"Dumbest thing I've seen a coach do": Insider drops no-holds-barred take on John Calipari's "free throw" decision in win vs South Carolina
John Calipari's No. 9-seeded Arkansas beat No. 16 South Carolina 72-68 at Bridgestone Arena in the first round of the SEC Tournament on Wednesday. However, in the final few seconds of the contest when the Razorbacks were leading 71-68, Calipari told his player Johnell Davis to intentionally miss his second free throw.
Although Davis scored his attempt to give Arkansas a four-point lead to eventually seal the game, college basketball insider Dan Dakich slammed Calipari for his unusual decision which could have even cost Arkansas the game.
"Calipari, I don't know what the hell he was thinking," Dakich said in a video that he posted on Instagram (0:36). "Maybe he wasn't. I don't know. Maybe he miscalculated the score. Don't know.
"But telling your player, Johnell Davis, with two and a half seconds to go, up three, to miss a free throw that would have won the game outright, to intentionally miss, is the dumbest thing I have ever seen in the entire time I have been following and involved in college basketball since the fall of 1981."
After the game, Calipari confirmed that he told Davis to miss his free throw.
"When it was two seconds to go, I said miss it and the best thing they can do is throw it deep," Calipari said. "I've done that before. I'm really happy he banked it in."
If Davis had missed his free throw, and South Carolina had made a 3-pointer in the dying seconds of the contest, it would have tied the game at 71 each. Therefore, it was a bit puzzling why Calipari asked Davis to tank his free throw.
John Calipari's Arkansas will face Ole Miss in next round of SEC Tournament
Fortunately for Arkansas, it all ended well and more importantly, with a win. With that, John Calipari's Arkansas (20-12) will face No. 8 seed Ole Miss (21-10) in the next round of the SEC Tournament on Thursday. The game will tip off at 1 p.m. ET from Bridgestone Arena.
The winner of this game will progress to the quarterfinals of the conference tournament.