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The Kentucky Wildcats are not off to a great start to the 2020-21 season after blowing a 13-point lead to lose 65-62 to the Kansas Jayhawks.
The Cats’ frustrating loss comes on the heels of a disappointing 76-64 loss to the Richmond Spiders on Sunday.
In the loss to Kansas, the Cats continued to struggle on the offensive side of things, as they shot just 36% from the floor and 14% from three.
Despite the poor shooting, the Cats had a chance with 10 seconds left to force overtime due to their outstanding defense that held Kansas to 29% shooting.
The Cats didn’t get what was needed from their two stars. B.J. Boston finished with 12 points but he 4/13 shooting. Terrence Clarke logged just 6 points and was 3/11 shooting and fouled out.
On the night, Boston and Clarke were 0/8 from three, and the two are a combined 0/19 from deep on the year.
While several players from this year’s roster were expected to leave for the NBA Draft following this season, John Calipari has some advice for them as they look to get on the right track.
“I tell them to unpack their bags...put the clothes in the dresser. Let’s worry about being a good college player and a good college team,” Calipari stated.
After back to back clunker performances, Coach Cal should have the team’s attention and they should start listening to what he has to say.
“What you’re doing is not working so now it’s time to listen,” Calipari said. “But I’ve had guys...I call them a little bit delusional...that have excuses. It’s always somebody else because they’ve been enabled their whole life. If any of these guys are like that, they won’t change, and they will be who they are.
“Hopefully, they trust me enough to know I’ve got their best interest at heart. I know how to do this for them. But you’ve got to listen. We’ve got to learn from this.”
A major issue so far has been the turnovers committed by points guards Devin Askew and Davion Mintz.
“Our point guards can’t have eight turnovers between them,” Calipari said. “Over-dribbling and trying to control the ball versus just give it up and get away.”
One thing we all need to remember is that this is a group of 10 new guys that have never played together before and they are currently missing their leader in Keion Brooks Jr.
For all these guys, this is the first time they have played on a stage like Kentucky and have never been pushed like this.
“This is all stuff that it’s on me to get these kids to play right,” Calipari stated. “They’re a little immature because they’re 19 years old. They’ve never been challenged and coached this way, and they’ve never played in an environment like Kentucky.”
On the bright side, the Cats’ defense is already outstanding, and we just need to give them a little time to figure out how to play offense at the college level as a team.