The 2021-2022 Season Thread

[dovecanyoncat]

Hey knuckleheads: We did well. We just lost. Get the fuck over it and get back to work.

[RawleArenas]

I just don't think I'll ever see a final 4 as a fan. It's been 20 years as a fan and nothing. Good regular season but this hurts and I just at this point don't think I'll ever see a final 4. If it doesn't happen with this team, how can it ever happen?

Even if Krisa was healthy, we still would have lost. He's too immature, and needs to grow up. I will give CSM credit for this: he knew the game had changed and overhauled his roster to reflect those changes last year. Few's and CTL's teams are far too soft.

Also, you don't need luck if you can play defense like Houston, or last year's Baylor or Villanova.

[Fishclamps]

Bunch of fuckin sad sacks on this board tonight. We'll get there, I'm sorry you're upset we couldn't do it in Year 1 with a brand new coach.

[pokinmik]

Koloko can return now??

[scumdevils86]

Hey knuckleheads: We did well. We just lost. Get the fuck over it and get back to work.

Yea I'm over it.

[SabinoDrifter]

I just don't think I'll ever see a final 4 as a fan. It's been 20 years as a fan and nothing. Good regular season but this hurts and I just at this point don't think I'll ever see a final 4. If it doesn't happen with this team, how can it ever happen?

Even if Krisa was healthy, we still would have lost. He's too immature, and needs to grow up. I will give CSM credit for this: he knew the game had changed and overhauled his roster to reflect those changes last year. Few's and CTL's teams are far too soft.

Also, you don't need luck if you can play defense like Houston, or last year's Baylor or Villanova.

I must have missed Sean Miller’s final fours?

We’ve won four tournament games since 2015 and two of those came in the last seven days.

[ASUHATER!]

Bunch of fuckin sad sacks on this board tonight. We'll get there, I'm sorry you're upset we couldn't do it in Year 1 with a brand new coach.

I'd understand this sentiment if we had snuck into the tournament as a 8 seed or something and finished like 4th in the conference...but when we were 33-3 and possibly the best team in the country the whole year...it's a huge letdown and underachievement to lose now. Doesn't matter it is year 1

[cpt]

I really thought TL’s looser attitude would result in better tournament play. I was wrong. There’s just something about Arizona and underachievement in this tournament. It’s a cancer and it’s part of the program since Lute.

[Alieberman]

People should not post after emotional games like this.

Go to bed and reflect on the year we just had. 30+ wins…

[KillerKlown]

Do you guys think Akinjo could have helped a lot during this game?

[RawleArenas]

Bunch of fuckin sad sacks on this board tonight. We'll get there, I'm sorry you're upset we couldn't do it in Year 1 with a brand new coach.

I'd understand this sentiment if we had snuck into the tournament as a 8 seed or something and finished like 4th in the conference...but when we were 33-3 and possibly the best team in the country the whole year...it's a huge letdown and underachievement to lose now. Doesn't matter it is year 1

Thank you. This was the best time to make a run, before teams have a thick scouting book on you. There were far too many warning signs for us to show up the way that we did. And everyone kept talking like our off court antics didn't mean anything. They do.

Teams like Houston and Villanova eat nails for breakfast. This whole board knows the history of the west coast in the tourney the past two decades and they are acting like getting blown out in the tourney is not a big deal.

[Merkin]

Teams like Houston and Villanova eat nails for breakfast. This whole board knows the history of the west coast in the tourney the past two decades and they are acting like getting blown out in the tourney is not a big deal.

With the Zags losing too we will be hearing again all year how soft the west is.

[RawleArenas]

I just don't think I'll ever see a final 4 as a fan. It's been 20 years as a fan and nothing. Good regular season but this hurts and I just at this point don't think I'll ever see a final 4. If it doesn't happen with this team, how can it ever happen?

