John Calipari’s ‘overanalyzed’ team brings attention on itself

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Great teams aren’t overanalyzed. They’re consistent, disciplined and predictable. There’s only one analysis to bestow on great teams.

As of Feb. 8, UK is not a great team.

Head coach John Calipari has reiterated over the past week that his team is the most “overanalyzed” team in all of sports. That sparked a lot of ironic overanalysis of his comment. On Friday, he clarified.

“It’s taken me to the beginning of February to convince these players that every team is against us. Everybody is against us,” Calipari told the media. “But you know what? You guys have helped me. They now believe it. And it has made us play better.”

The Cats’ 69-59 win over Mississippi State University on Saturday showed several of the team’s inconsistencies, all which warrant the apparent overanalysis.

First, and most glaringly, UK gave up transition points almost as if it wasn’t trying. Over and over again, opponents beat UK down the court, keeping the game close by taking advantage of the Cats’ lazy transition defense.

The Cats’ 3-point shooting, another unpredictable aspect of UK’s arsenal, continued to be a weakness. After shooting 16 percent from behind the arc on Saturday, the Cats have made just five of their last 31 three-pointers.

And foul trouble reared its ugly head again. Freshman guard Andrew Harrison and sophomore forward Willie Cauley-Stein played just 15 minutes. Harrison fouled out with five points and two turnovers.

UK was, however, able to make up for their mistakes. Senior guards Jarrod Polson and Jon Hood played a combined 43 minutes, adding stability and consistency when their teammates lacked both.

And Calipari continued to play some zone defense. With a team that has so much length and struggles in on-ball defense, the zone could become a major advantage with more repetitions.

The result was a ho-hum win, one that neither added nor subtracted confidence in the overall scheme of the Cats’ yearlong progression. It was a road victory, however, and those should never be taken for granted.

If Calipari wants his team to be overanalyzed, he’ll get his wish as long as UK continues its inconsistent play. His hope is that it will fuel an “us vs. them” mentality from the Cats.

But that doesn’t always work. If UK begins to click on all cylinders, then the opinion of those outside the program may change.

Calipari’s statement may have been hyperbole, but the Cats bring any excessive analysis onto themselves.