Oliver Stone and Martin Sheen have nothing on John Calipari when it comes to the Platoon concept. Coach Cal doesn’t have “subs” or “reserves,” he has platoons. Two full teams where everyone stays fresh.
“We kind of bum-rushed them a little bit, and every time they looked there were more tanks coming over the hill. It wasn’t substitutes, it was reinforcements. Here they come,” said John Calipari after utterly destroying #5 Kansas 72-40. (The game was even more lopsided than that sounds)
Much like the movie “Platoon” owned Oscar night in 1986, Calipari’s platoons will own this college basketball season.
We’ll see how long the platoon system will be in place. Coach Cal said it could go a very long time. In the first half, four guys played 12 minutes, two played 10, four played 8. So these platoons are literally a basketball version of a hockey line. John Calipari is now playing two full teams in each game; instead of using eight or nine on a rotation system.
“I think you could take the two six man teams that they have in their platoons and you would have two teams both ranked in the top 2o,” said ESPN analyst Jay Bilas on conference call..
“That’s how highly I think of their talent level.”
Very true.
The UK roster has a record nine McDonald’s All-Americans. It features 11 guys who are over 6’6″, four over 6’10” and two over seven feet.
“John Calipari is really smart and this is a wonderful way for him to do a number of things,” said Bilas.
“They get to play everyday in practice, they don’t have to stay in roles, so they can compete. They really have 12 guys who could play, not just 10, they have 12.”
Here’s the podcast where Bilas and fellow ESPN analyst Seth Greenberg discuss it. There is a special emphasis on Karl Anthony Towns (here’s more on WildK-A-T)
John Calipari on the platoon system
“This’ll all be decided on the court. And I’ve told these guys, it’s not communism. If someone deserves to play more they will play more.
“If someone is playing themselves out of time I’ll deal with that. If one of the platoons is playing so good one game, they’ll play 25 minutes or 30, and the other team’s not, they won’t.
We don’t have subs. We have reinforcements. #2platoons1team
— John Calipari (@UKCoachCalipari) November 17, 2014
“Now, will I ever go to playing eight guys or seven? I hope not, because I want to be fair for all these kids. I’m not trying to do this to be a genius. It’s not why I did this. These guys’ll tell you. I’ve never coached this way. I’ve never done these things before.”
Yep, it’s not Communism; Big Blue Nation is a capitalistic government with a free market economy. I’m not saying the Kentucky Wildcats will be undefeated; but they are going to be damn hard to beat because every opponent has to prepare for two separate teams in each game. And when you’re tired, UK comes at you with a new fresh wave.
Here’s the lineup:
Blue Platoon
G Andrew Harrison
G Aaron Harrison
F Alex Poythress
F Karl-Anthony Towns
C Willie Cauley-Stein
White Platoon
G Tyler Ulis
G Devin Booker
F Marcus Lee
F Trey Lyles
C Dakari Johnson
“They haven’t been platoons, they’ve been battalions on the glass tonight,” Bilas said during the destruction of KU.
“As they go along, the narrative will change to how good they are, to how do you beat ’em, to what would you change, to how they could be even better,” said Bilas.
I have no idea who will beat them, but someone will. So chill with the 40-0 talk.
“No, we’re not that good,” John Calipari said when he began his post-game press conference last night. “We’ve got a long way to go.”
Coach Cal John Calipari at the postgame presser. #BBN #BBNstandup #UKBasketball pic.twitter.com/CLP8vyStMl — Paul M. Banks (@PaulMBanks) November 19, 2014
He then had his social media coordinator reiterate this same point on his verified Twitter account:
“I repeat, do not lose your mind and start counting wins or championships. We are a long ways away.”
Paul M. Banks owns, operates and very often writes The Sports Bank.net ,which is partners with Fox Sports. Read his features stories in the Chicago Tribune RedEye edition. Listen to him on 1620 The Zone. Follow him on Twitter (@paulmbanks). His work has been featured in hundreds of media outlets including The Washington Post and ESPN 2