Kentucky’s Calipari expects less physical play in NCAA tourney. ‘They call every foul.’
Kentucky had scored nine straight points to reduce Tennessee’s lead to 51-43 with more than 13 minutes left in Tuesday night’s game.
UK Coach John Calipari sensed his team could ride this momentum to a thrilling victory. Surely this expectation strengthened when Tennessee missed its next shot.
Then Sahvir Wheeler drove to the basket early in UK’s next possession and had his shot blocked. This ignited an opportunity for Tennessee’s transition offense that Zakai Zeigler cashed in with a floater.
“I was so mad,” Calipari said during his weekly radio show as he recalled this moment in the game.
Wheeler should have run offense and helped Kentucky get a good shot, the UK coach said.
Upon reviewing the video, Calipari re-directed his unhappiness toward the referees, who did not call what the UK coach said he thought was Wheeler getting fouled.
“Clubbed? What’s the next word up from that?” Calipari said. “He (Wheeler) did the right thing. They (the referees) didn’t do the right thing.”
As he spoke of the play, Calipari took his point much further.
“You play for Kentucky, you’re not getting that call,” he said. “You better play to make the basket. You don’t play (with the intention of) ‘I’m going to get fouled.’”
Retired referee Don Rutledge, who officiated in six Final Fours, saw an ulterior motive in Calipari’s comment.
“He uses psychology about as well as anybody . . . ,” Rutledge said. “All coaches do it.”
Rutledge, who said he had not seen the play in question, suggested that Calipari was sending a message to referees.
“He wants them to know, if you look at this, you’ll find out what you did wrong,” Rutledge said. “And maybe I’ll get another call sometime. . . .
“‘C’mon, guys. Give it to me. Maybe if I say it that way, you’ll give me the next one.”
He said that a coach could also “protect a player” — in this case Wheeler — “by criticizing the referees.”
Calipari’s contention that Kentucky is less likely to draw fouls sounded familiar to another retired referee who worked Final Fours. Early in his time as supervisor of officials for the Atlantic Coast Conference, John Clougherty heard Duke Coach Mike Krzyzewski make the same point.
Krzyzewski said some referees would want to show strength and impartiality by making calls that did not favor Duke, Clougherty said.
This could happen, Cloughterty said. But . . .
When it comes to officiating in general, might the reverse be true? That it’s better to be a basketball blue blood like Kentucky, Duke, North Carolina or Kansas rather than not?
“Oh, 100 percent,” Clougherty said. “Good teams with better players have a better ability to draw fouls. And good teams don’t foul as much.”
Clougherty also said he had not seen the non-call in the Kentucky-Tennessee game that Calipari questioned.
Calipari has repeatedly spoken about opponents being physical with Kentucky. He said he tells his players that the ideal is to commit no more than six fouls in a half. Of course, that would prevent opponents from shooting one-and-one free throws.
Clougherty recalled former North Carolina Coach Dean Smith having a similar philosophy.
“Dean Smith said they call it a free throw for one reason: it’s free,” Clougherty said.
Calipari suggested sending an opponent in the NCAA Tournament to the foul line repeatedly could be a ticket to an end-of-season defeat.
The UK coach also suggested that referees are more likely to call fouls in the NCAA Tournament, so physical play is limited.
“Teams cannot play that way in the NCAA,” he said during the radio show. “They call every foul. You know why they’ll call the foul? Because they’re evaluated.”
To allow physical play has consequences for referees, Calipari said. “That group of officials will not advance. THEY WANT TO ADVANCE LIKE WE DO!!! So, they call the fouls.”
Rutledge and Clougherty noted that conferences evaluate referees during the regular season.
Of the 850 Division I referees, 100 are selected to work the NCAA Tournament. There are also nine referees selected as standbys.
The referees who worked the Kentucky-Tennessee game were Doug Shows, Patrick Evans and Michael Roberts.
“All three will probably be in the NCAA Tournament,” Rutledge said.
