COLUMN: Cut the Coachspeak — Kentucky is Atrocious

Tennessee coach Rick Barnes is the latest to give props to the struggling Wildcats. Let's not bead around the bush any longer...Kentucky is not a good basketball team.

Add Tennessee head coach Rick Barnes to the list of skippers that aren't taking the visual downfall of Kentucky basketball without a few grains of salt. 

After Barnes' Volunteers scuffled their way to a 77-68 victory over Vanderbilt at home on Tuesday night, the eighth-year coach down in Rocky Top didn't pass judgement upon seeing that the once-heralded Wildcats had fell 71-68 to South Carolina in a staggering upset inside Rupp Arena, pushing UK's record in conference play down to 1-3: 

“I didn’t see the (South Carolina) game,” Barnes said. “I don’t know what happened there and I know (Kentucky's) dealt with some injuries too. Someone did tell me that Cason Wallace did get hurt tonight."

Kentucky and coach John Calipari still may not be sure what happened on Tuesday in Rupp Arena, either. Gamecock guard Meechie Johnson dropped 26 big points thanks to six 3-pointers, while star freshman GG Jackson added 16 points on 6-10 shooting to help SC stave off a late comeback attempt by the desperate Cats, who sprinted to the finish line thanks to a 10-0 run, but eventually fell short. 

That late stretch was something that first-year South Carolina coach Lamont Paris was prepared for, as he's well aware of what Calipari and Kentucky are — supposedly — capable of. 

"We knew they were going to make a run; they’re a really good team. They don’t do the things they’ve done by accident, that’s for sure," he said after landing his first marquee win. 

Kentucky's latest defeat was the sixth of the season as well as the new low-point of the year in Lexington, something that was already thought to have been reached on a few occasions since the regular season began on Nov. 7. 

Just about every loss this season has then seen the opposing coach on the winning side give some sort of praise to Calipari and Kentucky, starting with fellow Hall of Famer Tom Izzo, after Michigan State escaped the Champions Classic with a win over the Cats in double-overtime on Nov. 15:

"I really do love Kentucky’s team," he said. "They’ll be really good as they get those guys playing together."

An early season showing of respect to the blue-blood, of course. There was no real cause for concern coming out of Lexington just yet, as it was the third game of the season, and while UK choked away a chance for a solid victory to kickstart a résumé — something that still hasn't happened in the middle of January — there were still plenty of passes to be handed out. 

Then came the throttling in Spokane on Nov. 20, as Gonzaga spanked Kentucky 88-72 in a game that felt nowhere near as close as the score indicated. Longtime coach Mark Few didn't have much to say about UK, but the mutual respect was clearly there — as affirmed by the six-year series that will witness the school play each other quite often for the rest of the decade. 

The win for the Bulldogs came right after a tough loss to Texas — a program that has since garnered some attention up in the Bluegrass. 

"We needed some positive things to happen, to do it against that caliber of an opponent, I think really helps fuel our confidence even more," Few said of beating the Wildcats. 

Okay, so there's been a couple of bad showings. It's a long season, right? 

Enter the CBS Sports Classic in Madison Square Garden, where Kentucky would put up one of the clunkier performances of the Calipari era in a 63-53 loss to Mick Cronin's UCLA Bruins on Dec. 17.

As Calipari gave postgame claims that weren't backed up by statistics in the slightest, Cronin talked about grilling out during Christmas back home in Westwood, then giving the Cats some props on what he saw from them in the lead-up. 

"Watching Kentucky on film, they’re just so good defensively. They’re so big, so strong. They’re always so well-prepared," he said.

Entering SEC play, hopes continued to get crushed as the Missouri Tigers laid the wood in an 89-75 win on Dec. 28. First-year coach Dennis Gates didn't join the flower-giving posse postgame. 

Kentucky would then win two games in a row, defeating superbly-subpar Louisville and now Quadrant 3 opponent LSU, the latter coming by just three points. There was a tiny bit of momentum heading into Tuscaloosa for a big-time tilt against the then-No. 7 Alabama Crimson Tide on Jan. 7.

How about the worst loss to the Tide in program history and the third-fewest points in a game in the Calipari era, losing 78-52? The Coleman Coliseum crowd chanted "NIT!" during the drubbing, something coach Nate Oats would go on to refute:

"Kentucky’s not gonna go to the NIT. They’re gonna be an NCAA Tournament team. It’s college students being college students. They’ve got plenty of talent over there. Cal’s done a good job assembling some talent. They’ve got really good players. They just didn’t shoot the ball well tonight."

Oats likely didn't foresee a loss to South Carolina in UK's future, but neither did anybody else not wearing garnet and black. All signs now point towards the Alabama student section being rather accurate, just ask Joe Lunardi and his latest projections. 

But of course, no coach is going to head to the podium and dunk on Kentucky after defeating them. Mostly because their players just got done doing that for 40 minutes, but there is still a respect level that most all appear to have for Calipari and what he's built. Barnes echoed that on Tuesday night: 

“The fact is, I have so much respect for John. I’ve known him for a lifetime in this business, he’ll have this team ready. I think our guys certainly know that," he said. "They’re going to keep getting better.”

This comes from the coach of the team that just defeated South Carolina 85-42 on the road. That's a 43-point victory. Those same Gamecocks would come to Lexington three days later and manage 42 points in the first half alone. 

The issue with all of these statements, is none of them seem to be true. Coachspeak at its finest, of course. 

It turns out that Kentucky may not be so good defensively. Did Cronin actually think it would be? 

It turns out that Kentucky may not make the NCAA Tournament. Did Oats actually think it would make the 68-team field? 

In a column published by Stadium's Jeff Goodman, an anonymous coach told Goodman what he really thought of Calipari and Kentucky:

“I think he’s lost the players,” one head coach said after facing Kentucky this season. “Their offense is so shitty. He doesn’t run anything for their guards. He has no idea how to use Cason Wallace.”

-Jeff Goodman - "Calipari and Kentucky: It's Time for the Marriage to End

There are very clear issues that are plaguing the Wildcats. As things continue to spiral out of control, opposing coaches continue to give the benefit of the doubt, but should they? 

Tennessee will likely defeat Kentucky this Saturday inside Thompson-Boling Arena, and Barnes will likely hit the podium postgame and utter something along the lines of "Kentucky will be fine" or "Calipari will figure it out." 

But by now, Barnes has taken a peak at the South Carolina film. He's seen what Alabama was able to do on its home court. What reason does he have to believe that the ship is going to miraculously turn in the right direction? Obviously a win on the road over a top-five team would be a nice place to start, but who in their right mind is picking this version of Kentucky to win in Knoxville? 

Let's cut the coachspeak and call a spade a spade: Kentucky basketball is abominable. 

They say all roads lead to Lexington, but the roads that lead to victory and satisfaction must be under construction. It's unclear when they'll be finished, but it doesn't look like it'll be before March. 

More on Cason Wallace's injury HERE.

More on Oscar Tshiebwe's postgame words HERE.

Everything John Calipari said after the loss HERE.

WATCH: Tshiebwe, Fredrick and Collins post-SC loss

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