Even if Krisa was healthy, we still would have lost. He's too immature, and needs to grow up. I will give CSM credit for this: he knew the game had changed and overhauled his roster to reflect those changes last year. Few's and CTL's teams are far too soft.

Also, you don't need luck if you can play defense like Houston, or last year's Baylor or Villanova.

I must have missed Sean Miller’s final fours?

We’ve won four tournament games since 2015 and two of those came in the last seven days.

I see your point. But if we're SERIOUS about winning a championship and every team on the west coast has put up donuts over the last 25 years, dramatic changes need to be made.

We have to change the narrative.

[CalStateTempe]

Hey knuckleheads: We did well. We just lost. Get the fuck over it and get back to work.

Yea I'm over it.

Same. It sucks, but the better team tonight won.

[KillerKlown]

Need some No Easy Buckets NYC and Philly talent again.

[RondaeShimmy]

[RawleArenas]

Need some No Easy Buckets NYC and Philly talent again.

Exactly, I hate getting blown out on TV. Especially when we have better talent on paper. If you don't have athletic junkyard dogs on your team, you ain't goin' far.

[Fishclamps]

Bunch of fuckin sad sacks on this board tonight. We'll get there, I'm sorry you're upset we couldn't do it in Year 1 with a brand new coach.

I'd understand this sentiment if we had snuck into the tournament as a 8 seed or something and finished like 4th in the conference...but when we were 33-3 and possibly the best team in the country the whole year...it's a huge letdown and underachievement to lose now. Doesn't matter it is year 1

After all we accomplished with a brand new coach in a year we weren't projected to do shit, it does matter that it was year 1. People need to just accept the fact we got outplayed by a very underseeded Houston team that played way harder than us.

[dmjcat]

Just got back to my hotel room overlooking the Alamo

1) I now know how the defenders of the Alamo felt

2) The better team won.........period

3) The refs had nothing to do with our loss

4) Kriisa at 70% was a problem, but a fully healthy KK would not have made enough of a difference

5) Kelvin Sampson is an excellent coach

6) The only coaching decision of CTL's that I questioned tonight was the decision to stick with Tubelis as long as he
did, especially in the 1st half. Tubelis just can't play the game at that speed. He was a serious liability in the 1st half

7) Houston was underseeded

8) Overall, the UA had an outstanding season. The program is moving in the right direction

9) Every player except Mathurin should come back. Koloko has no business in the NBA without adding additional lbs/muscle

Toured the Ripleys museum today, going to hit the Alamo tomorrow.

Bear Down Cats

[Merkin]

Reads like they are gone. I don't believe this for a second they don't already know their decision.

[CatFan1399]

Postmortem:

It stings like hell right now, but this was one heck of a season. Had anyone offered me a 33-4 season with a PAC12 regular season title, a PAC12 tournament championship, and an appearance in the Sweet 16 before this season started, I’d have taken it every day of the week and twice on Sunday.

I’m so proud of Coach Lloyd and the players on this team. I appreciate all of their efforts, the passion that they played with, and the joy that have brought to me over the past five months. I hope that the majority of the team returns next year and that Coach Lloyd can add a few more pieces to make another memorable (and hopefully deeper) run in the tourney next year.

Thanks to all the posters on this board that provide great insight and occasional humor! I’m a longtime reader and very occasional poster who spends entirely too much time scouring this site for nuggets of info about our beloved Wildcats, the third great love in my life behind my wife and daughter.

Love this team! Love this board! BTFD!!!

[Postmaster]

Well I expected Miller to take this team to the S16.
So.....meh.

[Olsondogg]

Postmortem:

It stings like hell right now, but this was one heck of a season. Had anyone offered me a 33-4 season with a PAC12 regular season title, a PAC12 tournament championship, and an appearance in the Sweet 16 before this season started, I’d have taken it every day of the week and twice on Sunday.

