John Calipari has heated moment with ref during UK's win

Kentucky Wildcats head coach John Calipari Jordan Prather-USA TODAY Sports

John Calipari has heated moment with ref during Kentucky's win over Alabama

Originally posted on Larry Brown Sports | By Grey Papke | Last updated 2/19/22

Kentucky coach John Calipari is no stranger to conflicts with officials, but one he had Saturday managed to get some extra attention.

Calipari basically squared up referee Pat Adams and went face-to-face with him during Kentucky’s win over Alabama at Rupp Arena on Saturday. Calipari was apparently upset that he had not been granted an explanation for a call, while Alabama counterpart Nate Oats had received that courtesy from referees.

I want Pat Adams kicked out of the state of Kentucky pic.twitter.com/5yELnNbGaX

— Bobby Reagan (@BarstoolReags) February 19, 2022

The fact that Calipari avoided repercussions here is kind of amazing. That’s about as close as you can get to an official without getting at least a technical foul, but Calipari pulled it off. Maybe Adams conceded that the Kentucky coach had a point in his argument and gave him extra leeway as a result.

Kentucky wound up winning the game, so Calipari walked away happy. The showdown with Adams just gave him a chance to share what he learned from Michael Jordan many years ago.

This article first appeared on Larry Brown Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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