Leonard Hamilton Starts to Freak Out When Asked About Not Fouling
If you're still watching the broadcast, they just asked Leonard Hamilton to explain why he didn't foul when they were only down 4, and he acted like it was the dumbest question he's ever been asked. He almost walked away.
Meanwhile, the people in Vegas who had Michigan -4.5 are wondering the same thing.
I'm just thankful he turned into a coaching idiot there at the end.
[EDIT: Changed the headline after several people rightly pointed out that he composed himself after initially starting to freak out.]
March 24th, 2018 at 11:31 PM ^
He felt the game was over.
March 24th, 2018 at 11:31 PM ^
2. That wasn't a freak out
March 24th, 2018 at 11:38 PM ^
March 24th, 2018 at 11:50 PM ^
March 25th, 2018 at 12:41 AM ^
March 25th, 2018 at 12:58 AM ^
stuff happens like that. He should have fouled.
In fact, he was quite the opposite. He made no excuses and gave Michigan full credit.
He was unhappy about the question because it was an invitation to throw his players under the bus. The guy closest to Robinson had 4 fouls and didn't want to foul out. Does anyone really think he instructed his team to foul if they made that last shot and not to foul if they missed it?
I thought he showed a lot of class under the circumstances.
not to foul. Blaming miscommunication is just a polite way of saying his players weren't listening. It invites more questions too. Of course he was pissed about how they lost. Who wouldn't be? Giving Michigan credit was literally the first thing he did when he finally decided to answer the question.
March 25th, 2018 at 12:47 AM ^
I know in the Houston game the guy was a ~60% shooter but he was 8/9 on the night iirc. Fouled, on the line, missed both, Poole hits a program highlight shot. Yes I know Robinson hits 89.7% but still, this is the NCAA tournament. Money is on the line, last game of the year Brent can't hold anything back. Crazier things have already happened this year, throw caution to the wind.
.4x.4x.20-.30(whatever the percentage on that Poole shot was)... that's still > 1%... 1 in 100 vs 1 in 10k, the situations aren't comparable.
Basically 0% is a lot different than 0%. 11 seconds, 2 missed FT's from Duncan is really unlikely but not 0%. Then you need a bucket, probably a 3, lets give them 3.6 seconds to get it. Now they are down 1 with 7ish seconds and then even if Michigan makes 2 FT's, FSU is down 3 and another 3.6 seconds later, who knows.
Yeah, all this is unlikely to happen but FSU gave up with 11 seconds to go while down 4. They. Gave. Up.
March 24th, 2018 at 11:51 PM ^
March 24th, 2018 at 11:54 PM ^
I wish MSU had thought like that in the fall of 2015.
March 25th, 2018 at 11:08 AM ^
I wish Dantonio thought like you.
March 24th, 2018 at 11:32 PM ^
Michigan credit, I appreciated that.
32 wins, Go Blue!!!
March 24th, 2018 at 11:39 PM ^
his kids, and turned to praising Michigan. Has to feel like deep fried horseshit.
March 25th, 2018 at 12:28 AM ^
Seth Greenberg was suggesting that he may have been covering for his guys. They may have been instructed to foul and didn't and Hamilton was trying not to put his guys under the bus
March 24th, 2018 at 11:32 PM ^
Michigan credit, I appreciated that.
32 wins, Go Blue!!!
March 24th, 2018 at 11:32 PM ^
March 24th, 2018 at 11:41 PM ^
I thought it was great. He thought the game was over, which fouling Duncan right there just delays the inevitable. She kept on it. He Lloyd'ed her. Then he heaped praise on the team that beat his.
How is that ridiculous? He didn't answer a stupid question like that.
March 24th, 2018 at 11:48 PM ^
March 24th, 2018 at 11:32 PM ^
to the end, but Robinson had the ball in the corner with like 9 seconds.. Odds were about zero at that point.
March 24th, 2018 at 11:40 PM ^
They were about zero, sure, but if you're gonna lose, why not leave every option on the floor and fight to the last second?
I'll happily take it - this team can win any way, anywhere.
March 24th, 2018 at 11:47 PM ^
play to the end if you're within 2 posessions.
March 25th, 2018 at 12:00 AM ^
Happened to Loyola. Happened to Michigan. The tourney's all about weird shit coming down the stretch in a single elimination tournament.
Coach Hamilton will be formidable next year, and that shot blocker (Obiagu) is on a different level. Yet if I were those players after the game, I'd be kind of pissed. I'd rather go down swinging.
March 25th, 2018 at 12:17 AM ^
March 25th, 2018 at 12:00 AM ^
It is the elite 8, if you are down 6 or 7 points with 10 seconds left you foul. Your team might be that 0.01%.
March 25th, 2018 at 12:16 AM ^
Say Robinson misses the first and makes the second. Down 5 w/ 9 to go. Then say FSU executes a length of the court pass like Northwester did to us last year. Now you're in a one possession game with time left.
I can understand the FSU player wanting to foul someone else other than Robinson. I bet that's what he was thinking. I'm sure he wishes he wouldn't have frozen.
And if you are in Coach Hamilton's shoes, there's no value in throwing your player under the bus.
March 24th, 2018 at 11:33 PM ^
March 24th, 2018 at 11:34 PM ^
Well all the gentlemen in the studio were in her ear telling her to ask the question because they felt it had to be asked. Something tells me none of them would have asked it, however. I, along with every other person on this site who's ever coached a game has made some boneheaded decisions, and I'm not saying that was, seeing all it would have involved to come back. None of us feel good about it and immediately after making it is not a good time to catch the man. I thought he did a great job of turning it back to the game and giving the maize and blue credit. But it was their mind, not hers. And it scares me that Charles has to, due to noting more than odds, get one right eventuall. Love the guy but keep pulling for the opposition and you can always be right next year.
March 24th, 2018 at 11:37 PM ^
March 24th, 2018 at 11:51 PM ^
I felt like game was over when Duncan secured rebound, and the Coach was trying to protect his player. While they should have fouled, way too much analysis on the point, and not the reason Michigan won the game.
March 24th, 2018 at 11:32 PM ^
March 24th, 2018 at 11:32 PM ^
Yeah, he just barely reigned it in before really making a fool of himself. Not a good look trying to make the interviewer look bad, even if the question was not one you want to answer...
March 24th, 2018 at 11:37 PM ^
Heat of the moment and covering for his player who didn't foul. No problem with it.e
March 24th, 2018 at 11:57 PM ^
March 25th, 2018 at 12:04 AM ^
March 25th, 2018 at 12:10 AM ^
He was standing right next to him on the sideline with his hands up in the air, telling him not to foul.
March 24th, 2018 at 11:33 PM ^
March 24th, 2018 at 11:33 PM ^
Considering the circumstances, he handled the intereview very professionally.
March 24th, 2018 at 11:33 PM ^
March 24th, 2018 at 11:33 PM ^