I’m so proud of Coach Lloyd and the players on this team. I appreciate all of their efforts, the passion that they played with, and the joy that have brought to me over the past five months. I hope that the majority of the team returns next year and that Coach Lloyd can add a few more pieces to make another memorable (and hopefully deeper) run in the tourney next year.

Thanks to all the posters on this board that provide great insight and occasional humor! I’m a longtime reader and very occasional poster who spends entirely too much time scouring this site for nuggets of info about our beloved Wildcats, the third great love in my life behind my wife and daughter.

Love this team! Love this board! BTFD!!!

Well put. Looking forward to year 2

[cpt]

It’s not just that we lost in the Sweet 16. We played terrible 3 games in a row. We played soft and many guys played with no heart. We never looked like a one seed. We looked like a 8-9 seed that snuck into the tournament. 3 games. Sorry, this season will forever have a bad taste for me.

[Fishclamps]

It’s not just that we lost in the Sweet 16. We played terrible 3 games in a row. We played soft and many guys played with no heart. We never looked like a one seed. We looked like a 8-9 seed that snuck into the tournament. 3 games. Sorry, this season will forever have a bad taste for me.

Lol, none of these kids except Ballo had a single lick of NCAAT experience but go off on how they ruined the season for you

[dovecanyoncat]

It’s not just that we lost in the Sweet 16. We played terrible 3 games in a row. We played soft and many guys played with no heart. We never looked like a one seed. We looked like a 8-9 seed that snuck into the tournament. 3 games. Sorry, this season will forever have a bad taste for me.

Lol, none of these kids except Ballo had a single lick of NCAAT experience but go off on how they ruined the season for you

Might as well self-sanction the next 2 years. It's the only way to protect our feelings.

[Merkin]

It’s not just that we lost in the Sweet 16. We played terrible 3 games in a row. We played soft and many guys played with no heart. We never looked like a one seed.

[Fishclamps]

God some of you guys are making all the Arizona posters on Reddit look downright sane by comparison. You should be embarrassed.

[RawleArenas]

It’s not just that we lost in the Sweet 16. We played terrible 3 games in a row. We played soft and many guys played with no heart. We never looked like a one seed.

This ^^^ times 100

[Postmaster]

I wouldn’t say “no heart”. Complacent, overconfident....too much whining.
Refocus

[Postmaster]

Let us vent and wallow in anguish tonight.

Acceptance will follow.

[RawleArenas]

If we played the way we can play and came up short, I can accept that. But not with warning signs all over the place and being cocky with no leadership, adjustments or maturity. Just deer in headlights.

[dovecanyoncat]

Well, you're right. We started 4 seniors and a junior, all of whom had had several years of tourney experience. All of them had grown up in the Western system and knew what to expect. Our coaching staff had been together for well over a decade and we had the fucking BEST UNIVERSITY PRESIDENT AND AD THE WORLD HAS EVER SEEN. We had a hall of fame head coach who had been at the helm for 8 years of recruiting his "kind of guys". The only thing we lacked was a fan base that didn't understand modern basketball and refused to show up and buy tickets. Other than that we totally blew the easiest layup in the history of sports.

[CalStateTempe]

Weird…i feel worse about this loss this am then I did last night. Usually it’s the other way around.

[phxcat23]

What I still don’t understand is why we didn’t press/trap earlier. We knew they’d be good in defense so we needed a counter in order to run in transition. With a few minutes left in the game when we pressed them, we should have had it within 4. They were collapsing and they couldn’t handle it. I just wish we would have done this more in the second half because the turnovers could have allowed our offense to do what we normally do.

[Chicat]

We had a truly remarkable and unexpected season. I enjoyed the fuck out of it and can’t wait for next year.

[SabinoDrifter]

Upon further review, Mathurin, Koloko, Terry and Larsson all were over 100 in KenPom offensive rating last night.

Kerr, Tueblis, Kier, and Ballo were a combined 3-for-21. Kerr and Tubelis were 1-15!

