All Entries Tagged With: "John Calipari"
Mike Pratt Has His Role Model At Kentucky
[Warning. Laden with sarcasm.]
Looks like things are going to get really interesting in the Bluegrass, with TMZ reporting that the NCAA is aggressively investigating two recent draft picks and two current players on the University of Kentucky basketball team.
Is anyone outside of the UK fan base surprised?
The recent developments have to mystify Mike Pratt, the color announcer and former Kentucky player. A product of the tarnished program, Pratt was requested by the UK administration to look into John Calipari during the coaching search. His conclusion:
“He told us about the NCAA issues when we talked to him. We were well aware of everything that was going on. Lee (Todd) and Mitch (Barnhart) did a great job laying out what they expected of their coach, and Cal laid out for them his plans on how to run a program … Some jealous people are just going after him but he’s going to be fine …”
Pratt said UK wanted a coach who could handle all aspects of a high-profile coaching job: strategy, recruiting, leadership, motivator, public relations and role model.
Calipari fit the bill perfectly as far as Pratt was concerned at the time. Would anyone be surprised if he still feels the same way today?
John Calipari. Ever the role model.
Sallie Headed To Louisville
Must be transfer week at the University of Louisville. The best thing is the new arrivals are ready to play right away in football and basketball.
The latest is Roburt Sallie, a 6-foot-5, 190-pound senior basketball guard from Memphis. That’s him at right, adorning the box cover of Xbox’s College Hoops 2K9 — a first for a U of L underclassman (albeit wearing another team’s uniform).
He’s on target to graduate in August, which means he doesn’t have to sit out a season at another school.
Sallie posted career averages of 8.2 points and 2.8 rebounds at Memphis. He shot 43.2 percent from the field, 43.8 percent from the arc and 71 percent from the free throw line in his two seasons. His 43.8 three-point shooting percentage is a school career mark.
The Sacramento native initially attended City College of San Francisco, where he played for one season, before going to Memphis to play for John Calipari, turning down Kentucky and Cincinnati at the time.
Kentucky Player Attracts NCAA Attention
Many of our good friends in Lexington are putting on their public defender hats, and we’re betting that John Calipari knows nothing. Involves that nice young man Eric Bledsoe and the path he took to get to the University of Kentucky basketball program.
The New York Times has the story, and away we go.
Teague Taking Advantage Of Silly Rule
By Paul Sykes
Whether Marquis Teague attends Louisville, Kentucky, Bellarmine or Ivy Tech is a decision that is mandated by the absurd rule that basketball players must be removed one year from high school before going professional. Baseball players go professional right out of high school, golfers on the pro circuits. tennis phenoms, pro bowlers and gymnasts. The NBA rule is wrong,and should be revoked.
No rational fan is going to be upset if their coach lands great basketball players, even if just for a year.
What difference does it make if potential NBA players attend a year of college? We may ridicule the posturing and tactics of John Calipari and his NBA-bound players but in the end it is a coach taking advantage of the system. The rule is at fault here, not the coaches or players taking advantage. If improprieties are taking place on campus with these “one and done” kids, show me the smoking gun and charge the suspect. Proof. Documentation, not wild conspiracy theorists and doomsayers.
No rational fan is going to be upset if their coach lands great basketball players, even if just for a year. Would U of L taken Wall, Cousins, Bledsoe? You know Rick Pitino would have taken him. So would Tom Crean, Darron Horn, Mick Cronin and Bobby Huggins. Cardinal fans, we are not “holier that them.”
I wish Mr. Teague the best of luck wherever he attends college. It’s a shame he has to spend a year on someone’s campus, however, when he thinks that his game is NBA ready. The rule needs to be changed. After all, these 18-year- old kids have the right to vote, drive and go defend their country. Do we need to force them into a year of college before they can go and attempt to make a living at something in which they excel?
Marquis Teague Winds Of Change
The Marquis Teague winds appeared to suddenly switch direction late Wednesday, taking an easterly course from Louisville to Lexington. Teague is expected to finally announce his decision Thursday.
