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.
March 9th, 2007 at 7:25 pm
np, np, np. I’m glad you wrote this, so I didn’t have to write the “it’s not all Sheray’s fault post”. I actually may have something anyway for later. Again, np.
March 9th, 2007 at 8:17 pm
“20 wins and a tourney appearance make for a good season and coach”
“20 wins and a tourney appearance make for a good season and coach”
“20 wins and a tourney appearance make for a good season and coach”
Repeat that phrase over and over until you start to believe it. If it helps, you may take drugs or whatever the media eats in order to help make it seems more real.
Under no circumstances should you criticize a player who played 30 minutes, had 5 points, 2 rebounds, and 2 assists and calls that a near career high performance.
Somebody let me know when Tubby’s gone cause I can’t stand to watch this crap anymore.
March 9th, 2007 at 8:23 pm
Aaron if you are going to use that type of logic, this loss falls squarely on the shoulders of Ramel Bradley. 1 for 8 fg’s, 3 points, 2 rebounds, 4 fouls, 6 turnovers, and 31 minutes.
March 9th, 2007 at 9:50 pm
ITS NOT SHERAYS FAULT!!! If UK would have played a better second halt they would have never gotten down 14pts. PEOPLE anyone who knows basketballs knows you WIN as a TEAM and you lose as a TEAM… I dont like losing no more than any of you do but its ridiculous to blame a guy that has been bashed and bashed by us UK fans and almost saves our ass to begin with. But if he hadnt have gotten the lane violation he would have been your hero.. All Im going to say is when the cats are back on top again and it WILL happen in time. I guess we will still have room for you on the bandwagon. You stick with your team win or lose not just when they are winning!!!!
March 9th, 2007 at 10:04 pm
Hey Aaron better ideal. You can quit watching because true UK fans doesnt need negative fans like you.
March 9th, 2007 at 10:47 pm
I am a die Hard True Blue UK Fan. The one play by Sheray is not why we lost the game. His play only came at a critical point and was highlighted by everyone. I a not a Sheray Fan. Anyone that knows basketball, knows you can’t back away from the lane like that. Definately not a smart move.
Let’s all face it. This team doesn’t have what it takes mentally or physically to win consitently. The coach(Tubby) doesn’t have what it takes to make this team get any better.
It used to be for me that when Football season was going on and we were getting killed by all the SEC, I would tell all my friends just wait till basketball season arrives. Now I have to tell them just wait till football season arrives.
Go Big Blue!!!!
March 10th, 2007 at 12:07 am
I just can’t understand why there were so many minutes of Play for Thomas…All that does is give Miss. an extra man to put on Morris.
Also, why weren’t ALL the PLAYERS BACK with just 5 seconds to go? What, did Meeks need them there to watch him shoot? They should have had everyone back and doubled down on that guy who tied it…
Also, what’s the deal with having Thomas, Orbzut and Jasper all on the court at the same time? Talk about NO OFFENSE!!
Also, why can’t they understand the necessity of inbounding it, no matter what when there’s only 3 seconds left?
All the things I list reflect on COACH TUBBY SMITH!! His coaching SUX!
UK will never win another SEC title or be in a final 4 until we Scrub the Tub…
March 10th, 2007 at 9:12 am
Glad to see there are a few informed fans out there …
Yes, it is a TEAM effort. Yes, we must consider Ramel - and a few others, too - about their play and not just Sheray. Yes, we must stick with the team win or lose. Yes, we must wonder about some of the coaching calls, but we must also trust our coach to make them, win or lose.
We should also ask about the ticky-tack fouls being called on Joe and Woo, while State guys were beating our guys up and getting away with it. Where was that intentional foul call when Jodie got mugged?
Instead of trying to find any one thing to blame for the loss, why don’t you look at any one thing that could have prevented the loss - like Coach Smith did in his comments - too many easy layups. Too many easy drives to the hole. At least a few guys took charges.
If a coach who is known and respected for good defense, year in and year out, has a team that often fails to play good defense, whom do you blame? Not the coach. Unless you just hate the coach and are looking for any excuse to justify that.
That was a good, tough game yesterday. I saw a lot of good things to build on. At least they didn’t roll over and hand them the keys, like at Florida. These guys fought hard - and even Ramel didn’t get down on himself, and took his shot when it came.
Go Cats! Go home, whiners!
