While my friend John Calipari is being roasted over the coals for not calling a time out at the end of regulation last night (maybe he should be fired) here are a few things to think about.
Last week, Bob McKillop of Davidson called a time out to set up his last second shot against Kansas. They got nothing. Last night, Bill Self also did not call a time out either(I don’t remember if he had any left. If not, also an error, maybe he should be fired. Anyway, whether he had one or not is irrelevant) and they got the shot that effectively won the game.
If Cal had called a TO would the kid have missed the shot? Don’t know. If Kansas did not have a time out, did Coach Cal not want to call one so Kansas could not set up a play? Don’t know. If Kansas did have a time out left, would Bill Self call it? Couldn’t have gotten a better outcome. If they did have one left, why didn’t he call it. If McKillop did not call a time out, would they have gotten a better shot? The bottom line is, one kid hit the shot, the other didn’t.
Everyone gets to play the result (including the assistants) except the guys who made the decisions. Why can’t we just say “Great game and it is the players that decided it, not the coaches.” Which is what happened in both games. It is usually what happens in all games.
True, so true! Coached H.S. girls’ ball a long time ago and we had several Div. 1 players and a lot of good players. We ran an O. and D. system that earned us a 145-13 record over 5 years. Took the same system to a H.S. boys’program that was in a rural/small town school district. Had some success, but nothing like the girls program. Why? Two Div. III players over 10 years and a bunch of good kids who worked hard.
Great players make great coaches!!
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