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Men's Basketball

Flop or Flagrant Foul: Immanuel Quickley and Yves Pons

Published

5 years ago

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For the first time ever, I attended Thompson-Boling Arena yesterday for the Kentucky vs. Tennessee game. The arena is nice, the fans I sat around were nice, and the game was fun. Some drunk Vol fans were chanting “f*** Kentucky!” and talking trash about Lexington when we left, but otherwise, it was a fun experience.

One thing that has been consistently terrible in college basketball this season, well other than North Carolina, is college officials.

I didn’t think they were terrible in yesterday’s slate of games, but there were two egregious no-calls. One in the UT/UK game and one in the Duke/UNC game. One cost a team the game, the other didn’t, but one was much worse than the other.

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I didn’t see the play happen live, all I saw was Immanuel Quickley lying on the ground and he appeared to be unconscious because he wasn’t moving. The refs didn’t even blow the play dead and finally John Calipari got the refs attention and walked out onto the floor. The refs wouldn’t let him on the floor at first but Cal won the battle as he walked out with Vol fans erupting in boo’s.

Should they have stopped play? Yes. Kentucky had possession and the ref was literally right there when it happened. Instead, all he did was shake his head.

I woke up this morning to see a lot of fans suggesting that Quickley flopped and that it was a good no-call. I couldn’t believe it. So let’s break it down.

Quickley isn’t even looking

It’s pretty clear that Kentucky is running a play to get Quickley open. No one else is moving besides him and Keion Brooks is setting a screen for him.

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The thing that makes this even weirder is that Tennessee is on defense. Why on earth is Pon trying to set a screen? If he is simply trying to keep Quickley from running the baseline, this isn’t the legal way to do it.

Not set and leans in

If you watch the video closely, Pons isn’t close to set. He’s moving before he gets in front of Quickley and he clearly leans his shoulder in Quickley’s direction before they make contact.

I know one photo doesn’t do the play justice, but here’s the moment of impact.

Shoulder

I pretty much already stated this above, but I need to emphasize it a little more. Pons clearly sticks his shoulder out toward Quickley before they make contact. I wouldn’t really have a problem if he just moved laterally to get in front of him, but he clearly swings his shoulder at Quickley, making it even worse, and a dirty play.

The Ref

To cap it all off, there’s a ref standing right there and he does nothing. In the background, Nick Richards sees the play and goes nuts, the refs simply shakes his head, suggesting there’s nothing. I don’t know how you can see that in live action and do nothing.

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Flagrant Two

This is clearly a Flagrant Two foul and Pons should’ve been thrown out of the game. He swung his shoulder at Quickley and made contact above the shoulder area. The play was completely unnecessary and wasn’t anywhere near the ball. Like I said, it looked like Quickley got knocked out because he went to the ground and didn’t move and was there for a lengthy amount of time.

For the ref not to even blow his whistle is absurd. There’s no way that’s a clean play in basketball. I would go as far as saying the ref should be suspended. He watches the play, doesn’t blow his whistle, shakes his head, and doesn’t stop play for an injured player on the team with possession of the ball (the rule).

After the game, Quickley tweeted this:

And to make it even better, the blind mouse that missed that made this call:

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Don’t get me wrong, the refs made some bad calls on both teams. But, like I said above, unless your a homer who hates UK, this is an obvious foul call and an ejectable foul. No way is this a play on.

Thanks SEC refs.

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Men's Basketball

Kentucky Basketball Players Say They Think About Winning National Championship “Every Second”

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4 days ago

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November 18, 2024

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Kentucky basketball players celebrate after their big over Duke.
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The expectations at Kentucky are the highest of any school in the country, and there is good reason why. The winningest college program ever. Eight national titles, under five different coaches. Seventeen Final Four appearances. You get it, a lot of success.

Fans want the players to have those same expectations. Despite not having the elite talent or preseason hype of great Kentucky teams past, this year’s team still has their eyes set on doing something “people will remember forever”, winning a national championship.

Asked on social media, if hanging banner #9 was all the players thought about “every second”, Ansley Almonor had a response.

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“We do.”

It takes a lot to win a national championship, including some luck, but this team is certainly going to be loved for their desire to live out their dream of playing at Kentucky and their unselfishness. Those two things can take them a long way this season .

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Kentucky AD Mitch Barnhart Seemingly Takes Shot at John Calipari, “Anybody Can Recruit”

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6 days ago

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November 16, 2024

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Mitch Barnhart sitting next to basketball coach John Calipari.
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John Calipari and Kentucky Athletic Director Mitch Barnhart had their differences over fifteen years, but success can hide a lot of things. Not that they hated each other, but they each had vastly different personalities. As that success weaned towards the end of Calipari’s tenure, those issues started to be noticed publically.

If you need evidence of that, despite their efforts to dispute it, there is the infamous press conference where Barnhart talked about “entitled” coaches, shortly after Calipari publicly called for a new practice facility. Then, there were multiple times when Calipari expressed that the administration was not on the same page and that he was facing “headwinds”.

That said, Calipari is now at Arkansas, but those differences and some disdain remain. During an interview on the Kentucky Football pregame show, Barnhart seemingly took a shot at Calipari when asked about Mark Pope’s recruiting philosophy and prioritizing fit.

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“I tell people all the time, ‘Anybody can recruit, not everybody can evaluate,’” Barnhart said. “You can recruit. You can be phenomenal at bringing people to your program. But if it does not fit you, it’s really not helpful.”

Of course, Calipari is one of the best, if not the best, recruiters in college basketball history. At times, he prioritized talent and athleticism over fit.

Quite the coincidence.

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ESPN’s Jay Williams Gives Message to Kentucky Fans, “You’re Not Going to Like It…”

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7 days ago

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November 15, 2024

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ESPN college basketball analyst Jay Williams gives a message to Kentucky fans after the Wildcats win over Duke. "You won't like it."
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Back in April, opposing fanbases like Duke, told Kentucky fans to “cope with Pope” following the hire of Mark Pope and the corresponding initial shock. On Tuesday, those same fanbases had to watch as Mark Pope outcoached Jon Scheyer and Duke in the final minutes of the Champion’s Classic to get his first marque win in just his third game at Kentucky.

Of course, shortly after the game, Duke fans began to rationalize the loss by highlighting their team’s youth. While true, it sounded like an echo chamber of what Kentucky fans said for years under John Calipari. One notable example was former Blue Devil Jay Williams.

At halftime, while Duke was leading 46-37, Williams called this year’s Duke team the most talented since the 2001 team that he was a part of at halftime. To his credit, he complimented Kentucky on the comeback victory, specifically on their offense and maturity, but then 36 hours later he posted a message to Kentucky fans on social media.

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“Let me put you on to something,” Williams started. “Whether you like it or not, networks are going to sell Cooper Flagg. He’s going to be the number one pick in the draft. You’re going to talk about whether he won the or whether he lost the game, regardless of the outcome.”

“You’re not going to like it. There should be more kudos to Mark Pope and Kentucky,” Williams continued. “Regardless of whether you won the game or not, they’re still going to sell Cooper Flagg because he is selling the sport. Sorry.”

William’s statement is true. That said, it comes off as ‘sour grapes’ about losing. Cooper Flagg is a great talent and will likely be the first pick in the NBA Draft, but most Kentucky fans would say they would much rather have the win than the marketing.

Futhermore, Kentucky and its ‘brand’ has raised the level of multiple players and coaches, and will continue to do so. A deeper impact than Cooper Flagg will have on Duke in just one season.

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