Not to use the youth thing as an excuse, but Houston played guys last night who played in 11 combined NCAA tournaments. Taze Moore and Lauri Markannen were both freshman in 2017! It's a shitty way to end of the season, but I give CTM a lot of credit to get them to play at this high of a level and hasn't been on campus for a full year.

[EastCoastCat]

Thank you to this team for bringing us all back to joy and fun (and angst) which is Arizona basketball.

I think the pain and loss we are feeling now is directly commensurate to how great a season this team and coach had. The expectations are back to high and lofty...as they should always be.

[WildcatStunner]

Once we cut the lead to 2 in the second half and couldn’t get over the hump, I started mentally preparing myself. Always sucks when the season ends, but now that Lloyd has a full season under him I am excited to see what we can achieve next year and onward.

[Spaceman Spiff]

It’s not just that we lost in the Sweet 16. We played terrible 3 games in a row. We played soft and many guys played with no heart. We never looked like a one seed. We looked like a 8-9 seed that snuck into the tournament. 3 games. Sorry, this season will forever have a bad taste for me.

Lol, none of these kids except Ballo had a single lick of NCAAT experience but go off on how they ruined the season for you

Eh, I don't think it's that. What disappointed me is every tournament opponent we faced outcompeted us.

I would forgive bad shooting or mental mistakes as a lack of experience. A failure to match the energy and intensity of an opponent isn't something where you need tourney experience.

It's similar to how 2018 was the most frustrating Miller team for me. That same thing, not matching an opponent's aggression and intensity, that was why the 2018 team got drilled in some big games.

A few people posted how our defensive metrics had fallen off lately. That's consistent with what I saw, which was a team that played with an edge early. We came out in OOC tough and aggressive and rolled people. That edge...I did not see it recently.

Look, stuff happens and overall it was a great regular season and it was tremendous seeing guys like Benn and Koloko blow up. It's just hard to see the three biggest games of the year where we show up and fail to match the opponent's energy and intensity.

[Fishclamps]

It’s not just that we lost in the Sweet 16. We played terrible 3 games in a row. We played soft and many guys played with no heart. We never looked like a one seed. We looked like a 8-9 seed that snuck into the tournament. 3 games. Sorry, this season will forever have a bad taste for me.

Lol, none of these kids except Ballo had a single lick of NCAAT experience but go off on how they ruined the season for you

Eh, I don't think it's that. What disappointed me is every tournament opponent we faced outcompeted us.

I would forgive bad shooting or mental mistakes as a lack of experience. A failure to match the energy and intensity of an opponent isn't something where you need tourney experience.

It's similar to how 2018 was the most frustrating Miller team for me. That same thing, not matching an opponent's aggression and intensity, that was why the 2018 team got drilled in some big games.

A few people posted how our defensive metrics had fallen off lately. That's consistent with what I saw, which was a team that played with an edge early. We came out in OOC tough and aggressive and rolled people. That edge...I did not see it recently.

Look, stuff happens and overall it was a great regular season and it was tremendous seeing guys like Benn and Koloko blow up. It's just hard to see the three biggest games of the year where we show up and fail to match the opponent's energy and intensity.

Yeah fair enough, I just think some people need to come back to reality and remember there was a lot of firsts for this team and a brand new head coach. I thought they played great but just couldn't sustain the success from the regular season.

[Merkin]

Good read.

Toughness is winning in March - and it's why No. 1 seeds Arizona, Gonzaga got sent home | Opinion


https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/c ... SleYZdf4Yc

[Chicat]

A failure to match the energy and intensity of an opponent isn't something where you need tourney experience.

I 100% disagree.

The energy and intensity needed to beat 6 great teams in a row who are full of stone cold ballers who are dead set on not allowing their season to end is exactly what being in the tournament teaches you.

Teams with players with tournament experience have a distinct advantage in my mind as far as knowing the type of energy and intensity it takes to win it because they’ve been there before.

