Coach Cal on leaving the starters in…

Coach Cal on leaving the starters in…

by Thomas Beisner @ 5:00 pm. Filed under Blue Blooded Opinions

doron-lamb-injury

Here is what Coach Cal had to say after the game when asked why his starters were left in the game late with such a large lead. Much like in the South Carolina game, Calipari cited the opposing coach’s decision to not call off his dogs when the game seemed out of reach. Since Anthony Grant was not letting off the gas, Coach Cal apparently didn’t want to either and potentially face a situation of having to bring guys back in the game.

They didn’t stop pressing. You don’t know my bench. I play six guys. If they had stopped pressing, I would have subbed with three minutes to go. But they didn’t stop pressing and they kept grabbing and strapping. And the minute he backed up, I would have subpoenaed. But if you don’t stop.

All right. So I sub, and they make a couple threes, we miss it, my bench is saying we’re fine. It goes to 11. I sub my guys back in now, we miss foul shots, and it’s three, and you say, You never played those guys all year. Why would you do that? Why wouldn’t you finish the game off? You don’t win. Obviously, I would have rather have had all of them out. We play tomorrow. But I’m trying to win that game. Good question, though.

As mentioned before, Doron Lamb is listed as doubtful and DeAndre Liggins is listed as probably for tomorrow’s championship game. Both have left ankle sprains suffered in the final 1:30 of the game.

Lamb doubtful for SEC title gameEmail Print Comments63 By Mark Schlabach
ESPN.com
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ATLANTA -- Kentucky coach John Calipari said Saturday that starting guard Doron Lamb is probably doubtful to play against Florida in Sunday's SEC tournament championship game because of a sprained left ankle.

Lamb, a freshman from Queens, N.Y., was hurt in the closing minutes of the Wildcats' 72-58 victory over SEC West champion Alabama in the SEC tourney quarterfinals at the Georgia Dome.

Lamb, who is third on the team with 13.2 points and second with 60 3-pointers, was using crutches in UK's locker room after the game.

"[He] could be doubtful," Calipari said. "I don't know. He was pretty bad in there, but we'll see. [We'll] see how bad he wants to play."

Lamb, who scored 15 points on 6-for-10 shooting against the Crimson Tide, said he intends to play against the Gators.

"I'm playing tomorrow," Lamb said. "I've just got to get a lot of treatment on my ankle to get ready."

Kentucky guard DeAndre Liggins injured his left ankle a few minutes before Lamb was hurt. Liggins scored 14 points on 5-for-6 shooting against Alabama.

"I feel fine, just a minor tweak," Liggins said. "I came down on my ankle a little bit, but I'll be fine."

Follow Mark Schlabach on Twitter: @Mark_Schlabach