NBA G League coach Chase Buford, a former KU player, rips ‘cheating’ refs in wild rant
Seeing your team blow a 21-point lead in the fourth quarter has to sting.
When Wisconsin Herd coach Chase Buford witnessed his team cough up that advantage in an NBA G League game on Sunday, he was furious. And Buford, a former KU basketball player, took out his frustrations on the referees.
“The officiating definitely went right for Grand Rapids,” Buford told reporters. “That was as unprofessional as an officiating performance. I hope you tweet this out and tag the league, because that was embarrassing. ... That being said, we have to be so much better at the end of games. We can’t blow a 21-point lead with 12 minutes to go, however bad and biased and unfair and illegal and cheating the referees are. We have to be better closing games.”
Twitter user Ryan Rodig shared this video of Buford’s outburst after Grand Rapids’ 126-117 win (the Herd was outscored 48-20 in the fourth quarter):
In what should come as little surprise, both Buford and Herd general manager David Dean put out statements a few hours later.
“I deeply apologize for my behavior following our game against Grand Rapids today,” Buford said in a statement. “It was unprofessional and I’m embarrassed.
“My sincere apologies to referee Matt Rafferty, the Grand Rapids Drive, their fans and the Herd organization.
“It’s a tough learning experience as a first-year head coach and I’m truly sorry, and will grow from this.”
Buford, who was a walk-on guard for KU, appeared in 35 games for the Jayhawks between 2007-10.
This story was originally published February 24, 2020 at 9:23 AM.
