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ATLANTA – John Calipari took a shot at Duke on national TV, then claimed amnesia.



C'mon, Cal.

If you take the shot, own the shot.

When ESPN's Andy Katz stuck a microphone in the Kentucky coach's face at halftime of his team's excellent Champions Classic game against Duke, this was the money quote from Cal: "They're flopping all over the place. In the NBA, they'd all be suspended."

Calipari gave voice to what America has been saying for decades now: that Duke players can fall down like Hollywood stunt doubles when the other team drives to the basket. From Tommy Amaker to Bobby Hurley to Steve Wojciechowski to Shane Battier to Jon Scheyer (see: Gordon Hayward drive, 2010 national title game), Mike Krzyzewski's players have drawn a whole lot of charges over the decades.

Many of them have been legit charges, earned with hustling help defense and a willingness to give up their bodies for the cause. And many have been Academy Award efforts by the Blue Devils.

But coming unprompted at halftime from an opposing coach, this was a startling statement – one that immediately got major run on Twitter and all over the Internet. When one national championship coach calls out another, that's news. And it was especially interesting coming from a coach who works the refs as relentlessly as anyone in the game, and who has gotten more than a few calls in his favor over the years – particularly the last three seasons at Kentucky.

[Also: Keith Appling powers Michigan State's victory over Kansas]

But after years of fighting uphill at Massachusetts and Memphis, Calipari still tends to view Hoopsworld through the prism of the outsider battling against the Establishment. The problem with that: he's not at Massachusetts or Memphis, he's at Kentucky. And Kentucky is the Establishment right now, enjoying all the perks that come with that position – an ESPN all-access series, massive recruiting clout and, yes, the occasional favorable whistle.

Naturally, Calipari was asked about the flopping comment following the Blue Devils' tenacious, 75-68 victory. His response was a backpedal that would make Deion Sanders jealous.

"I did?" Calipari said. "I don't even remember. What did I say?"

As the reporter attempted to refresh Cal's suddenly faulty memory, the coach cut him off.

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