UK notes: Calls against Cousins irk Cal

UK notes: Calls against Cousins irk Cal

Cal: 'it's not his fault he's that big'
By Jerry Tipton / jtipton@herald-leader.com

BATON ROUGE, La. — Sounding like Phil Jackson trying to plant an idea in the minds of officials, Kentucky Coach John Calipari criticized what he saw as unfair treatment of his star big man, DeMarcus Cousins, in Saturday's victory at LSU.

Calipari did not like seeing what's become a familiar sight: referees stopping play to check a sideline monitor to see if Cousins deserves a flagrant or intentional foul rather than simply a personal foul. This time a Cousins elbow in the direction of LSU freshman Eddie Ludwig sent the referees to a monitor with 12:45 left in the first half.

"My issue is they keep going to the monitor as he gets absolutely whacked, hacked, grabbed, pushed and shoved," Calipari said of Cousins. "And what he does, they go to the monitor."

Cousins, who earlier this season received three technical fouls, said his reputation for having a short fuse contributed to a double standard: leniency for opponents and little tolerance for him.

"I think it's completely unfair," said Cousins, who added that he was only trying to clear the lane when his elbow moved Ludwig away. "Every time I go down the floor, I'm catching an elbow to my face. And nothing's called."

When asked if his reputation for having a quick temper influences referees, Cousins said, "It does have a lot to do with reputation. But it's still unfair. I go into the game knowing basically the referees are looking at me and they're looking for something."

Calipari asked for consistency in how the referees treat Cousins and opposing players.

"If you want to go to the monitor, you've got to protect him," the UK coach said. "Then just call every foul. But you can't let him get grabbed, pushed (and) shoved, then expect no kind of response. ... The issue becomes if you play that way, you're counting on those being called. Call them all. Call 50.

"No disrespect to the officials. It's not his fault he's that big."

For weeks, Calipari has suggested that opponents try to incite Cousins in hopes he'll do something that, at best, warrants an ejection or, at the least, reduces his minutes because of foul trouble.

"They're still trying," Cousins said of opponents. "Before the game, I don't know who the man was. I believe it was one of the coaches for LSU. He was giving me a nasty look, trying to get in my head. I just looked at him and started smiling."

Patterson improves

Calipari applauded Patrick Patterson's increased tenacity, which included his defensive work on LSU forward Tasmin Mitchell.

"He's rebounding with two hands," the UK coach said. "He's got about 20 percent more to go to be where I think he should be or is capable of being. I want him to be rougher and tougher and demand the ball more, come up with two-hand rebounds and be more aggressive around the goal."

Patterson noted that Calipari had judged him 30 percent short of the target after UK beat Ole Miss earlier in the week.

"Hopefully I'll be 10 percent (shy) the next game," he said.

Killer Ds

Calipari liked how freshman big men Daniel Orton and DeMarcus Cousins played in tandem. He especially liked a post-to-post pass from Cousins to Orton that netted a basket.

"I'm loving it," Calipari said. "How many teams are going to have two 6-11 guys that can play like that? All of a sudden, they can guard well enough. It becomes another thing for the other team to deal with."

Antigua sidelined

UK assistant coach Orlando Antigua did not make the trip to Baton Rouge. He injured an Achilles tendon playing pickup basketball.

When asked if the injury came as Antigua attempted a reverse dunk, Calipari smiled and said, "Struggling to get up and down the floor."

Etc.

Calipari saluted former LSU Coach Dale Brown, who came to the floor for a halftime ceremony retiring Durand "Rudy" Macklin's jersey. The UK coach said he consulted with Brown while working on his self-help book, Bounce Back. ... UK impressed Mitchell. "They're well-coached and they play hard," the LSU forward said. "I don't see why they aren't No. 1 in the nation." ... The crowd of 13,083 easily surpassed LSU's season-high attendance (9,666 for a game against Alabama). ... Patterson's 16 points moved him past Mike Pratt and Mike Phillips on UK's career scoring list. He increased his total to 1,368. ... Cousins' 19 points moved him past Jamal Mashburn for seventh place on UK's freshman scoring list. He has 377 points.