[Lando05]

Great season. The future is bright. Keep our heads up and let's enjoy this new journey we are on. Sweet 16 after being unranked and winning the pac 12 outright is a hell of an accomplishment. I have the utmost faith in Coach Lloyd's ability to lead the program forward. Beardown and tip our caps to Houston, let's not forget they went to the final 4 last year and they showed why. Hell of a team. Looking forward to next year.

[Spaceman Spiff]

A failure to match the energy and intensity of an opponent isn't something where you need tourney experience.

I 100% disagree.

The energy and intensity needed to beat 6 great teams in a row who are full of stone cold ballers who are dead set on not allowing their season to end is exactly what being in the tournament teaches you.

Teams with players with tournament experience have a distinct advantage in my mind as far as knowing the type of energy and intensity it takes to win it because they’ve been there before.

We do disagree. When I was 11, I was on a junior high allstar team. My coach told me he'd forgive mental mistakes but never being outworked.

Anyone who's been an athlete from a young age knows what it's like to have to respond to energy and aggression. When I moved to HS varsity, my first week of practice, a senior took it on himself to hit me in the face every time down court. I got in a fistfight every day that first week.

How to execute, making shots, handling rotations, dealing with pressure...that's more experience based. More importantly, our effort metrics struggled pre-tournament too. The end of the regular season on, defense fell off and you saw open threes, offensive rebounds, etc. that you didn't see OOC.

[pc in NM]

Good read.

Toughness is winning in March - and it's why No. 1 seeds Arizona, Gonzaga got sent home | Opinion


https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/c ... SleYZdf4Yc

Yes,that was interesting...

The NCAA has made its choice about what kind of sport it wants college basketball to be on the biggest stage. It prefers a game where freedom of movement is a myth, the lane is constantly clogged and nobody is going near the rim without risking half their body getting covered in scratches and welts. It is ridiculously physical, inconsistently officiated and often just plain ugly.

I for one, hate that game, and am not much interested in watching it. I much preferred the Lakers "Showtime" to the Celtics physical game .

IMNSHO, the most attractive things about this year's team were the style of play and the skills of the players. I don't want to be Colorado with better players!! If we evolved in that direction, I'm sure my interest aand enthusiam would again wane as it has the past several years before this...

[RondaeShimmy]

Good read.

Toughness is winning in March - and it's why No. 1 seeds Arizona, Gonzaga got sent home | Opinion


https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/c ... SleYZdf4Yc

From the article

The NCAA has made its choice about what kind of sport it wants college basketball to be on the biggest stage. It prefers a game where freedom of movement is a myth, the lane is constantly clogged and nobody is going near the rim without risking half their body getting covered in scratches and welts. It is ridiculously physical, inconsistently officiated and often just plain ugly.

Sampson basically said this post game

Once again the pac 12 touch fouls really hurt the conference.

[pc in NM]

A failure to match the energy and intensity of an opponent isn't something where you need tourney experience.

I 100% disagree.

The energy and intensity needed to beat 6 great teams in a row who are full of stone cold ballers who are dead set on not allowing their season to end is exactly what being in the tournament teaches you.

Teams with players with tournament experience have a distinct advantage in my mind as far as knowing the type of energy and intensity it takes to win it because they’ve been there before.

We do disagree. When I was 11, I was on a junior high allstar team. My coach told me he'd forgive mental mistakes but never being outworked.

Anyone who's been an athlete from a young age knows what it's like to have to respond to energy and aggression. When I moved to HS varsity, my first week of practice, a senior took it on himself to hit me in the face every time down court. I got in a fistfight every day that first week.

How to execute, making shots, handling rotations, dealing with pressure...that's more experience based. More importantly, our effort metrics struggled pre-tournament too. The end of the regular season on, defense fell off and you saw open threes, offensive rebounds, etc. that you didn't see OOC.

