I’m not sure if John Calipari said the loss of Andre Allen, because of a suspension for violating team rules, wouldn’t have an “effect” on the Tigers or that it wouldn’t have an “affect” on the Tigers. Either way, he’s wrong. 

This doesn’t mean the Tigers will not beat Kansas and win the National Championship, but it does mean things will not be the same. You don’t have a guy playing 10-plus minutes a game the entire season and all of a sudden his absence is irrelevant. Allen has been the most vocal player in the Tigers locker room after games and according to Calipari has been one of the leaders of this team and now his absence doesn’t matter. If that’s the case, why was he playing to begin with?

Now I understand Calipari wants his team to think it’s no big deal. In a way, he has to and needs to keep his players focused on the big prize.  And hopefully they’ve bought into it. Yet, he will be the first to tell you that these are young men.  More importantly, they are humans, and we humans are cognitive creatures filled with this stupid and wonderful thing called emotions.  And emotions have led to Tigers’ players writing Allen’s jersey number on their shoes and saving a place on the bench for a player who will not show up. Good or bad, the players will feel Allen’s absence both and off the court, although it may not have appeared that way against UCLA.