Most reports indicate that the young man has never set foot on the University of Kentucky campus, yet he’s said to be leaning in that direction. Teague has visited Louisville, indicating that he liked what he saw and, from all indications, wanted to be a Cardinal until a few weeks ago.
The one-and-doners are motivated by dollar signs, and couldn't care less about tradition.
The change in direction is more than a little curious after two years of positive interaction between U of L and Teague, whose father once played for Rick Pitino. None of which may have mattered much after John Calipari and his associates got involved with the player and his family.
Greasing The Skids To The NBA
The theory goes that Calipari has some special abilities that will get kids to the National Basketball Association quickly. The rash of one-and-dones at UK would appear to lend some validity to that proposition. Unless you consider the caliber of athletes who are making those decisions.
Another championship would be nice but their individual goals are the highest priority.
Calipari appeals to the pecuniary instincts in high school kids, promising to get them to the “League” faster than anyone. As a result, he is getting talented players. He is not selling loyalty to a school or fan base, making a mockery of the college game.
That will be okay for a while, especially in Lexington, as long they’re winning games and pulling top recruits away from the University of Louisville. That’s as good, if not better, than beating Louisville in an actual game as far as the UK bleeders are concerned.
But UK fans base the “greatness” of the program on seven national championships. The one-and-doners are motivated by dollar signs, and couldn’t care less about tradition. Another championship would be nice but their individual goals are the highest priority.
Adolph who?
Pitino Provides Stability
By Paul Sykes
A long-term extension for Rick Pitino is a good thing. We’ve seen what the lack of stability can produce in nearby programs. Three coaches in a University of Kentucky program over a four-year period. How many Louisville basketball fans want to go through that?
Recruits want to know that coaches recruiting them will be around. Witness the rapid departure of hopefuls from Memphis to UK when John Calipari was hired. Remember the rebuilding job Mick Cronin and Bob Huggins were faced with when they went to Cincinnati and West Virginia? Or the tribulations of Tom Crean at Indiana?
Pitino is the master of spin. Hands down. Like a fine wine, that will only improve with age. Say what you will about his life off the court, he runs a clean program, recruits well and wants to be here.
Maybe our expectations as fans are out of whack. Louisville is not the Connecticut women’s basketball program. Neither is Kansas, Kentucky, North Carolina, Michigan State or Duke. Parity is the name of this game. With the wealth of talent out there available for Division I basketball programs, it comes as no surprise that the Butler’s, St.Mary’s, and Cornell’s of the college basketball world can occasionally set the axis on tilt.
Remember last year? Louisville was the No. 1 team in the country going into the NCAA Tournament. Rick’s resume speaks for itself. Louisville fans could have it a lot worse.
I’m confident Pitino will give Louisville fans many reasons to be proud. His dedication is sincere, his work habits and ethic unparalleled. He has earned the opportunity to finish his coaching career at U of L.
Or, maybe you want a Seth Greenburg or a Bobby Lutz?
NIT For The Unfocused
By Tom Stosberg At this point in time it might be appropriate to re-run my previous post in which it was suggested that the NIT may be in the near future for University of Louisville basketball. Having been been chastised by some readers, I must submit the skin is thick … and Stosberg is back. After much less than a lackluster performance against the St. John’s, it is now evident that an alternative competitive tournament may be in order for our men’s basketball team. And since there is really only one alternative to the “Tournament-Most-Sought-After-by-the-Most-Mature College-Student-Athletes,” let us now focus on the event sometimes referred to as the “Tournament For Underachievers Who are Unable to Focus For Periods of Time Longer Than Two Minutes.” Teams that go to alternative tournaments are coached by men who also are not focused, possibly pre-occupied by such things as seeking out opportunities to coach in the National Basketball Association. Let’s say the New Jersey Nets, for example, might be attempting to assemble the likes of LeBron James, John Wall and Terrance Williams. And such coaches also may wish to leave some problems behind and go to New Jersey. Purely theoretical. The good news is that Kentucky’s John Calipari is now being linked to the Nets’ job, as well as Mike Krzyzewski at Duke. But this season these guys are definitely headed to the other tournament.
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