1. IMNSHO, your varsity coach was an asshole.

2. We were one of the youngest teams in the tournament with almost zero tournament experience. That showed. But it had nothing whatsoever to do with lack of effort or attitude. All the players who return, even playing the same schemes and style, will be better prepared and more effective - but particular match-ups in a one-and-done tournament will still be magnified.

3. And, we'll likely again be under-prepared for games like the last two after a full season on a league with marginally competent refs...

[RondaeShimmy]

Here's a bunch of Sampson quotes on Arizona

https://247sports.com/college/arizona/A ... 185141871/

“I watched Arizona play,” Sampson said. “I watched them play UCLA. I watched them play Colorado. I watched the way those teams guarded them, and I knew we weren't going to guard them like those teams did. Those teams just switched them. They let them be comfortable. I knew we were going to make them uncomfortable. That's what we do".

“I knew their size would be a factor, but I didn't think their size was -- if we did what our game plan called for, I didn't think the size was going to make us lose. Our team, we're a tough bunch. We've gotten a lot better as the season goes on."

“Well, we play -- the key to beating Arizona is controlling the pace,” he said. “We felt like, if we could hold them in the 50s and we don't turn the ball over at the end, we probably do hold them in the 50s. But 60, we're going to win a game in the 60s, but we're not going to win the game in the 80s. If the game's in the 80s, then they're doing what they practice. If the game's in the 50s and 60s, that means our defense is really good."

“We led our league in scoring. We're number ten offensive team in the country. It's not like we don't have a good offense. It's that when you play a team like Illinois who likes to run or Arizona who likes to run, Memphis likes to run, those are three really good teams. But in order for us to beat them, we have to figure out how we're going to win the game.

“So we're physical. The start of the first half, the start of the second half, you can tell the adjustment that Tommy made with those slip screens and the quick rolls and they were getting them, and we just turned around and said, okay, if you're going to do that, then we're going to do this. Instead of chasing them over the screen, we went under the screen, and that completely took the roller away.

“What Arizona is good at is the roll, and then Tubelis is such a good passer. But by going under the screen, we took his passing away, and we forced him to be a scorer. So part of our game plan is we wanted Tubelis to have to score the ball and not pass it. We kept him in check the first half. Second half they started, instead of setting the screen -- we call them ghost or burn screens. They ghost, and they were hitting the pocket pass, and they were hitting us -- they got us a couple times."

“Then we came back and said, okay, here's how we're going to guard that. Once our kids started going under those screens, now we kept the ball in front of us. So our pick-and-roll coverage was good. On the sides, Mathurin hit some tough shots, but those were tough shots."

“And as good an offensive rebounding team as we are, and we're really good, I thought Arizona was better. I thought Arizona was a better offensive rebounding team than us tonight. I thought that was their best offense, their offensive rebounding. They're good at that.”

[Spaceman Spiff]

Good read.

Toughness is winning in March - and it's why No. 1 seeds Arizona, Gonzaga got sent home | Opinion


https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/c ... SleYZdf4Yc

Yes,that was interesting...

The NCAA has made its choice about what kind of sport it wants college basketball to be on the biggest stage. It prefers a game where freedom of movement is a myth, the lane is constantly clogged and nobody is going near the rim without risking half their body getting covered in scratches and welts. It is ridiculously physical, inconsistently officiated and often just plain ugly.

I for one, hate that game, and am not much interested in watching it. I much preferred the Lakers "Showtime" to the Celtics physical game .

IMNSHO, the most attractive things about this year's team were the style of play and the skills of the players. I don't want to be Colorado with better players!! If we evolved in that direction, I'm sure my interest aand enthusiam would again wane as it has the past several years before this...

The Showtime Lakers showed the way, IMO. They played two of the toughest teams in NBA history in the Bird Celtics and Bad Boy Pistons. To get to their high flying advantages, they had to match that core physicality.

If you can't overcome the banging to let your athletic skill shine, it's like a Ferrari with flat tires.