Breaking News: Calipari is a real jerk...

[rstone7727]

He threw them under the bus. True leaders do not do that, period. It's Cal's team and he is ultimately responsible for their success or failure. He recruited the players, trained them, gave them the game plan, and even made the schedule. No great leader would ever do what he did here. Even in the case where he told them exactly what to do and they didn't do it, that is still on him because he didn't have the coaching/leadership skills to get them to listen to him.

If an Army officer tells his troops not to fire their weapons across the North Korean border and they do it anyway (likely triggering a war), is he a good leader? And does it make it ok for him to say "well I tooooold them not to do it!!"? No on both counts. And throwing them under the bus only confirms a complete lack of leadership.

I think it's also a sign that he is feeling pressure to win a title with all these nba recruits. Blaming the players takes the pressure off him, but I have no doubt UK fans will see through it.

 

[Cusee44]

Calipari is full of crap. When the ball was inbounded to Indiana, he just watched his kids run around. He wasn't yelling or reminding his kids of the gameplan but Calipari casually watching from the sidelines. But when things went down and the 3 was good, he flipped and blamed the kids.

 

[longtimefan]

I don't see anything wrong with it.
If JB did it, people here would be praising his "brutal honesty."

Sometimes coaches 'send messages' via the media. These players are 18+. I think they can handle a bit of criticism. Their classmates are fighting in wars. No need to coddle collegians. It's not as if he said they suck. He said they made a mistake. Ouch.

Players need to take responsibility for not doing as told. Cal needs to take responsibility for not assuring that his message got through. Hey, he could have taken 5 guys off the bench and inserted them to take the foul if he didn't trust the one-and-done cadre.

 

[TheOrangeBuddha]

Calipari is full of crap. When the ball was inbounded to Indiana, he just watched his kids run around. He wasn't yelling or reminding his kids of the gameplan but Calipari casually watching from the sidelines. But when things went down and the 3 was good, he flipped **** and blamed the kids.

That's not acccurate. The place is mayhem and your blaming the frickin' coach for all five of his players not heeding the instructions in the huddle to foul? I cannot stand Calipari, but the end game scenario is all on the players. That does not mean the players are at fault for losing the game though ... there are 40 minutes of plays/decisions that had an effect on the outcome.

But the point of this thread is that Calipari called out his players for not following through on the instructions given and I believe he had a right to do so.

 

[El Jefe Syr]

Which is true, technically.

That's true but as a major D1 coach you have to (1) "make" your guys follow your leadership and (2) take responsibility when they don't.

 

[TheOrangeBuddha]

That's true but as a major D1 coach you have to (1) "make" your guys follow your leadership and (2) take responsibility when they don't.

That's the idealistic way, but in reality, more than just a few major college hoops coaches do the exact opposite - take credit for wins and blame players for losses.