Than the 'tweak' happened--and now they are in the Elite 8, playing for a spot in the Final Four, and expected by many to make it.
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WTF, right?
The late season surge has to have fans and coaches everywhere wondering what in the world this magical tweak is. The Wildcats appeared to be an unfocused mess that got by on shear talent alone at times. While far from perfect they now appear to be operating like a well-oiled machine with victories over the only undefeated team in the nation and the defending champions.
Must be one heck of a tweak. With the results that the team has had in recent weeks it's pretty hard to deny it--right?
Maybe not.
If you look at the last couple weeks the team has only played against three quality opponents in the six games they've had. In the SEC Tournament they played Georgia, LSU, and Florida. The Bulldogs and Tigers they should beat. To go from getting embarrassed by the Gators to losing by one is step up over the last time the two met.
So you could say that is proof enough it's working--or is it?
They should have had little trouble with Kansas State in the Round of 64, but those Wildcats were not exactly pushovers.
Than came the game where most figured the blue bloods from Kentucky would be bounced from the tournament--Wichita State. After going in to the half down by six the Wildcats overcame the odds to bounce the Shockers from the Dance.
Just in case fans were worried that was a fluke they followed it up by bouncing Louisville from the Tournament on Saturday thanks to another strong second half performance.
So--is it safe to say the 'tweak' is working? Or could it be that the talent the Wildcats have on the roster is finally playing up to its ability?
Several times during the Wichita State and Louisville games Callipari could be seen yelling at his players on the bench or as they came to the sideline. Yeah, I know, that's not unusual for coaches to do, but the telling part to me is how the players seemed to just tune him out.
That could be looked at in one of two ways. It is not unusual for coaches to yell and it is equally common for players to tune them out. It could also mean that he's lost the respect of the players and they could care less about what he has to say. Callipari has gone on record in the past complaining that they want too much from him.
So now he wants to actually coach them? Yeah, I can't say I blame the kids for tuning him out (if that is indeed the case).
So is the 'tweak' working? Coaching does take time so you could say the team has been working the kinks out of the tweak the last couple weeks. If the Wildcats beat Michigan Sunday afternoon and earn a trip to Final Four I suppose we'll get a few more days to talk about it.
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