Again .... losing is not the issue.
It's "how" this team has lost it's last two NCAA games that is simply pathetic.
It's "how" this team has lost it's last two NCAA games that is simply pathetic.
Post game comments by Devin and Huggs.
- Thread starter Kinzua Kid
- Start date
And which of those teams played half as bad as we played against KY last year or SFA this year?
Losing is not the issue .... taking the court and looking completely unprepared is.
Dude. 3s routinely lose to 14s. In the last 5 years, 2 seeds have started routinely losing to 15s. If you're going to lose your mind every time a team you like gets upset then go root for Kentucky.
DUDE.... HOW STUPID ARE YOU?
I have repeatedly said that the issue IS NOT losing the games.
The issue is HOW FREAKING UNPREPARED THEY WERE FOR TWO YEARS IN A ROW!
You need to quit knocking down arguments that I am not making.
The issue is not that they lost .... it's how they lost that is the issue.
For two years in a row they have ended the NCAA tourney with not just a loss, but with epic losses.
You would do well to say something like .... "It really sucks that for two years in a row this team has just collapsed in its final games. Let's hope that next year is better." Whatever you say ... quit denying reality.
I'm not taking sides in this but 3s do not "routinely" lose to 14s. I think a graphic they showed last night was something like 18 or 20 wins against 120 losses. That is not routine. And 2s have only lost a few against 15s. I think you're exaggerating a bit to soften the blow against some very embarrassing losses two years in a row. Some of that has to go on the coaches.
That team did not underestimate Kentucky. I think that's absurd. Their trash talking may have given that appearance but you don't just go trash talking against a 35-0 team named Kentucky-a blueblood. It's not like they were facing 35-0 Montana State.
What that was, was false bravado because as soon as Kentucky showed their might WVU folded like a cheap suit. Because they were seeing exactly what they feared deep down.
This time they thought they were too good. But inevitable both embarrassments are on the coaches as much as the players. Huggs has got to show more flexibility than this.
Do you want to go back to NOT making the tournament??? Huggins has admitted that his teams the last two years had major flaws.
Only an emotional baby would call getting beat by a paid for top talent team like Kentucky in THE SWEET SIXTEEN an epic fail. A sweet sixteen appearance was the best we could hope for under Catlett. And JB? He left us for Michigan, so maybe you want that to happen again? Enjoy Huggins!!!
Paid for? lol.. Calipari is just a superior recruiter. Bob Huggins used to recruit top notch talent at Cincinnati but for some reason, he lost that touch over the years. Also, he choked in the tournament with that talent unlike Coach Cal.
Calipari has left TWO programs in his wake with sanctions. Recruits were PAID to come to his programs, and the same is happening in UK.
"Calipari is just a superior recruiter. Bob Huggins used to recruit top notch talent at Cincinnati but for some reason, he lost that touch over the years."
You're on to something there. What Huggins is no longer able to recruit is skilled basketball players. We have a bunch of guys who can't shoot, can't pass, can't catch, can't run offense and can't play half-court defense without fouling or giving up a layup. We don't even have a true point guard in the starting lineup. What we have are a bunch of good athletes who happen to be on a basketball team.
We need skilled basketball players not athletes with no basketball skills.
You're on to something there. What Huggins is no longer able to recruit is skilled basketball players. We have a bunch of guys who can't shoot, can't pass, can't catch, can't run offense and can't play half-court defense without fouling or giving up a layup. We don't even have a true point guard in the starting lineup. What we have are a bunch of good athletes who happen to be on a basketball team.
We need skilled basketball players not athletes with no basketball skills.
I can agree somewhat. The on-paper recruiting ballyhoo is not what it used to be for Huggins. Look at his 2007 K-State class. His two biggest billed recruits here were Ebanks + Ahmad.
There's been some swings and misses, touted guys that didn't live up, but recruiting success too. Measure it by what they do on the court.
Williams - 4 stars. Many high major offers. Accurately tabbed spot on.
KJ - 4 stars. One of our best forwards in program history. 5th all-time scorer. 4th leading rebounder.
Truck - 3 stars. Scored 1,590 points at WV. Ain't bad.
Obviously Staten was a big recruiting success. Paige & Phillip collectively delivered a lot & weren't highly sought. I thought Gary Browne was a solid guard. Bender sounds to have a big upside & brings a different element. I'd be up for some more Butler/Ruoff/Nichols/Young types. Inject some shooting + bball IQ with the defensive athletes. Maybe that's Bender/Harler/Beetle?
There's been some swings and misses, touted guys that didn't live up, but recruiting success too. Measure it by what they do on the court.
Williams - 4 stars. Many high major offers. Accurately tabbed spot on.
KJ - 4 stars. One of our best forwards in program history. 5th all-time scorer. 4th leading rebounder.
Truck - 3 stars. Scored 1,590 points at WV. Ain't bad.
