John Calipari re-ups line asking critics to 'attack' him, not Kentucky players following win at Auburn
It’s becoming something of a common refrain for Kentucky head men’s basketball coach John Calipari in recent days as he’s sought to deflect criticism away from his youthful players: Attack me, not them. And he repeated this line after the Wildcats’ latest outing.
What stood out this time, though, is that Calipari delivered this line after a double-digit win over Auburn on the road. Walking into his press conference, he offered the defense.
“Please just leave my players, let them be young and learn and keep attacking me,” Calipari said. “I may be the worst in the country, just attack me and leave these kids alone.”
Kentucky went on the road on Saturday and defeated the Top 15-ranked Tigers, 70-59, in one of the stronger wins of the season for the Wildcats in terms of resume-building.
But even with the big win, the head coach is keeping on with his plan to soak up any an all criticism.
Calipari went to the line most recently when Kentucky lost three-straight at home
“You know you’re going to have some of the negative Nellies out there attacking and that’s fine. I told them the other day I hope they just attack me and leave you alone,” Calipari said after an 89-85 loss to Gonzaga, according to KSR’s Tyler Thompson.
It’s been nearly 50 years since Kentucky has lost three straight home games in men’s basketball, a feat the Wildcats just managed to replicated with an 89-85 loss to Gonzaga recently. And it was a skid with an infamous distinction.
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The last time Kentucky lost three straight home games was 1966, 10 years before Rupp Arena was built. That makes this the first time in Wildcats history that the men’s team has lost three in a row at Rupp.
And all told, the collective losses weren’t pretty.
A 94-91 loss to Florida was followed by an uncompetitive loss to Tennessee, 103-92. Then, on the road, the Wildcats pummeled last-place Vanderbilt in a 109-77 game that seemed to set things back on course, somewhat.
But four days later, after erasing a 10-point halftime deficit to lead in the second half, Kentucky was again falling short at home and at a frequency few had ever seen. And none had ever seen in Rupp Arena.
Gonzaga forward Graham Ike led all scorers with 23 points, but fouled out in the final minutes. The Bulldogs were aided by a balanced scoring effort, though. Alongside Ike, four more Gonzaga players scored in double figures: Anton Watson and Nolan Hickman each scored 17, respectively, as Ben Gregg scored 14 and Braden Huff added 12 off the bench.
Kentucky had a deeper scoring effort from the bench, with 21 points coming from there opposed to the 12 that Huff provided Gonzaga. And a trio of starters did make it to double figures: Reed Sheppard with 21, Antonio Reeves with 17 and Adou Thiero with 15.