March Madness and chaos go hand in hand, and Arkansas’ Sweet 16 clash with Texas Tech was no exception. At one point, Arkansas had a comfortable 13-point lead, looking like they had it in the bag. But as the final buzzer sounded, the scoreboard told a different story. The real talk, though? It wasn’t just about the players—it was about John Calipari for a decision—or rather, the one he didn’t make. BUT!
Amidst this chaos and controversy for not taking a timeout at the crucial moment of the game, Calipari just got a tremendous shout-out from none other than Charissa Thompson. See, Thompson has been in the broadcasting world for over a decade now. And let’s be real—she had faced a fair share of struggles in the initial phase of her career. And that time, it was coach Cal who acknowledged her efforts and was most amazing to her.
Charissa is back with her best friend and co-host, Erin Andrews, on the latest episode of their Calm Down podcast, where both the sportscasters talked about basketball. And when Andrews asked, “Can we give a little shout out and love to John Calipari,” Charissa Thompson recalled the initial phase of her career.
“Erin and I have a great affinity for Coach Cal because as we’ve talked about many times on this podcast, when you’re just starting out and no one wants to give you any credit or credibility or the time of day, he was one of those few coaches that was so amazing to us,” Thompson said.
Look, Thompson might be the face of the football now, but let’s not forget—she’s been around the sports world long before she took over the NFL sidelines. And yeah, the 42-year-old sportscaster knows a thing or two about basketball, considering she was grinding it out on the college basketball scene, serving as a sideline reporter for Big Ten Network and Fox Sports Net.
You see, Charissa Thompson has frequently talked about the competitive nature and scrutiny she encountered during the early days in her career before becoming a recognizable face in sports media. Whether for her looks, or the impact of negative experiences with certain individuals, or not getting credit for the efforts she put in her work. No doubt the Fox reporter faced certain obstacles.
And during that phase, John Calipari acknowledged her work. And now it’s safe to say that she didn’t shy away from giving a huge shout-out to coach Cal. And let’s just say the shout-out came at the best time. The reason? It’s the Thursday night loss to Texas Tech.
The final few seconds took the game away from John Calipari
In the meantime, John Calipari is surely under media scrutiny after losing to Texas Tech on Thursday night. The Razorbacks were on the verge of a thrilling win. Geez! They’re in total control of the game while leading by 13 points with less than five minutes remaining. But Texas Tech bounced back and took the game in overtime.
The real controversy happened during the final moments of overtime when Darrion Williams put up a clutch basket and gave Texas Tech an 85-83 lead. As for the Razorbacks, they had one last shot. And instead of calling a time-out to set up the play, coach Cal let the team play on. The result? Arkansas guard DJ Wagner ended up taking a tough, contested jumper, which missed as time expired. And the rest is history.
Since then, Calipari’s been under criticism for not taking a timeout. After the game, Calipari discussed his tough decision during the final seconds of the game when asked about not calling the timeout. “In my career, I let that go, let the guy get to the rim,” Calipari said. “I usually let that go. Because it ended the way it did, yeah, I wish I would’ve called a timeout. But 99% of the time, I let that go.”
On top of that, coach Cal also mentioned that the team wanted Wagner to have the ball at the end. Sure, Calipari wishes he would’ve called the timeout. But at the end of the day, Arkansas ended their March Madness run in Sweet 16.
The post Charissa Thompson’s Powerful Message to Controversy-Embroiled John Calipari Amid Disappointing End to Arkansas’ March Madness Run appeared first on EssentiallySports.
