Alabama football coach Nick Saban gave a passionate speech at an event recently in which he called out three players (not by name) for not doing what they should have been doing during the regular season. Ultimately, Alabama ended up losing to Georgia in the national championship game.
“We had three guys,” Saban said. “They all had a significant role in the national championship game and not one of them — not one — could take advantage of the opportunity they had.
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“Because they never ground through it. They never made themselves the best player they could be. And when they got the opportunity, they couldn’t do it. It’s a lesson for everybody. What comes first? Playing time? Or making sure that you’re ready to play and create value for yourself when you get the opportunity.”
You can hear portions of Saban’s speech in this video:
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Calipari applied Saban’s speech to Kentucky situation last week against Alabama’s basketball team. The Wildcats went into the game with no true point guards and missing two starters.
“Part of it was, you’re worried about the results — you’re results-oriented, ‘I need more shots, I need more minutes, I got to get this’ – versus I got to be the best and train myself to be the best at the position I have,” <Calipari said after Kentucky’s 90-81 win over the Crimson Tide. “So when you do have a chance, you’re ready to go.”
