Cal's SEC Strategy

Thought I posted this earlier, if I did I can't find it. But what do you guys think of Cal's philosophy that the SEC doesn't mean anything? I think it may be hurting his team. I know it's all about the NCAA Tournament and blah blah blah. But basketball season is not just six games. You play the regular season to get your team in the best position. You want a high seed? Win games and win your conference. That's how you get a high seed. You do that by selling your players on the importance of winning your conference. He sends the exact opposite message when he tells them he doesn't care about it. Might explain why UK is 1-5 on the road and 4 of them were close games.

I don't think that's his real strategy. Surely he knows the importance the conference record has on seeding. I believe he's saying that for his team's sake. I think it's taking him longer to get these guys to play the way he wants them to. They just don't seem to have the fire or I should say they don't have that Patterson/Wall/Bledsoe who can make a play at a critical time in the game. Liggins has stepped up a bit the last two games but Miller is still playing like a freshman.

He made that comment before the Florida game when they were still very much in the race though. Plus if you recall last year he didn't let his team celebrate winning the SEC. I think he needs to re-evaluate. Give the guys a goal to reach and then when they do give them another one. This all or nothing approach isn't working. In dog racing they don't put the rabbit down at the finish line. They keep it just out of reach of the dogs and let them chase it. And they end up at the finish line.

I just don't know. It's hard to say what the deal is with these kids. I think Jones has faded back a bit. First few games he was looking like a top 5 pick for the draft this year but after watching him this season I think he is too immature to go. Look at Boogie. I see some similarities in their attitudes.

I have to wonder if it's the whole it's-all-about-the-NCAA-Tournament strategy. That might work with a veteran team, but a team of freshmen need to be motivated. These guys have never played at the O'Dome, Memorial Gym, Thompson Bowling or Stegeman. They don't know what to expect. You gotta get them pumped. When you have a team who wins at home by fifteen points every game and then loses to those same teams on the road, that's not a talent thing, that's emotional. Then he spends the whole game screaming curse words at them to try to wake them up. It's too late by then. You're already in a dog fight.