Louisville senior guard Chris Jones had a rough game against rival Kentucky on Saturday, shooting just 3-of-15 from the floor and dishing out one assist. The lowlight was Jones’ absurd flop in the second half, and he ended up in Rick Pitino’s doghouse because of it.
On Tuesday night, Jones played just nine minutes in a 63-48 win over Long Beach State. His lack of playing time wasn’t a coincidence. Pitino told reporters after the game that Jones had been removed from the starting lineup because of his theatrics.
“I was very upset at that,” Pitino said when asked about the flop, per Adam Himmelsbach of The Courier-Journal. “We don’t do that type of thing, and then to fake with the jaw like you got hit, you can’t fake like you got hit. You can’t fake it. … That’s something Louisville guys don’t do.”
Jones admitted he was trying to time his opponent’s elbows to draw a call. He took it even further by putting his hand up to his face like he was checking for blood after no foul was called.
To his credit, Jones admitted he made a mistake.
“It was nowhere near a foul,” he said. “…At the end of the day, it did get embarrassing after you (rewind) and wind and wind.”
Yep, that was one of the more dramatic flops we have seen — and we’ve seen some pretty bad ones. I wouldn’t expect to see Jones do that again this season.
Video via College Basketball Talk
