NBA mock drafts be damned, these Cats aren’t ready. Erratic and sluggish regular-season play was validated with a postseason shutout, as the Cats dropped their opening contests in both the SEC and NIT tournaments. These Cats weren’t ready for the NCAA tourney or the NIT — and the players now say they aren’t ready for the next level, either.
“If any of us said we should leave, we’d all be delusional,” freshman guard Archie Goodwin said after the 59-57 loss to Robert Morris at the Charles L. Sewall Center on Tuesday night.
Goodwin, often maligned for his decision making and quick trigger, nearly brought the Cats back from the dead in the second half, leading the Cats in both scoring (18 points) and rebounds (seven). But Goodwin’s play was the exception, not the norm Tuesday, or the Cats would have come away with a win against the 10-loss team from the Northeast Conference.
RMU’s tallest player was 6-foot-9, yet 7-footer UK freshman forward Willie Cauley-Stein captured just four rebounds in 36 minutes of play.