Barnes - Sitting Ridley and Ibeh

[The Horn Identity]

I'm probably the only person bothering to watch the Horns anymore. And, I am not blaming anyone else - the team is so painful to watch.

But, WTF on Barnes benching Ridley and Ibeh in the second half. I can't recall the announcers even mentioning it. Guess they had stop watching, too. And instead incessantly pondered why MacGruder was winning the Big 12 MVP poll that they were running. Perhaps, because only KSU fans were watching?

Anyway, I am sick and tired of Barnes child-like antics in his coaching decisions. He let Gipson abuse Cameron in the post, refusing to put Ridley or Ibeh back in. At least try switching to a ******* zone!

I can't recall a single entry pass into the post that resulted in a basket in the first or second half. Instead, our guards just run and dribble around until they jack up a shot. Without a superstar at PG (Ford, DJ) or SG (Durant), we have no chance.

I know the team is young, but I expect more out of Barnes.

 

[georgecostanza]

The guards couldn't do anything with the ball in their hands offensively, especially Felix. If your point guard can't handle on-ball defense, you're never going to get the ball inside.

 

[Horns11]

Ridley and Ibeh looked awful. Keeping a big man out there for the sake of keeping a big man out there is counterproductive and sends a message to recruits that we're ok with guys who don't pull their weight as long as they're a body.

 

[The Horn Identity]

Given the way that Gipson was destroying Connor inside in the second half, I would have preferred one of the following:

1. Play Ridley (of similar body size to Gipson) and spell him with Ibeh.

2. Go to a zone defense if we refuse to put a legitimate center on the court.

 

[jagdilly69]

When Barnes recruited both, he offered scholarship to his notorious "DOG-HOUSE."

I'm so tired of Barnes and his utilization of talent. I bet in many cases if he were to give players more PT and not sit them, they would develop faster. On the other hand, he tends to recruit top talent that requires more development than other elite schools (beyond Durant and a few others).

The last success story I can think of where he had a player develop beyond expectations was Royal Ivey.

I still watch the games when I can as I have LHN up here in Chicago, but yes, it's very painful. Barnes' show on LHN showed how deflated he was.

 

[arieshorn]

This is a season of mediocrity. I don't except this "We have a young team" excuse anymore when teams like Kentucky have young teams every year with their one and done players. We have the largest athletic budget in college today and Barnes is what we are stuck with. This season is beyond sad to watch.

 

[Alex_de_Large]

Thank God for the LHN so most of us don't have to watch this donkey abortion of a season.

 

[georgecostanza]

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[Third Coast]

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[georgecostanza]

Kentucky probably will make the tourney, but that isn't the point. The chances of them making it very deep into the tourney are pretty slim this year. Isn't that something people typically ***** about regarding Barnes?

 

[jagdilly69]

Awful comparison. Apples and oranges. and Kentucky has a coach who actually calls plays and makes game adjustments. Barnes runs his doghouse and wonders why his teams misses most of their free throws and turns over the ball constantly.

 

[arieshorn]

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[georgecostanza]

I don't consider the way Kentucky has achieved their recent success "player development". What Kansas, UNC, and Duke do is player development. Kentucky, not so much. I'm not saying that the Kentucky players don't get better under Calipari, but development to me is a longer process that takes place over more than one year.

My point is that you can't just say "look at Kentucky. They've won championships with a bunch of freshmen." You pretty much have to pull in the best recruiting class every year for that to happen. They had the number 2 class last year, and still got off to a sluggish start to their year.

Also, I would like to say that I believe that their record is partly a reflection upon the weakness of the SEC. The SEC is at best the 4th best conference in the nation, IMO.

 

[WashU-Horn]

Barnes is a ****** coach. There is no way around it. He is not the worst coach out there but he is still a ****** coach.

 

[HornsForever'93]

He needs to resign. He has no gameplan at all. I've seen local high school teams run more intricate offense than Barnes garbage

 

[jagdilly69]

I'm just glad we are pulling out a new black uniform at KU later this year. It'll be another one-and-done alternative uniform we wear for another a$$-kicking.