John Calipari opens up on Oscar Tshiebwe's in-game anger

Oscar Tshiebwe caught some heat for his physical outbursts against Arkansas in the SEC tournament, including an elbow that nearly got him ejected. Kentucky head coach John Calipari isn’t worried about future outbursts from his big man, though.

Calipari more or less equated the moments of over-the-line physicality from Tshiebwe as built up frustration over a long season finally being unleashed. He doesn’t expect it to rear it’s head in the NCAA Tournament opener against Providence on Friday night.

“This is — the NCAA tournament very rarely do you have to deal with officiating because it’s really good officiating. A couple of games I’ve had where I’ve been a little more outspoken, but normal situation is you’re coaching your team, and they’re officiating the game,” Calipari said. “What you hope is the physical-ness of the game is called. Oscar has been with me now two years. How many times has he had outbursts? You watched us. I think he just got tired of it. He said, That’s it.”

The legendary Kentucky coach even had a bit of good humor about it all, noting that he’s usually the unpleasant one to deal with during games.

“And this is a quiet, faithful — you know, I’m a sinner, and when I’m around him, I feel like a miserable sinner. This kid is — who he looks to be is who he is. What I would guess is if they try to get too physical, if they block out facing him, they’ll be called fouls, and that would be my hope,” Calipari said.

Calipari certainly isn’t concerned about this being a long-term issue, as he also defended Tshiebwe some for what took place in the SEC Tournament.

He was asked if it’s become the MO for teams to bully his star center in an attempt to get him to retaliate.

“It isn’t that. You guys have watched him play all this time, has he ever done that?” Calipari asked. “So what does that tell you that’s happening? Did you see the play where the kid grabbed him and held him? No the one where they pushed two hands in his face when he hit, what do you want him to do?”

It’s no secret that Tshiebwe is a menacing physical force that gives most centers issues when defending him. He’s no stranger to contact on the court, but may have reached his breaking point versus the Razorbacks, which Calipari has a simple solution for.

“Now I know he’s 255 pounds, what are they gonna do? Foul! Just call a hundred fouls and they don’t, so he finally had enough,” Calipari said.

Calipari’s remark got a laugh out of reporters, but he has a point, as 52 combined fouls were called in their game versus Arkansas, and Tshiebwe only just two free throws.

“And this is the nicest kid ever, but like I said, it’s hard for me to say what are you doing, it’s hard,” Calipari said. “I’m watching it too, he’s looking at me and I said, ‘I can get thrown out of the gym or keep trying to coach you’.”