they suck *** at it? Let them take them. If they get hot, you adjust.
I was there , there were a lot of good looks Libscomb got off .. whether they were their preferred shooters I have no idea .. but I doubt Coach wants that many three point looks to be open
Their 2 centers took 12 of their 3's. and most of those were us backing off leaving them open on purpose , could that be some of what you saw? I mean we cant do that against Big Z but leaving opposing centers open until they hit one or 2 is a good strategy imo.
This, because if you guard those guys close, that opens up lanes for guards to slash through or you get back doored. It's a balancing act for sure. That's why if a team sucks at it, make them beat you that way.
It's 2024 , centers are your best shooters ( I jest). kinda
Thanks to the NBA and freaks of nature, it seems all the tall kids want to do is be SG's now days.
If the worst nitpicking we can do is “we weren’t guarding the shots they weren’t hitting” I’m feeling pretty good.
Yeah, Pope even mentioned it in his postgame. Lipscomb came in making those 2 point field goals. Those were their "money shots" so to speak. Go back and listen to his postgame comments. He speaks in great depth and uses terminology that I don't always fully comprehend, but I do think I'm getting the "gist" of it. They were better at making and creating quality 2s than threes. And that's what we were focused on stopping, and it worked. The long threes were not their strength. And even most of those were forced and challenged, especially in the first half. Now, there were some wide open threes and I totally agree we must stop those, especially against teams with multiple high level shooters. Against our offense, for example, that would be deadly.
Aren't you the guy who was super negative in the off season and couldn't stop yourself lol. I'm starting to notice a trend 
They actually shot solid from 3 but the last 2 games they have sucked.
Were averaging 10.25 per game and 38% from 3 the first 4 games.
Maybe Kentucky schools just play better d lol idk but they sucked against wku and UK.
Were averaging 10.25 per game and 38% from 3 the first 4 games.
Maybe Kentucky schools just play better d lol idk but they sucked against wku and UK.
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Yeah, but how many times have we seen a bad shooting team come into Rupp and torch the nets?
I just don't think you want to let anyone see the ball go through the net.
I can't imagine MP was good with leaving them that wide open. I mean, they were really open.
You have to respect all of the great basketball minds on here who know more than coach Pope. Some have vast experience watching basketball for years and some even played in grade school and beyond
What you got to look at is the second half. Did they get a bunch more threes open?
And on any of these threes all game was there good enough defense that it's possible the defensive hand caused the mess?
I think at least half the threes they took had good defense on em'!
The other half belongs to Rupp's Arena
!
He is notoriously a mfer for some players to shoot on. Especially when he likes his team.
Thanks buddy. R.I.P except for Ky games. Come visit anytime!
Rupp magic is alive again
And on any of these threes all game was there good enough defense that it's possible the defensive hand caused the mess?
I think at least half the threes they took had good defense on em'!
The other half belongs to Rupp's Arena
!He is notoriously a mfer for some players to shoot on. Especially when he likes his team.
Thanks buddy. R.I.P except for Ky games. Come visit anytime!
Rupp magic is alive again
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Maybe you noticed UK has a new coach, one who actually coaches, one who can make adjustments?
Such a cop out. Pope isn't perfect, the players don't execute his plan perfectly. And it is a completely valid criticism to speak on the wide open 3s they got last night.You have to respect all of the great basketball minds on here who know more than coach Pope. Some have vast experience watching basketball for years and some even played in grade school and beyond
Hey I'm not disagreeing, but I'm not sure it's the coach, we left them open last night just like Cal's teams did.
These teams get all jacked up to play in Rupp, especially against a highly ranked UK team. Usually they make those shots.
It's a new era at UK and CMP is making a big splash. I'm good with it. I love blowing teams out and I love a team that shoots threes.
Last point. After the Duke game, all I heard/read was how Duke has so much to learn and UK is much closer to their ceiling. Well, we might be closer to our ceiling, but there are still a lot of things we can improve on. Offensive rebounding is one, free throws is another and I think perimeter defense is a third thing. To me, this is a good thing, because all those things can be greatly improved on and we have veteran players, so this is going to be a fun ride.
Lipscomb does not shoot well from 3. The game plan was to give them open looks and shut down the back door hits. Worked really well.
Good or bad, the team obviously wasn't playing up to their full potential. They were playing an inferior opponent which made it hard for players to play with a high degree of urgency. This team isn't like a Cal coached team. They will not allow inferior opponents to hang around long enough to develop confidence that they can win the game.
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I understand your PTSD caused by our former coaching nightmare.
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