"What the hell kind of question is this?": Fans react as Chris Beard slams reporter for John Calipari-Bruce Pearl question

Chris Beard's Ole Miss Rebels 2024-25 season ended on Friday when the SEC eighth seed lost 62-57 to the Auburn Tigers, the consensus top-ranked squad in the country, in the conference tournament quarterfinal.

Despite the loss, many consider Beard's second stint with the program as a step in the right direction, and a testament to that was the fight they put up against the Bruce Pearl-coached squad.

This is a narrative Chris Beard defended during the pre-game press conference when a reporter asked him a question he took offense to.

"I know it's a team gam,e but you talked about personal challenges and going up against Hall of Fame (coach) John Calipari, you get to take on Bruce Pearl next. How satisfying is it for someone like you to play against those guys and find a way to beat them?," the reporter said.

Chris Beard questioned the reporter, mentioning his various winning stints at other programs.

"I'm not sure what you mean by somebody like me. ...This is year 2, and we're winning at Ole Miss. I don't say that as a self-promotion way at all, but I'm going to take up for our staff and players, I think the way you worded that was, this is not my first rodeo. ...I been doing this for a minute," Beard said. (0:20)

College basketball fans reacted in disbelief towards the question.

"What the hell kind of question is this?!," one fan asked.

"I can’t get over the condescension and stupidity of that question," another shared.

"Great answer, that was a very insightful answer for an insulting and demeaning question," one asserted.

"Couldn’t have answered that any better," a user claimed.

Some users even elected to give their own alternatives on how the question could've been said.

"Worded poorly but I think he was saying, 'Someone was maybe discounted/discarded,' after personal challenges and is showing up and showing out. Or at least, that’s how I took it. Probably should have changed that last part though lol," one said.

"Really poorly worded. 'Does playing a hall of fame coach give you and the team a little extra motivation or juice?,' would have been fine," another wrote.

"Coach is defensive. It’s a fair question. He’s knows the coaching fraternity, and all of them look forward to coaching against hall of fame coaches. Pushing back at on that reporter publicly as if he meant to be condescending is just insecurity," one posted.

For now, though, Beard and the rest of his team will look for a potential national tournament berth in hopes of not ending their season prematurely.

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Chris Beard expresses satisfaction with facing the likes of John Calipari and Bruce Pearl

In the same response, Chris Beard talked about the satisfaction he gets being in a tough conference like the SEC where he gets to face high-profile tactitians like John Calipari and Bruce Pearl.

"To answer your question, anytime you get a chance to coach against a Hall of Fame coach, absolutely (satisfying).

"We all understand that, to say anything different would not be truthful. So, in this league, it's almost in every single night. Coach Cal' and then tomorrow, Bruce Pearl. We'll see how we stack up," Beard shared. (0:55)

Chris Beard' Ole Miss Rebels have a 22-11 overall record, 10-8 from conference play.