Kentucky basketball has a serious problem; they just can't shoot the ball. Charles Barkley's blunt assessment pretty much nails what has stopped this Kentucky team all year long.
Kentucky's 1st half vs Santa Clara leaves a lot to be desired
The Cats started off hot from deep, but as usual, cooled off and finished 4-15, losing by 2 to the 10-seeded Santa Clara Broncos in the opening round of March Madness. During the half, Charles Barkley took aim at the Kentucky team, whom he watched in person along with Dick Vitale earlier this year.
The Inside the NBA analyst said that Kentucky was a "bad" shooting team, correcting himself from saying they were inconsistent. He said the only way they had a chance to win this game was by picking up the defense and getting out in transition.
Otega Oweh seemed to agree coming out of halftime.
"We have to rebound so we can get out in transition...I think we are getting a lot of good looks...we just gotta hit em."
Kentucky's bigger issue is development
Charles saw Kentucky play Indiana back on December 13th. For them to be playing the exact same way over 3 months later and in the NCAA Tournament is unacceptable.
For a coach who preaches on how players will develop him, that is the ultimate indictment on his system this year after he changed everything up.
After last season, Mark Pope and his staff went all in on more defensive stoppers, and while the defense has been better, 181st vs 315th in scoring defense, the offense has regressed.
There are too many ball stoppers on this team
Denzel Aberdeen, Otega Oweh, and the majority of the bigs all get the ball and keep it. Too many times, you see one or two passes and a shot, and these players are just not good enough one-on-one players to offset the lack of movement.
And now you have 20 minutes to keep your season alive, will they start moving the ball or start packing their stuff for a return to Lexington?