Wellt, that was interesting.
Of course, a considerable number of our “Concerned” fanbase is going to blame Sheray. For most of this season, some have considered Sheray not a “Kentucky-caliber” player. Others use Sheray as the shining example why Tubby cannot be trusted with the Wildcats. So as the heat builds on Tubby, those fans overanalyze Sheray’s play, looking for each busted defensive assignment, poor shot selection, and turnover. There are also the Perry Stephenson fans, who blame Tubby for favoring Sheray over the freshman. After the Big Blue Boo, Thomas’ play analysis was brought up almost as much as our stars.
And right before his lane violation, Sheray was the hero! With an amazing tap-in to put UK up by 2 with 31 seconds left, Thomas had righted all his Big Blue wrongs! How quickly the fates of this star-crossed player changed!
But was the lane violation Sheray’s fault? After the game, Tubby took the blame for the lane violation. John Clay reported:
Both Sheray Thomas and Tubby Smith said that Smith told Sheray to “get back,” which caused the lane violation before Jodie Meeks’ second free throw with 5.1 seconds left in regulation. Smith said he did not realize that the official was already passing the ball back to Meeks for the second free throw.
Whether that was true or not, its the consistent classy move we’d expect from our coach. “Put the blame on me, Concerned fans,” Tubby metaphorically says, “and leave the kid alone.” And for this incident — the most terrible incident that will probably forever link Sheray’s Wildcat History with the word “choke” — I do believe the Coach; its Tubby fault.
But losing this game was not just Tubby and Sheray’s fault, and it wasn’t centered on just a lane violation. Let’s spread out the blame fairly.
- Joe Crawford — Joe Giveth, and Joe Taketh Away. He caught fire working his drives in the second half. One of the best finishers in the game, he is just amazing around the basket! But at the end of OT he was making some of his typical “Damn The Collapsing D and My Teammates” drives. That second-to-last OT possession was just wretched judgment on his part, as there were 4 defenders around him.
- Bobby Perry — Reverted back to “pre-March Bobby”. 5 points on 1 for 5 shooting didn’t help, and I didn’t see too many plays where Perry looked to shoot jumpers or drive, like he has been.
- Jodie Meeks — What happens if Jodie doesn’t blow that hardly-contested layup in OT? It was one painful little scratch in a sterling performance off the bench.
- Derek Jasper — Was played by the game, and did not play the game. Spent a lot of time fouling.
- Ramel Bradley — Oh, Hova. 3 points on 1 of 8 shooting? Six turnovers, several of which killed our first-half momentum?
- Defensive Effort for the Whole Team — With under 10 minutes in the second half, Kentucky was down by 13. Why? They were letting Mississippi State score unlimited driving baskets, were not challenging the ball handlers, and otherwise looked outhustled on D. Our guards tried to counter on the offensive side with three point attempts and forced play. The inconsistency, as usual, helped us dig a hole that we were unable to climb out of. I have no idea why this continues on a Orlando Tubby Smith “Our Defensive Intensity Creates Our Offense” team, so lets just blame the whole lot of them.
- Mississippi State never was “put away” — Credit to the Bulldogs for scrapping, fighting and flopping all over the court. I joked about midway through the first half that Dietric Slater and some of the other Bulldogs were taking Drama courses this year. This is not because of Dietric playing with pain, which was admirable; his return to the game after that hard faceplant in the first half is not lost on me. But I saw MSU players, including Dietric, falling backward after just about every contested jumper. The officiating crew actually actively avoided calling jump-shot fouls in the second half because of it.
But enough about the flopping; MSU matched UK’s intensity, found big shots when they needed them, and then relied on their aggressive D to carry them to the win. However, if UK’s players played as well as they say they can play, MSU should have been put away in the closing moments of the second half.
Let me clarify that overall, I was pleased with the effort our Wildcats gave today, and my “spreading of blame” above should not take away my admiration I have for the Wildcat players. My list is to emphasize that Sheray was not alone; he did not lose the game for us. The Tubby-directed lane violation wouldn’t have mattered if we were up by at least two possessions’ worth of scores. Correct one or more of the previous mistakes that were made before Sheray’s lane violation, the outcome is most likely different.
So I hope you folks don’t pick out Sheray as an “example”. He’s played hard, he’s made some errors and he’s also made some clutch plays; a huge rebound here, a good shot there, the almost-but-not-quite game-winning tip today. He’s just inconsistent, just like everybody else. And this inconsistent team effort, directly related to Coach Smith and his staff, produces disappointing results.
≠
