Late in the game Saturday, Kentucky held a slim lead over the Louisville Cardinals, and all of a sudden, John Calipari was given a technical foul for being outside of the coaching box.
He was warned earlier in the game for being outside the box, and then the technical followed in a crucial point of the game.
Louisville would make the free throw, and that point ended up being very important, as the Cards didn’t have to go for a three to tie the game at the end of regulation.
This is a rule that is in the rule book, but it is a bad rule. What impact does it have on the game if Cal is a little outside his box coaching his players? (he wasn’t yelling at an official when he was called for it)
Fortunately, the Kentucky Wildcats were able to grind it out in OT behind a great performance from Nick Richards and Tyrese Maxey and get the 78-70 victory.
After the game, Cal was asked about the strange call.
“I don’t know. I wasn’t looking down. My wife said she was going to take pictures of the other bench because he (Louisville coach Chris Mack) was out.”
I didn’t dedicate my day to watching if Mack was out of his box but he most likely was as every coach ventures out of it a little when play is on the other end and they are coaching their team.
It is still a bad rule and I can’t wrap my head around an official wanting to make that call down the stretch of a close rivalry game with that much on the line. It seems that the action on the floor should be their only concern at that point.
Regardless, Cal didn’t seem very upset over the call.
“I said look guys just so you understand, I don’t care what an official calls as long as you make the same call down at that end,” said Calipari. “So, if you call us on a carry or a moving screen and I see one down here, that’s when I lose my mind. I don’t care what you call. Call fouls every time down on both teams. Just keep calling them.”
To the surprise of many, Cal said he thought the crew did a good job calling the game Saturday.
“This crew did a good job today,” exclaimed Calipari. “I was on them. If I see this called, you better make that call. I’m never saying, I don’t think that was a block, or, I don’t think that — I don’t do that. I’m like, whatever you call, you call down that other end, and I’m good.”
Calipari wasn’t too upset with it, but it was still a head-scratching call since it came at such a crucial point in the game. This seems like a rule that needs to be taken out or refined because what Cal did had no impact on the game but the call had a big one.