"They’d come in whistling and skipping”: John Calipari reflects on legendary 1995-96 UMass squad amid Arkansas’ small roster woes
Akansas men's basketball coach John Calipari finds himself in a seemingly difficult position a few games into the season due to injuries to a small roster. Calipari has 15 players available, but the intention is to use only nine in his rotation.
Calipari reflected on a similar situation with his legendary 1995-96 UMass team that reached the Final Four with five players averaging 30 minutes or more.
Calipari started out as an assistant to Ted Owens and Larry Brown in 1982 at the University of Kansas. After stints as head coach at the University of Massachusetts, Memphis and Kentucky, Calipari joined Arkansas earlier this year.
In the post-game news conference after No. 18 Akansas' 65-49 victory over Troy Wednesday, Calipari reviewed the team's victory and acknowledged the injury situation.
"One team I had, I had six guys. And you know who were happy? Those six. They were so happy. They smiled every day. They’d come in whistling and skipping. And we went to the Final Four and were number one in the country. Did we ever play zone? No. Did we foul?"
"They knew not to foul. It's not football. Don't grab, don't foul. So, are we in the kind of shape to play how fast we're playing and then picking up? We played fast but we didn't pick up."
In Wednesday's win over Troy, Trevon Brazile sustained an ankle injury. Jonas Aidoo has yet to recover from an ailment he had in the preseason. Freshman point guard Boogie Fland exited the game with an injury before returning near the end of the contest.
If Fland is healthy, Arkansas will have seven players available for selection, but Calipari seemed relaxed about the situation when he faced the media.
Coupled with the small roster and the injuries, the coach expressed his frustration at the way and manner in which his team closed out the game. Arkansas hit just 7 of 14 free throws in the game and 3 of 9 attempts in the second half, which Calipari said soured his mood after the game.
"I was not in a good place in the locker room after the game, and the reason is, I need to teach these guys how to win and how to finish games. We're a really good free-throw shooting team. How does that happen? So, we have things to work on. We're running offense. You dribble the ball out of bounds? Why did you do that?"
"In no uncertain terms I let them know, that ain't happening. In an SEC game, you lose the game in two minutes because you do your own thing. You play to win. That means massage the clock. Score at the buzzer."
The Razorbacks are set to take on Pacific, Little Rock and Maryland Eastern Shore at home in their next three games. Calipari has a small window to get Aidoo and Brazile healthy before games against Illinois (Nov. 28) and Miami (Dec. 3).