Where do you even begin?
We’ll start here: Kentucky just put forth one of the most embarrassing, inexplicable efforts we’ve seen since John Calipari arrived in Lexington back in 2009. Evansville and Robert Morris certainly lead the way, with Kansas State (March 22, 2018), Duke (November 6, 2018), West Virginia (March 27, 2010) and Wisconsin (April 4, 2015) all in the mix, as well.
Whatever the order, Georgia Tech (Dec. 6, 2020) deserves to be in that group, and it’s not debatable.
Like we saw in the second half against Richmond and Kansas, not once did you get the sense that Kentucky was ready to take the game over and pull off the come-from-behind victory. For every glimmer of hope and touch of momentum the Wildcats picked up on either end of the floor, they immediately tossed it away on the other. After cutting the lead down to just three (45-42) with 12:36 to go in the game, the Wildcats assumed their comeback effort was complete and decided to coast down the stretch.
The Yellow Jackets followed it up with an 11-0 run to take the game over and never looked back, laughing and cheering their way to an easy, breezy 79-62 victory.
The same Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets that opened the year with losses to Georgia State and Mercer for an ugly 0-2 start to the season. That Georgia Tech team.
Calipari said after the Kansas game that the Wildcats were “punked” against the Jayhawks, a description UK forward Isaiah Jackson felt fit the situation, as well. But if Kansas “punked” Kentucky in a three-point loss against a top-ten program, what would be the best description of tonight’s 17-point Holiday Hoopsgiving defeat? Considering the deficit, the competition – not as horrible as some made them out to be or their record may indicate, but point remains – and the pitiful effort, there are several words that sit on the tip of my tongue, none of them positive.
21 turnovers and 33 points off said turnovers is inexcusable. That carelessness is the key reason for the result, and it’s a significant one.
“We got 21 turnovers and they got (33) points off of them,” Calipari said after the game. “I probably don’t even need to speak on anything else.”
“If you turn the ball over 20 times and the other team scores 30 points, you’re not beating anybody. Hardest play, fumbled balls, we got out-toughed again. It is what it is. I’ve got so much work to do.
Looking elsewhere, Kentucky hit eight 3-pointers on 42.1% shooting from deep, both season highs. We’ve begged for a performance like that since opening night. They also shot 44.9% overall as a team, hit 10-11 free throws, outrebounded Georgia Tech by five (28-23), finished with more second chance points and managed the second-most assists of the year with 16. All numbers we’d be pleased with any other night.
But this wasn’t just any other night. This is an evening where the individual pieces on this roster didn’t live up to the five-star hype and typical expectations that come with high-profile incoming transfers such as Olivier Sarr. This is an evening where the team with more individual talent on paper was absolutely crushed on effort, execution and production by inferior competition in a way that rarely happens under John Calipari, with Evansville and Robert Morris being the only other notable instances.
Terrence Clarke finished with a team-high 22 points on 9-14 shooting and 3-4 from three to go with three rebounds and three assists. Most of the evening, the Boston, MA native was Kentucky’s lone offensive punch on the entire roster. What would have happened if his shots didn’t fall? The thought is vomit-inducing.
I keep coming back to the effort aspect of it all. Had the Wildcats gone out there and played hard, they were active on defense, moved the ball, found open shots, but just got flat-out beat by a desperate, gritty Georgia Tech team? Certainly a frustrating loss still, but one fans could probably live with and get over sooner rather than later.
This, though? This was rough. This was embarrassing. This was inexcusable.
Did the team care? Did you get that feeling from the bulk of the roster that they were in a can’t-lose situation, desperate to get back in the win column? One that was looking to prove naysayers wrong, quickly turn the season around, compete for a Southeastern Conference title and make a run to the Final Four? I didn’t get that feeling once, and that’s an issue.
Right now, this team has no fight, no win-first mentalities. We’ve been harping on it since the Richmond loss, but this is a team more focused on individual accolades and production than winning basketball games. Most teams ramp up intensity in the second half and look to throw haymakers down the stretch, this one avoids it. They’re not looking for a battle right now while the Yellow Jackets were ready to go to war.
Calipari has questions to answer, plenty of them, actually. When given that opportunity this evening, he walked out of the press conference in roughly six minutes after just three questions. His excuse was that the team had a bus to catch and needed to get back to Lexington, but Davion Mintz came out ten minutes later and stayed until the media ran out of questions. Good sport, professional, took criticism on the chin, said all the right things. Mintz owned up to the team’s issues, admitted they’ve dug themself a hole, but promised to climb back out before it’s too late.
“(The hole is) fairly deep, honestly,” Mintz said. “I mean, we had high expectations coming into the season. But in all honesty, this team is very inexperienced. … We’re going to keep battling through this, honestly. We dropped three (games). It’s nothing to just come back and win three in a row. So, if we put those together and figure this out, I think we’ll be just fine.”
At this point, I genuinely don’t think Calipari has the words to explain these games or what he’s saying on the floor. I think he’s scratching his head the same way we all are. We teased his “panic mode” comments and the potential 0-6 start to the season he predicted the week leading up to the season, but it’s become extremely clear that the panic is very real.
Judging by Kentucky’s bizarre rotations and lineups four games into the season, Calipari has no idea what to do with his team right now. He’s throwing s*** against the wall and hoping something sticks.
Lucky for us, that’s what he gets paid $8 million per year to figure out.
“You look at all of this stuff and it’s either a setback or you’re ready to say, ‘It’s setting us up for something that we need to do.’ Because every one of these games we’re learning,” Calipari said. “We’re learning. Now, we have to start winning some games. I hope we can.
“But my job is to make sure that we’re getting better, to put us in that position to win and help them at the end win games.”
Kentucky’s next opportunity for a victory will come on Saturday, Dec. 12 when the Wildcats take on Notre Dame at Rupp Arena at 12 p.m. ET.
Must-win territory is here.
