John Calipari Says Harrisons Stayed in Semifinal Loss Out of Loyalty

[Joneslab]

I think the game got close and slipped away from him a little. Not totally sure it would've mattered; hitting the brakes when we got the lead beat us. The bad shots the Harrisons were taking had to do with the whole sluggish, overly conservative style of play in the last 5:00 to 7:00. Whether they were forced into those shots because they were trying to play "hero ball" or whether Cal was telling them to slow it down and thus putting them in situations where they had to play against the clock, I don't know, but I think it was Cal feeling like we could just milk the game away when we got up by 4.

http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/ncaab/2015/09/28/john-calipari-says-harrisons-stayed-semifinal-loss-out-loyalty/72972990/

[KevinHall]

I think Cal slowing it down and going to that 1-4 flat set was what did it. It made them play tentative. He may have resolved in his mind the way he says in this but while the game was in play I doubt he was thinking "I'm leaving these guys in because they have been loyal to me".

[Matt Dillon]

I think Cal slowing it down and going to that 1-4 flat set was what did it. It made them play tentative. He may have resolved in his mind the way he says in this but while the game was in play I doubt he was thinking "I'm leaving these guys in because they have been loyal to me".

I agree, Kevin.

[Blue Heaven]

I just want Cal to keep his foot on the gas when we get a lead. That attitude has cost us more than a few games since he's been here. And he's only lost a few so that's saying something.

[BobS]

Some times I wish Cal would just shut his pie hole. This is one of them. I am still hurting from this one. Thanks for opening up wounds and crapping on your philosophy of taking talent over experience every time. I love you man, but let things lie sometimes.

I guess I understand what he was trying to say, but perception.........

We are a few weeks away from starting over. Quit picking on scabs.

BTW..for those wishing for him to keep his foot on the gas late...forget it. Not his style. He milks clock with leads. We have seen it since he has been here. Most of the time it works out, obviously. Then other times.....

[lilproUK98]

I agree Bob.

Cal, please, just stop. He feels like he let the best opportunity he'll ever have to go 40-0 slip (which he did) and he just can't let it go.

I wish that game would never be spoken of again....

[Joneslab]

I don't mind him speaking about it. Can't act like the season never happened. I don't care what anyone says, that was an incredible season. We might never have a regular season run like that again where we just maul teams with regularity.

I'd say Cal wonders what would have happened if he would've played Ulis at the end. As I said, I doubt it would've mattered. But you know the question of what-if lingers.

Doesn't bother me that he's talking about it. I question how conservative he is at times, but Cal talking about stuff is what I find fascinating--and entertaining--about him. Most coaches disappear in the summer. I'd rather have Cal. This is the sort of thing that we will badly miss when the guy retires. He talks, he says some weird stuff, he talks a lot of nonsense, he has some great ideas about how to fix the sport--but he talks. That's kind of his bag. I like it even when I don't agree.

[Lighthouse]

I think responsibility for the loss rests solely on the Harrison's shoulders. Putting the ball in Town's hands wins that game, and they didn't get it done. Towns was working hard to get the ball and even though Wisc. made it more difficult, they could have put the ball where it should have gone. I'm so glad both are where they are.

[catfaninin]

I think responsibility for the loss rests solely on the Harrison's shoulders. Putting the ball in Town's hands wins that game, and they didn't get it done. Towns was working hard to get the ball and even though Wisc. made it more difficult, they could have put the ball where it should have gone. I'm so glad both are where they are.

I usually see things much the same as you do. But this time I totally disagree. Not that the Harrisons played well but to totally blame them for that loss is just wrong. There is plenty of blame to go around. Cal for taking the air out of the ball. Willie being a total no show, allowing Wis. to sag all around Towns. Cal again for not using Lyles to take some of that pressure off of Towns. Booker and Ullis for being abused so bad on defense that they couldn't be in the game. Lots of factors, no way that can be blamed on just those two.

[KevinHall]

I usually see things much the same as you do. But this time I totally disagree. Not that the Harrisons played well but to totally blame them for that loss is just wrong. There is plenty of blame to go around. Cal for taking the air out of the ball. Willie being a total no show, allowing Wis. to sag all around Towns. Cal again for not using Lyles to take some of that pressure off of Towns. Booker and Ullis for being abused so bad on defense that they couldn't be in the game. Lots of factors, no way that can be blamed on just those two.

I'll second that. Plenty of blame to go around. Not just on the Harrisons. In the end I think Cal has to take the bulk of it though. He's the coach and responsible for what goes plays out on the floor.

[Joneslab]

I agree with catfaninin too. The Harrisons had very little, if anything, to do with that loss.

If you watch those last possessions, they were trying to get the ball into Towns. Wisconsin jumped it; that was the gameplan against ND and they knew exactly what was coming. But Cal slowed it down so much that everybody was panicking as the shot clock ran down. The sets started way too late.

[Lighthouse]

While I agree there is plenty of blame to go around, I still remember Andrew saying he thought his plan would work better than Cal's. If the kid totally ignored what his coach told him to do, the only fault Cal has is not jerking him out and putting Ulis in. Yes, using Lyles to take pressure off Towns should have worked, but Harrison had another plan. I've never agreed with Cal's decisions to take the air out, Especially in 2012 against Kansas, but it worked out then. Again, from my perspective, I'm really glad they're gone.

[Joneslab]

Kentucky will be fine without the Harrisons. I thought that through the first 15/18 games last year, Ulis was arguably our best player. Fell off a little toward the end, but he's an upgrade over Andrew. The only question will be if he can play the necessary minutes with his frame.

That said, the Harrisons did some extraordinary things. Two Final Fours. The shots Aaron hit. The play Andrew made against Notre Dame. Andrew's run in the 2014 NCAA Tournament. They would've smashed most every record on the book for guards had they stayed four years.

Very good college players. Limited in some ways, but you could do a lot worse than those two.

[Titus Lucretius Carus]

The Badgers were a poised, experienced team who were familiar with UK from the previous year NCAA matchup. From the ESPN reporting last year

ome stats that made the difference: Wisconsin shot 47.9 percent from the floor -- 13 points higher than what Kentucky allowed this season -- and went 10 for 20 from 3-point range. The Badgers, ranked 262nd in the country in offensive rebounding this season, finished with 12 to only six for Kentucky. It helped explain how Kentucky could lose despite shooting 48 percent itself and committing only six turnovers.
Junior Willie Cauley-Stein, a key to Kentucky's success this year, finished with two points and five rebounds.