Kentucky fell to 3-2 on the season with a loss to Gonzaga on Sunday, and John Calipari and his team were not exactly radiating confidence after their tough night.
The Wildcats came out extremely flat and scored just 25 points in the first half. They made some halftime adjustments and got things going over the final 20 minutes, but it was too late at that point. Calipari said one of the issues was that big man Oscar Tshiebwe only recently returned from injury and did not know some of the offensive plays.
John Calipari says offensively in the first half, "it was so embarrassing, we couldn't even run a play." Changed at half.
“I couldn’t get Oscar to run the plays right. Why? He hasn’t been playing with us.”
— Kyle Tucker (@KyleTucker_ATH) November 21, 2022
“It was so embarrassing. We couldn’t even run a play,” Calipari said of the first half. “I couldn’t get Oscar to run the plays right. Why? He hasn’t been playing with us.”
A reporter asked Tshiebwe why Kentucky has struggled to score against good teams, and the sophomore gave an honest response.
Asked Oscar what Kentucky should look like offensively and why they can't score against quality competition:
"Most of the time we don’t really run what Coach is asking us to do."
Well, that's not great.
— Kyle Tucker (@KyleTucker_ATH) November 21, 2022
“Most of the time we don’t really run what Coach is asking us to do,” he said.
If Oscar not being comfortable was one issue for Kentucky, that should straighten itself out the more he plays. However, star forward Jacob Toppin raised a different concern.
How could UK not have fight against a No. 2 team?
Toppin: “If you want the honest answer (long pause) … um … it’s a long season. I don’t want to speak for any guys, but in some moments, guys can’t step up.”
— Kyle Tucker (@KyleTucker_ATH) November 21, 2022
“If you want the honest answer … it’s a long season. I don’t want to speak for any guys, but in some moments, guys can’t step up,” Toppin said.
Toppin is right that there is a lot of basketball left to be played, but the No. 4 Wildcats did not exactly sound optimistic after Gonzaga handled them. They have more tough games upcoming in the next few weeks against Michigan and UCLA, and it sounds like they have plenty to straighten out before then.
