Chas in Boca
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So, I'm a Gator and obviously this is a Vol message board. I would think neither of our fan bases traditionally have had a lot of love for Kentucky basketball or John Calipari.
That said, I was watching this 30 for 30 film that's been airing on ESPN about him, "One and Not Done," and I found my opinion of him changing. I was curious to see if anyone else felt the same?
Basically, I think Calipari has gotten a bad rap. The common refrain about this guy is that he's a sleazy, slick-talking, cheater who lands every program he's associated with into hot water with the NCAA. Yet, in reality, this is just a guy descended from Italian immigrants who grew up on the wrong side of the tracks and has been resented by the establishment for daring to grind his way to the top and breathe their rarefied air. He didn't go to Duke, Carolina, Kansas, UCLA, etc...his mom and grandmother were lunch ladies at a school cafeteria and several of the males in his family worked the coal mines in Pennsylvania. His break in the game of basketball came through his hard work at those old "Five Star" basketball camps.
After a couple unglamorous positions as Larry Brown's errand-boy at Kansas (granted, just being on Brown's staff certainly added some credibility...) and then an assistant at Pittsburgh, he got his first head coaching break at one of the worst programs in the country at the time, UMASS. I think they said UMASS had won like 2 games the year before he arrived and neither were against D1 competition. What does he do? Immediately begins knocking heads with the big boys in the A10 and out-recruiting them. Now, some will say this is where his cheating comes into play - but how clean were those other programs? I think he just hustled more. You had John Cheney sitting there at Temple at the time and he just expected all the other coaches at those other A10 programs to simply step aside for him; basically giving him carte blanche. TV appearances, recruiting, etc...he didn't like it when Calipari dared to come in and challenge him. Is that John's fault for not kissing Cheney's behind? Again, we see the Italian kid just trying to grind and make it. Before people knew it, he was beating Cheney's Temple teams and took UMASS to a Final Four. Cheney resented his success so much that he actually tried to fight him at a postgame press conference one time. Obviously, you had the Marcus Camby situation...but, again, was that even on Calipari? The money filtered to Camby and his friends was in Connecticut - it never had anything to do with Massachusetts, per se.
Anyway, then Cal goes to the NBA. Takes the moribund Nets franchise to the playoffs in like his second year. How? Again, by grinding and out-hustling other teams. They lose to Jordan's Bulls dynasty, then the lockout happens, and the Nets, tired of his grinding ways and desiring a more passive voice, eventually decided to make a change the following season after a slow start. Cal didn't deserve that, in my opinion.
Then, the Memphis situation. Some of you who are TN residents may have more knowledge and a different perspective on his time there than me, but I see this as one more chapter of the establishment attempting to lock this guy out of the limelight. He deserved a more prestigious college job after the Nets situation, but the blue bloods wouldn't touch him because of his methodology at UMASS. So, he goes to Memphis and basically just says, "F you," to the establishment. That's how I interpret that whole Memphis scenario....Worldwide Wes, Dajuan Wagner, Derrick Rose. Was Memphis squeaky clean? Probably not, but I don't think they were as dirty as people made them out to be, either. I think Cal was basically just saying, "If you aren't going to open the front door for me, I'll find another way to get in...the back door, side door, windows...doesn't matter, but I'll find a way." That's really all Memphis was and it's hard to fault the guy for that.
Finally, Kentucky brings him on board and he finally has the chance to operate a basketball program with establishment-style resources. Kentucky actually deserves credit for going against the grain and opening a door for this guy, in my opinion. I know it's easy to hate them for their success, but if you step back and look at it, Kentucky has been a victim here, too. The NCAA and the establishment has resented them for hiring Cal and endorsing his "one and done" approach. I may get laughed off the board for this next sentence, but it's true: Kentucky doesn't get any calls. The refs ride them nonstop. The documentary highlights a shafting they received down at Texas A&M a couple years ago - to the point that Calipari just point blank told his team in the locker room afterwards, "You got cheated." Then you think about their tournament game against Wisconsin a couple years ago, the game against UCONN, this year against UNC....even in the SEC, where they clearly are head and shoulders above the rest of our programs, it's hard for them to get calls even in Rupp. And when you go back and look at how UMASS and Memphis used to get shafted in the tournament, you can see it's because of Cal. All of the talent he's assembled over the years, and the guy only has one national title? He should have at least 3 or 4...maybe more...but the establishment refuses to let him succeed the way they do Krzyzewski, Williams, etc. I'll even say Donovan got fairer treatment despite being at a football school than Cal because he didn't rock the establishment.