March 10th, 2007 at 9:38 am
How does one score 29 points and not get the freakin ball in OT=crappy coaching. At worst he gets it and four guys dive in on him leaving somebody open (hopefully not Sheray). I actually think Tubby is a good coach, he just needs a fresh start. I think all the pressure is getting to him and he’s making bad decisions. Who cares how bad Bradley played, he’s got to be in there in the OT. That makes Perry the one catching the ball wide open, instead of Sheray. I’ll give Sheray the credit for the tip, but is constantly wide open and can’t shoot. Here’s to another 8 seed and a second round close loss to a #1. Bring on Travis Ford!!!!!!
March 10th, 2007 at 3:26 pm
I consider it Coach Smith’s first technical. He was out of his cage on the floor giving directions to players who can not memorize a playbook. No big deal. As you have made clear, UK had five minutes against Miss. State’s replacements, bench, second string players to put them away and same old stuff.
March 10th, 2007 at 6:11 pm
John, you’re not a true UK fan nor are you that bright True UK fans don’t celebrate mediocrity. Tubby has taken a program that in the mid-90s was the pinnacle of college basketball to an environment that has us dancing for joy if we crack the top 25 or actually has us discussing whether or not to rush the court after beating Florida…yeah, that’s right Florida- a team we’ve beaten so many times I can’t count. Stop patting Tubby on the back for making the NCAA tournament. We’re Kentucky, that’s what we’re supposed to do. Do you no what else we’re suppose to do? Win SEC titles and that’s something I can’t see us doing again until we get rid of one Tubby Smith. You can’t keep supporting someone just because you’re a fan. The fact is Tubby has presided over the longest final 4 drought in Kentucky Basketball history and considering we have been on probation twice in our history (in the 1950s and late 80’s) in which we got the NCAA “death penalty” that’s pretty sad. If you’re OK with that then maybe you should go root for Murray State or Eastern or some other school that is satisfied with a 20 win season and a NCAA Tournament appearance. I really don’t understand you Tubby apologist.
March 10th, 2007 at 6:55 pm
All of us True Blue UK Fans are very disapointed by the way our team is playing. It used to be that when you come to Rupp Arena, teams were scared. It was our house. Now teams look forward to playing us. They know they have a chance to win.
We all know, we need to get back to where we intimidate other teams. I’m just a fan and by no means an expert, but if it takes getting rid of the coach to make things better, then I’m all for it. None of us like Tubby’s style. Yes it has won a lot of games, but not the ones that mean the most.
Here’s what I think will happen at the end of the year. Tubby will still be here, our recruits will not be top level and he will fire most of his staff to take the heat off of him.
March 10th, 2007 at 7:48 pm
This loss is definitely not on Sheray or Tubby, and I agree that there is plenty of blame to go around.
What hurt the most about this loss is we got a great effort across the board and still couldn’t find a way to beat Miss St.!
My only hope is that this loss pissed us off enough to play with a chip on our shoulders and make a nice NCAA run.
March 10th, 2007 at 8:27 pm
Your article was filled with good points, all of them. Spread the blame around, all of them share in the reason for the loss. I skipped through the other replies, but somewhere over the last 36 hours, it was suggested by someone that if any UK player had fouled Gordon (I think was the kids name), say at midcourt… say going for a steal(so as not to get the intentional foul call), he never would have made it close enough to attempt a 3 point, game tying, buzzer beating field goal to send it into OT in the first place. Another poor coaching decision by the head man. I was not thinking of this tactic as the play happened, but surely the head coach would be…. maybe?
March 10th, 2007 at 10:13 pm
Look!!!! Who r u going to get (as far as a coach) u either make a lateral move or take a step down…. Y do u think top players won’t come here? Because we have fans who bash the coach and team publicly!!!! Who wants to come somewhere when they dont know if the coach who recruited him will still be there….. Anybody in the country would love to have tubby as a coach… ANYBODY!!!!! Check Tubby’s stats not just the negative one’s….. u want better players, u know what they will do? Play one year and be out of here…. U ALL R HATERS for Real!!!!! True Blue Fans Stand Up!!!!
March 10th, 2007 at 10:56 pm
ClayCo…
Just keep telling yourself that while you go buy another years worth of Blue Tubby Glasses! Why would anyone claiming to be a UK fan settle for this mediocrity???
The true program fans (those of us who have been through more than 3 UK head coaches) know better.