Obviously Staten was a big recruiting success. Paige & Phillip collectively delivered a lot & weren't highly sought. I thought Gary Browne was a solid guard. Bender sounds to have a big upside & brings a different element. I'd be up for some more Butler/Ruoff/Nichols/Young types. Inject some shooting + bball IQ with the defensive athletes. Maybe that's Bender/Harler/Beetle?
And so does his recruiting. If you can't score the basket ball you can't win consistently. What did anyone see in Carter?
He can't shoot a lick.
It is obvious that they didn't take it serious so why should be have great passion for them?
"They've never played a team like us." or something to that effect is what Dax said. They severely underestimated KY.
But nice try.
Quit twisting what I have said into whatever argument you can imagine and then calling me a whiny baby.
Losing to KY was not an epic fail.
Losing to SFA was not an epic fail.
What makes both of those losses epic failures is the way they lost.
That they came out completely unprepared is what makes those losses epic failures.
Some of you are just emotionally and intellectually incapable of saying that Huggs team has stunk up the joint big time in its last two NCAA appearances. At least Huggs acknowledges that he did not prepare his team. You would be wise to do the same.
I understand what you are trying to connect here, but your trying to compare apples and oranges. The only thing they have in common is they are both losses.
Last year we lost in the sweet 16 to a team we did not match up well with and to that end their players were better at every position last year and their bench was deeper and better. On top of that, they had far superior athletic talent and a front line that was taller and longer than 95% of the NBA teams last year.
There was nothing that Huggs and his assistants could scheme up that could combat Kentucky. In a different time and era Huggs could have taken the air out of the ball and made the game one of those 30 point winning score type games but there is a shot clock.
The SFA game was all about the coaching and the execution of an inferior game plan IMO. Certain players were talking about bad practices and players not preparing correctly. How in the hell does a team work their collective asses off for a year only to shit it all away in the last 2 weeks of the season and how does a staff let it get to that point? That is the real question but it has nothing to do with the loss last year so quit trying to tie them together.
No ... that's not the only thing they have in common. Let me help you out.
Both losses ...
1) Were in the NCAA tournament.
2) In each instance the team not only lost, they looked completely unprepared.
But keep at ... eventually you'll figure it out.
Again, a little more slowly for those like you whom fail to grasp the differences in your argument.
We were prepared for Kentucky, they beat us down with superior talent and athletism.
We were not prepared for SFA, they beat us with scheme and execution.
Absolutely different circumstances.
Let's see here .... Last year in the NCAA's the incredibly invincible KY Wildcats opened with a HUGE 23 point win over .... over ... Hampton (79-56).
Then they ramped it up when they demolished Cincy (65-51) by 14 points!
Then they doubled us up 78-39. (That was a 39 point defeat)
Then they clobbered Notre Dame by 2 points! (68-66)
And after that game they turned on the after-burners and .... and.... and they lost to Wisconsin 71-64.
There was only ONE team they absolutely demolished and embarrassed in the NCAAs last year.
But I bet that your memory is so selective that you THINK you remember KY trashing the field en-route to an NCAA Championship.
We ended last season with an epic loss to KY in the NCAA.
Nobody else did.
If you choose to believe that there was no way for us to loose by far less than 39 points to KY last year then you have less respect for Huggs than I do.
Id like to see your preparation strategy. We can ACT like coaches all we want, but only real coaches can prepare for the dance. I think your team would look worse. Huggs took blame, and that is deserved, but it's not all on him. And give some credit to SFA please. They played solid!
We were not close to the talent that UK had last year. Most coaches would be at home watching the 1st round with our roster in our conference.
Daxter Miles little quote about giving them their first loss was what caused them to keep pounding us and pounding us. Calipari let them run up the score.
You want to say the games were the same but they were completely different losses for completely different reasons.
I've watched you do this with other posters. You cannot except that your position is incorrect.
But it is. Move along now.
39 points is not an epic loss?
I have only said that both games were epic losses by a WVU team that was completely unprepared for what was waiting for them.
Your Huggs love renders you incapable of seeing what is right in front of you.
Oh ... and the word is "accept", not "except."
I fully accept that the basketball team has finished the last two seasons with epic losses in the NCAA tournament. Why you are unable to do that is your problem.
Neither was any other team they played. But apparently that is irrelevant because if you admit that KY had much more talent than all of the other teams they played in the NCAAs it makes our loss look as bad as it was.
Face it guys. We have finished the last two seasons with epic losses in the NCAA tournament. There is absolutely no other way to twist it, though you keep trying.
I think its time for you boys to run along now.
I think its time for you boys to run along now.
So your argument is about the definition of "epic"? Loses are loses....."epic" meaning what? Substantial? Memorable?
Stop bashing the man for not bringing home the NC please. He wants it more than you! If you want to offer a name to replace him?????? That's what I thought.....all whiny, bitchy, little tough guy BS talk. Really wish I could shut fools like you up!