So, with all of that said, I now find myself rooting for Calipari except when he plays UF. Kentucky and Cal were always billed as these villains because of the history in that program and the way Cal hoards top recruits with his "one and done approach," but it's pretty obvious after that documentary that they are actually the underdogs fighting the uphill battle. Every game, they're not just facing a standard opponent, but also the refs and an establishment that doesn't want them to succeed. All because they have a coach who dared to grind his way out of poverty in Pittsburgh and out-hustle the bigger name coaches. Cal's not a sleaze bag - I think he really is more of a "dream facilitator" (when you consider it's every prospect's goal to get to the NBA as soon as possible) and all you have to do is look at how many former players had his back at the Hall of Fame induction to see the impact he's made.
I really believe the SEC should do more to celebrate Calipari and his approach to college basketball. The SEC really isn't part of that basketball establishment anyway, so it could be a natural alliance. Kentucky may have to fight the national refs in the NCAA Tournament every year - they probably just expect that by now - but they shouldn't have to get jobbed night-in and night-out in their own conference all year. Cal should be getting the same calls at Rupp that K gets at Cameron and Roy at the Dean Dome. This would allow the committee less leeway when it comes to screwing UK in their seeding, which has also been documented. I don't see how this would affect UF or Tennessee, etc, much because we're football schools anyway and don't expect to consistently compete with UK in basketball as it is.
Again, not a Kentucky fan and I know some will disagree with this assessment, but I think it's time for all of us to rethink the hatred for Cal and UK. Let's give the Italian boy from the poor part of town a fair chance and honor him for his achievements. It's not right what they've done to this guy and his reputation.
That said, I was watching this 30 for 30 film that's been airing on ESPN about him, "One and Not Done," and I found my opinion of him changing. I was curious to see if anyone else felt the same?
Basically, I think Calipari has gotten a bad rap. The common refrain about this guy is that he's a sleazy, slick-talking, cheater who lands every program he's associated with into hot water with the NCAA. Yet, in reality, this is just a guy descended from Italian immigrants who grew up on the wrong side of the tracks and has been resented by the establishment for daring to grind his way to the top and breathe their rarefied air. He didn't go to Duke, Carolina, Kansas, UCLA, etc...his mom and grandmother were lunch ladies at a school cafeteria and several of the males in his family worked the coal mines in Pennsylvania. His break in the game of basketball came through his hard work at those old "Five Star" basketball camps.
After a couple unglamorous positions as Larry Brown's errand-boy at Kansas (granted, just being on Brown's staff certainly added some credibility...) and then an assistant at Pittsburgh, he got his first head coaching break at one of the worst programs in the country at the time, UMASS. I think they said UMASS had won like 2 games the year before he arrived and neither were against D1 competition. What does he do? Immediately begins knocking heads with the big boys in the A10 and out-recruiting them. Now, some will say this is where his cheating comes into play - but how clean were those other programs? I think he just hustled more. You had John Cheney sitting there at Temple at the time and he just expected all the other coaches at those other A10 programs to simply step aside for him; basically giving him carte blanche. TV appearances, recruiting, etc...he didn't like it when Calipari dared to come in and challenge him. Is that John's fault for not kissing Cheney's behind? Again, we see the Italian kid just trying to grind and make it. Before people knew it, he was beating Cheney's Temple teams and took UMASS to a Final Four. Cheney resented his success so much that he actually tried to fight him at a postgame press conference one time. Obviously, you had the Marcus Camby situation...but, again, was that even on Calipari? The money filtered to Camby and his friends was in Connecticut - it never had anything to do with Massachusetts, per se.
