This is the basketball mistake driving John Calipari insane

by:Maggie Davis03/06/19

@MaggieDavisKSR

John Calipari has brought plenty of new words and phrases into Kentuckians' vocabulary over the past decade. From "tweak" to "everyone's Super Bowl" and from "brother's keeper" to "you people are crazy," the Wildcats' head coach has given fans plenty of Calipari Catchphrases over the years. But it wasn't until last season Calipari honed in on a new phrase. This one doesn't rhyme and it's not even necessarily very "catchy," but it has been used quite a bit in the last year and a half: one-handed rebounds. It started with Nick Richards last season, and although he's obviously not the first basketball player to struggle with pulling in boards, the 2017-18 season marked the first time Calipari spent a significant amount of time harping on it. And Coach Cal hasn't stopped this season. But now, Richards isn't the only one under the single-handed microscope: Tyler Herro is guilty as well. "There are certain things we do, and we drill how we are going to play. Those are the things that drive me nuts. Everything we do is with two hands [in practice]. So if a guy goes to grab the ball with one hand, I lose my mind," Calipari admitted after the Ole Miss game Tuesday night. "For five months, that's all we've talked about. Every drill in everything. We are not losing the game because you are going to go after the ball or a rebound with one hand - we are not. We may lose in other ways, but it is not going to be that." The call-out comes one game after the camera caught Calipari having a rather... intense conversation with Herro. But, according to Cal, Herro had made several consecutive mistakes at that point and, after the fourth or fifth reminder, Calipari had seen enough. After the Ole Miss game, Coach Cal revisited the mentality he has during those heated moments. "We are coaching them. If we're asking you to do something and you don't do it, you're going to hear about it and we're going to hold you accountable," Calipari said. "We're also going to tell you how much we love you and how proud of you we are and all of that stuff. But we're going to hold you accountable. And that's why I said you've got to grow up coming here. This is one where it's not easy." After struggling in Knoxville, Herro came out battling in Oxford. He spent a good portion of the first half perfect from the floor. Even though Herro finished with 20 points on an efficient 8-of-12 shooting against Ole Miss, Calipari said the guard still made some simple mistakes, and those mistakes showed a "slippage [that] goes back to high school." "By trying to steal and not getting it, you gave them a three and a chance to beat us," Calipari said of Herro's decision during one of the final plays of the game. "Why did you do that? That is a high school move. You aren't trying to steal it, we are just going to stay in front and make him take a tough shot. Those are all things that I talk about after the game and we show on tape." Despite the mistakes, including those one-handed rebounds, Calipari seems content with the progress his team is making, saying "I have great kids. Every one of them, from top to bottom." You could even say... "I like my team."
@MaggieDavisKSR

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