Let's focus on the end of regulation.
Calipari refused gifts that would have helped his team win. Calipari got a gift from his players, really more like a reprieve after playing such a poor game with poor coaching for 39 minutes, that he steadfastly refused to accept (SMFH). After all of the things that transpired to get us to the 40th minute of this game, poor defense, poor offense, poor use of resources, poor preparation for St Peter's, not using Sharpe, despite Grady shooting 0-7 to that point, and despite the build up of pressure involved with potentially losing to a 15-seed (this list is much longer), we still were given a gift of a Tschiebwe offensive rebound and assist to Grady for a 3-point shot that puts us up by two, 71-69. Forty seconds remained.
At this point, our kids needed help. We had squandered a 68-62 lead with three minutes to go to make matters worse and the pressure to perform in this particular game, a game we absolutely could not lose, even tougher than any other game. We go up two and he could have called time out. He could have recognized that the porous shoddy defense we had played to that point--for the last six weeks really--needed shoring up, and he needed to ensure we got one lousy stop to save the day and survive. We could have been more creative and unpredictable talking about our defensive effort, not fouling, and making sure we made that last possession of theirs the toughest of the night. But, he did not call a timeout and Edert inexplicably on a long curl and screen beat two of our guards and Oscar with a runner that fell in the basket. One gift refused.
But that's not the only gift refused. Tied at 71 with 20 seconds to play, he could have called a timeout there too so he could set up our best option at scoring. What would you do, BBN, in that situation if you have a chance to talk about it. Sure, get the ball to the All-American, right? Yet, once again, he refused to call time out. Think about that. Despite all that happened, luckily, we find ourselves with a huge advantage to win the game--the game is tied, we have the ball with 20 seconds to play. That is your opportunity to help these kids win the game. They had struggled all night. YOU CANNOT LOSE this game--you must maximize every opportunity to win and take full advantage of any chance (gift) you get under pressure-packed, austere circumstances, and Cal refused to do that.
What happened then was a disaster. Calipari wound up applying the same flawed strategy, the attempt lacked creativity or cleverness, and we didn't get a good shot, in fact, we elected to put the ball in the hands of a freshman, supposedly still hurt (?) from a previous injury and not the same down the stretch run of the season, and he ultimately missed. In fact, we shot so late that we left ourselves too little time for any kind of decent offensive rebound and second attempt after the first shot missed. Do you see how all of this doesn't make much sense when put into the context of last night's game? Do you see how with a timeout called before our last possession that that would have at least enhanced our chances and gotten everyone on the "same page" during the most critical possession of the entire season? The unspeakable stupidity of not calling a timeout in EVERY situation, especially in this situation, cannot be overstated.
These kids needed help at the very end--we got two gifts to help us win this damn game, one this program could not afford to lose, our survival depending on it, and Calipari refused to give in. That ego and that stubbornness is infuriating. It doesn't matter one iota that he's a HOF member, that he's been around a long time, that he's done this plenty before, he and he alone took away our chances at the end to help these kids win the game. Turning down gifts is not a way to support a "Player's First" philosophy.
Calipari refused gifts that would have helped his team win. Calipari got a gift from his players, really more like a reprieve after playing such a poor game with poor coaching for 39 minutes, that he steadfastly refused to accept (SMFH). After all of the things that transpired to get us to the 40th minute of this game, poor defense, poor offense, poor use of resources, poor preparation for St Peter's, not using Sharpe, despite Grady shooting 0-7 to that point, and despite the build up of pressure involved with potentially losing to a 15-seed (this list is much longer), we still were given a gift of a Tschiebwe offensive rebound and assist to Grady for a 3-point shot that puts us up by two, 71-69. Forty seconds remained.
At this point, our kids needed help. We had squandered a 68-62 lead with three minutes to go to make matters worse and the pressure to perform in this particular game, a game we absolutely could not lose, even tougher than any other game. We go up two and he could have called time out. He could have recognized that the porous shoddy defense we had played to that point--for the last six weeks really--needed shoring up, and he needed to ensure we got one lousy stop to save the day and survive. We could have been more creative and unpredictable talking about our defensive effort, not fouling, and making sure we made that last possession of theirs the toughest of the night. But, he did not call a timeout and Edert inexplicably on a long curl and screen beat two of our guards and Oscar with a runner that fell in the basket. One gift refused.
But that's not the only gift refused. Tied at 71 with 20 seconds to play, he could have called a timeout there too so he could set up our best option at scoring. What would you do, BBN, in that situation if you have a chance to talk about it. Sure, get the ball to the All-American, right? Yet, once again, he refused to call time out. Think about that. Despite all that happened, luckily, we find ourselves with a huge advantage to win the game--the game is tied, we have the ball with 20 seconds to play. That is your opportunity to help these kids win the game. They had struggled all night. YOU CANNOT LOSE this game--you must maximize every opportunity to win and take full advantage of any chance (gift) you get under pressure-packed, austere circumstances, and Cal refused to do that.
What happened then was a disaster. Calipari wound up applying the same flawed strategy, the attempt lacked creativity or cleverness, and we didn't get a good shot, in fact, we elected to put the ball in the hands of a freshman, supposedly still hurt (?) from a previous injury and not the same down the stretch run of the season, and he ultimately missed. In fact, we shot so late that we left ourselves too little time for any kind of decent offensive rebound and second attempt after the first shot missed. Do you see how all of this doesn't make much sense when put into the context of last night's game? Do you see how with a timeout called before our last possession that that would have at least enhanced our chances and gotten everyone on the "same page" during the most critical possession of the entire season? The unspeakable stupidity of not calling a timeout in EVERY situation, especially in this situation, cannot be overstated.
These kids needed help at the very end--we got two gifts to help us win this damn game, one this program could not afford to lose, our survival depending on it, and Calipari refused to give in. That ego and that stubbornness is infuriating. It doesn't matter one iota that he's a HOF member, that he's been around a long time, that he's done this plenty before, he and he alone took away our chances at the end to help these kids win the game. Turning down gifts is not a way to support a "Player's First" philosophy.
