John Calipari says Harrisons stayed in semifinal loss out of loyalty
LOS ANGELES — Coach John Calipari said his loyalty to guards Andrew and Aaron Harrison last season may have cost Kentucky a shot at the national championship and a 40-0 record.
Speaking at a basketball coaches clinic on Sunday, Calipari noted he stuck with the Harrison twins, then sophomores, rather than play Devin Booker and Tyler Ulis, then freshmen, when Kentucky faltered down the the stretch against Wisconsin in the semifinal game of the 2015 Final Four.
“Now you may say, ‘Why didn’t you have Tyler and Devin in at the end of the Wisconsin game? You probably would have won,’ ’’ Calipari said during his hour-long talk. “Because I was being loyal to those other two who led us to a championship game a year ago and they deserve to be on that court. That’s why I did it. I knew who was playing well and who was struggling. You think I wasn’t sitting there watching?
“But I owed it to those two (the Harrison twins) to do it.’’
Kentucky went ahead 58-56 on Aaron Harrison’s layup with 7:51 to play. But the Harrisons missed seven of their final eight shots from the floor as Wisconsin pulled away for a 71-64 victory that ended Kentucky’s season at 38-1.
The Harrisons, who both started the game, combined for 10-of-21 shooting from the floor, 4-for-4 from the free throw line and had one steal and one turnover. Booker and Ulis, who were on the court about half as long as the Harrison twins, combined for 5-of-10 shooting from the floor, shot no free throws and had two steals and no turnovers.
So now it wasn't his coaching that was the reason for losing to Wisconsin, even though it was his decision to play the Harrison twins.....un-huh. Go back at look at how many minutes Booker and Ulis played in that game....what were their stats ? LOL
So it's everybody else fault but coach "used car salesman cal" for the loss, cal has no integrity or character. Fact is he is a "Character" from the Batman comics.......the Joker !!
LOS ANGELES — Coach John Calipari said his loyalty to guards Andrew and Aaron Harrison last season may have cost Kentucky a shot at the national championship and a 40-0 record.
Speaking at a basketball coaches clinic on Sunday, Calipari noted he stuck with the Harrison twins, then sophomores, rather than play Devin Booker and Tyler Ulis, then freshmen, when Kentucky faltered down the the stretch against Wisconsin in the semifinal game of the 2015 Final Four.
“Now you may say, ‘Why didn’t you have Tyler and Devin in at the end of the Wisconsin game? You probably would have won,’ ’’ Calipari said during his hour-long talk. “Because I was being loyal to those other two who led us to a championship game a year ago and they deserve to be on that court. That’s why I did it. I knew who was playing well and who was struggling. You think I wasn’t sitting there watching?
“But I owed it to those two (the Harrison twins) to do it.’’
Kentucky went ahead 58-56 on Aaron Harrison’s layup with 7:51 to play. But the Harrisons missed seven of their final eight shots from the floor as Wisconsin pulled away for a 71-64 victory that ended Kentucky’s season at 38-1.
The Harrisons, who both started the game, combined for 10-of-21 shooting from the floor, 4-for-4 from the free throw line and had one steal and one turnover. Booker and Ulis, who were on the court about half as long as the Harrison twins, combined for 5-of-10 shooting from the floor, shot no free throws and had two steals and no turnovers.
So now it wasn't his coaching that was the reason for losing to Wisconsin, even though it was his decision to play the Harrison twins.....un-huh. Go back at look at how many minutes Booker and Ulis played in that game....what were their stats ? LOL
So it's everybody else fault but coach "used car salesman cal" for the loss, cal has no integrity or character. Fact is he is a "Character" from the Batman comics.......the Joker !!