Your argument of who will come shows me how young you are! Answer me this…who’s coming now???
Repeat after me: No player Tubby Smith has recruited in his 16 year career as a head basketball coach has ever played in a final four.
I will give him props for setting another UK record yesterday….first time since 1936 UK lost the second round in the SEC dance.
True fans support the program and want what’s best for the program as a whole…geeeeeeeeeez
March 10th, 2007 at 11:41 pm
Oh, ClayCo. How many games is Tubby going to loose and how many years between Final Four appearances will it take for dunces like you wake-up? Here’s your problem; you’re either to young to remember Kentucky Basketball greatness or you’re satisfied with average. Also, if you think that coming to Kentucky is a step down for a great coach your smoking something…wait your from Clay Co. you probably are smoking something. I would have loved to had Thad Matta when he left Xavier but he instead went to Ohio State and guess what? They’re really good. He’s taken a team that has little basketball tradition and turned them into a powerhouse. He’s just one of the many great coaches out there that would consider KY. And please answer my question, how many years between Four Appearances will it take for you to want to replace Tubby? With your logic he’ll never be replaced.
March 10th, 2007 at 11:58 pm
I don’t blame Sherray Thomas or the team for the last two seasons. It all comes back to the man in charge…Tubby. Sherry Thomas is good enough to play college basketball but not at UK. Tubby should never have recruited him and God knows why he plays him so much. Sure he made a great play at the end of the game but even a broken clock’s right twice a day. Tubby has gotten some great talent (i.e. Crawford, Rondo, Morris, Bradley) but his style of play doesn’t allow anyone to shine. That’s been his M.O. since he’s been here at Kentucky. With the exception of Prince we’ve never really had a go- to- guy. Even Prince’s career average was only a little over 13 ppg. No great HS player in their right mind would come and play for Tubby for that reason. Its not the fans…UK fans are the greatest fans in college basketball.
March 11th, 2007 at 11:41 am
Hey chad did I pat tubby on the back. No I just said all the fans who are saying I am gonna quit watching should. And I don’t remember saying anything to you.
March 11th, 2007 at 4:04 pm
Sorry John, Got you mixed up with someone else.
March 11th, 2007 at 4:08 pm
Sorry John, Got you mixed up with someone else In any event, I thought if you wrote something on this blog anyone could respond or is it only the case when someone agrees with you.
March 11th, 2007 at 4:53 pm
That’s ok. Yes you can respond to anything anyone says but try to make sure they said it first. Go cats!!!!!!!!!!!
March 14th, 2007 at 6:56 pm
The worst mistake made during that game was not fouling when they were up 3 points. All they needed was a cheap away from the ball or reach in foul, and they would have won. There were only 5 Seconds left. At best MSU would have had 2 free throws, with KY having the last posession and at worst being up by 1. If MSU was able to get a quick foul, there would likely only be a couple of seconds left. I doubt that would be enough time to win the game.
March 16th, 2007 at 8:40 am
DeWayne, you should have seen me screeming at the TV screen…foul ‘em, foul ‘em….so I absolutely agree with you if they would have fouled them at half court we would have won the game. It seems Tubby could have figured that out.
I did not read all the posts here but I agree with some of them, the state of UK basketball is pitiful. Back-to-back 13 and 12 loss seasons is not good, no SEC title or even a “smell of it”, our play in the NCAA Tourney is a joke and the real pitiful thing about it is, the players on this team could win. Take a look at the record if the game is close in the last 3 minutes….we loose. I blame that on coaching in most cases. Do you think if Rick Pitino was at UK the record of close games would be 1-6 this year? I bet it wouldn’t be. Also, it does not suprise me that the recruiting is in shambles, as someone said, who wants to play on a team that doesn’t know who their go-to guy is and plays offense as an after thought? The UK tradition was built on offense and until we get rid of Tubby, we won’t have a good team (by UK standards).
Did anybody mention Travis Ford as a possible successor to Tubby? I think he would bring life back to the program. I’d like to have Billy Donovan but he’s “rooted” at Florida. John Pelphrey’s name has come up but I don’t think he has the national recognition that is needed to recruit at UK. Also, I heard Kyle Macy’s name mentioned but he struggled at Morehead. I would like to see an ex-UK player get the job. I really think if we don’t get Travis Ford in the next couple of years, he’ll wind up like Donovan (kicking UK’s butt every year) at another SEC school or worse yet an ACC school.