Anyway, then Cal goes to the NBA. Takes the moribund Nets franchise to the playoffs in like his second year. How? Again, by grinding and out-hustling other teams. They lose to Jordan's Bulls dynasty, then the lockout happens, and the Nets, tired of his grinding ways and desiring a more passive voice, eventually decided to make a change the following season after a slow start. Cal didn't deserve that, in my opinion.
Then, the Memphis situation. Some of you who are TN residents may have more knowledge and a different perspective on his time there than me, but I see this as one more chapter of the establishment attempting to lock this guy out of the limelight. He deserved a more prestigious college job after the Nets situation, but the blue bloods wouldn't touch him because of his methodology at UMASS. So, he goes to Memphis and basically just says, "F you," to the establishment. That's how I interpret that whole Memphis scenario....Worldwide Wes, Dajuan Wagner, Derrick Rose. Was Memphis squeaky clean? Probably not, but I don't think they were as dirty as people made them out to be, either. I think Cal was basically just saying, "If you aren't going to open the front door for me, I'll find another way to get in...the back door, side door, windows...doesn't matter, but I'll find a way." That's really all Memphis was and it's hard to fault the guy for that.
Finally, Kentucky brings him on board and he finally has the chance to operate a basketball program with establishment-style resources. Kentucky actually deserves credit for going against the grain and opening a door for this guy, in my opinion. I know it's easy to hate them for their success, but if you step back and look at it, Kentucky has been a victim here, too. The NCAA and the establishment has resented them for hiring Cal and endorsing his "one and done" approach. I may get laughed off the board for this next sentence, but it's true: Kentucky doesn't get any calls. The refs ride them nonstop. The documentary highlights a shafting they received down at Texas A&M a couple years ago - to the point that Calipari just point blank told his team in the locker room afterwards, "You got cheated." Then you think about their tournament game against Wisconsin a couple years ago, the game against UCONN, this year against UNC....even in the SEC, where they clearly are head and shoulders above the rest of our programs, it's hard for them to get calls even in Rupp. And when you go back and look at how UMASS and Memphis used to get shafted in the tournament, you can see it's because of Cal. All of the talent he's assembled over the years, and the guy only has one national title? He should have at least 3 or 4...maybe more...but the establishment refuses to let him succeed the way they do Krzyzewski, Williams, etc. I'll even say Donovan got fairer treatment despite being at a football school than Cal because he didn't rock the establishment.
So, with all of that said, I now find myself rooting for Calipari except when he plays UF. Kentucky and Cal were always billed as these villains because of the history in that program and the way Cal hoards top recruits with his "one and done approach," but it's pretty obvious after that documentary that they are actually the underdogs fighting the uphill battle. Every game, they're not just facing a standard opponent, but also the refs and an establishment that doesn't want them to succeed. All because they have a coach who dared to grind his way out of poverty in Pittsburgh and out-hustle the bigger name coaches. Cal's not a sleaze bag - I think he really is more of a "dream facilitator" (when you consider it's every prospect's goal to get to the NBA as soon as possible) and all you have to do is look at how many former players had his back at the Hall of Fame induction to see the impact he's made.
I really believe the SEC should do more to celebrate Calipari and his approach to college basketball. The SEC really isn't part of that basketball establishment anyway, so it could be a natural alliance. Kentucky may have to fight the national refs in the NCAA Tournament every year - they probably just expect that by now - but they shouldn't have to get jobbed night-in and night-out in their own conference all year. Cal should be getting the same calls at Rupp that K gets at Cameron and Roy at the Dean Dome. This would allow the committee less leeway when it comes to screwing UK in their seeding, which has also been documented. I don't see how this would affect UF or Tennessee, etc, much because we're football schools anyway and don't expect to consistently compete with UK in basketball as it is.
Again, not a Kentucky fan and I know some will disagree with this assessment, but I think it's time for all of us to rethink the hatred for Cal and UK. Let's give the Italian boy from the poor part of town a fair chance and honor him for his achievements. It's not right what they've done to this guy and his reputation.
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