CALIPARI'S COACHING COSTS MEMPHIS TITLE

If John Calipari had been reading my blog he would have seen that statistics just don't lie. In earlier blogs I laid out the reasons why Kansas would win, Memphis would not and why you MUST foul at the end of a 3 point game.

All tournament long Calipari downplayed his teams poor free throw shooting, stating that "his kids would make them when it counted". Boy was he wrong. No team has won a title shooting less than 60 percent in the regular season and that was again the case as Memphis proceeded to miss 3 clutch free throws that would have clinched the game. Practice, practice, practice...don't downplay your role Calipari, make your kids get better at shooting free throws.

The second mistake Calipari made was fouling Kansas with 59 seconds left and down only 3 points. Instead, Memphis should have just played tough defense, got a stop and then they would still will have 15 seconds or so to make a play that would tie the game. By fouling at that point they gave Kansas a chance to go up 5 from one of the easiest places to score from: the free throw line (maybe Calipari just assumed everyone misses free throws down the stretch..lol). Calipari should have made certain that his kids would not foul thus putting them in position to win.

Lastly and most importantly, you MUST foul before the other team has a shot at a last second three pointer (see my "End Game Coaching Decision: Foul or No Foul"). This is a no brainer and Memphis would be national champs if they had of done used this technique. In fact Tennessee used this strategy to beat Memphis earlier in the year. I know that Calipari was quoted as saying that they were trying to foul but the ref did not call it but as a coach take some responsibility. You should have practiced this technique and there should have been no doubt in the refs mind what you were doing. Your kids should foul BEFORE half court which gives plenty of time for the ref to make a call...that is a coaching mistake.

Three major coaching mistakes, three missed free throws and Memphis will go done in history as the team which blew a 9 point lead with under 2 minutes to play (which only happens 2 percent of the time) in the only game that matters. Next time Calipari...read my blog.