And one more thought about Dax, and at least one other player, I think, running their mouth to the press like winning the game against KY last year.
Doesn't that point to improper preparation for the game?. They were more concerned about talking up a good game than they were about respecting their opponent and giving due diligence in preparing. And this year there was admission all around that they didn't properly prepare for SFA.
Doesn't that point to improper preparation for the game?. They were more concerned about talking up a good game than they were about respecting their opponent and giving due diligence in preparing. And this year there was admission all around that they didn't properly prepare for SFA.
Nice try what? Does every answer have to be combative with you? For one thing, your quote of him wasn't the only thing they said and they were a bit more brash than that. That is false bravado. Plus, I don't see how your quote proves your point about underestimating vs false confidence.
Besides, it is ridiculous to try and argue that any team is going to underestimate any undefeated team that makes it to the NCAA's. I don't buy that for a second. They knew who and what Kentucky was and we saw what happened as soon as UK imposed their will, WVU folded like a child. And they did the same thing against UVA when they couldn't figure it out.
I'm not necessarily arguing with you about your main point it's just that when I heard those comments before the UK game I knew something was wrong. It didn't add up considering UK was literally undefeated that late in the season.
You need to quit attacking for things I am not saying. I've not said one word about Huggs bringing home, or not bringing home, a championship.
I have said REPEATEDLY that both of these losses were epic failures because of the lack of preparation that went a long way to create the final outcome.
I have said REPEATEDLY that the issue is not that they lost, but it is the way they lost.
I am sorry that you haven't zeroed in on my main point. But that is not my fault. So quit attributing things to me that I am not saying.
We have have finished the last two season with epic losses in the NCAA tournament because our team was completely unprepared.
My whole position is they were different losses for different reasons. You said both losses were that the team was not prepared.
I said that we were not prepared for SFA. Being prepared or not had nothing to do with the Kentucky loss.
You are trying to twist and change the argument like another poster you usually argue with and get extremely upset with when he does it.
Were they both "epic " losses? Yes, if you consider the scores in conjunction to the team, but both losses were not for the same reason which was your original estimation.
Now, go take a nap.
Those comments in the press point to a faulty preparation for that game. Call it false bravado if you will. But they acted like they could win the game in the press. Meanwhile they were completely unprepared for the court and they suffered an epic loss.
Good grief .... I gave a general reason of not being prepared for each team and you twist that into me saying that we lost both games for the same exact reasons.
Again ... my only point has been that we have suffered epic losses in the NCAA the past two seasons against teams we were not prepared to play against. But you guys twist that assertion into all kinds of other arguments that you proceed to knock down.,
They were NOT prepared to even compete against KY. They acted like they could win the game in the press.
That equaled an epic loss.
They, even the coach, admit that they were not prepared to play SFA.... Another epic loss.
It's really not hard to understand guys.
Passing to the wrong team time after time even when they were not being guarded closely was atrocious.
It doesn't wipe out a great regular season and Big 12 tourney but it sure leaves a foul taste. Maybe the women can last a while. They already out-did the men by winning the first round game.
One more thing .... being prepared for KY does mean that we would have necessarily have won.
But if they had kept their mouth shut and focused on preparing to the best of their abilities I feel very confident that they would not have come close to losing by 39 points.
But their lack of proper preparation set them up for a beat down of the ages.
I think that I have clearly and repeatedly made my point.
But if they had kept their mouth shut and focused on preparing to the best of their abilities I feel very confident that they would not have come close to losing by 39 points.
But their lack of proper preparation set them up for a beat down of the ages.
I think that I have clearly and repeatedly made my point.
Fine .... then please go back into my posts and show me where I have made any other argument other than the one I say that I am making.
I see what you're saying but I just don't see a lack of preparation from that UK game, though I admit I don't remember much details of the game other than we got our heads bashed in and it was embarrassing beyond belief just as it was yesterday.
But you notice how a lot of people will point to a lack of preparation just because a team loses? But just because a team loses doesn't mean they were necessarily unprepared.
I'm just arguing here. But I don't think Huggs' teams the past two years are as mentally tough as everyone has made them out to be. They seem to fold when things don't go there way. Not that they never make comebacks and they looked awesome at Iowa St and that was no slouch victory. But in other times against real quality opponents like UK last year and UVA this year, they couldn't re-adjust to the adjustment of the other team.
I think Hugg's needs to adapt more flexibility in his strategy because there's more than one way to play the game but from his comments he doesn't seem to have confidence in his team to adapt to other styles considering he's got a deep team with different individual styles within. It's just odd to me.
I understand .... there really is nothing to say against my main point so you now resort to personal insults.
That is actually a tactic of Keaton. Not what I am doing.
That is actually a tactic of Keaton. Not what I am doing.
