John Calipari On How To Lose Friends And Irritate People
by Joel Hollingsworth on Jun 29, 2010 7:09 AM EDT
in Rocky Top Talking Points
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PrintI'm still getting caught up from my 14-year-old's four-day state 4-H horse show in Middle Tennessee (she got a 7th, a 6th, two 4ths, and two 1sts in her two-foot jumping classes -- big Daddy woo!), so y'all have probably already seen this, but John Calipari is crazy.
Yeah, Kentucky had five players selected in the first round of last week's NBA Draft, three of them in the lottery. That is an outstanding achievement. Fantastic, terrific, amazing. Almost whatever superlative you want to use to tag it. It's astonishing. Really.
But none of those words were good enough for Cal, who instead actually managed to overstate things:
For me – and I know they’re may people mad when I say it – but because this is a player’s program, this may be the biggest day in the history of Kentucky basketball.
That hyperbolic statement, of course, elicited a chorus of groans from the gallery, most of which repeated the last phrase and omitted the disclaimers and qualifiers. For what it's worth, A Sea of Blue, a blog whose authors we greatly respect around here, calls such criticism "silly," and says the critics are just missing the point, that point being that Calipari's goal is to win by having more talent than any other team and that his statement was merely a recruiting pitch calculated to lure more talent to Kentucky so that he can continue his quest to disprove the theory that a program can't win with high player turnover.
Maybe, but at least one former Kentucky player didn't much care for the quote. Dan Issel, the Wildcats' all-time leading scorer, just thought it was stupid:
The dumbest thing I've ever heard. If the goal is to be a feeder team for the NBA, maybe that was the greatest day. I thought the goal was to win a national championship.
Again, maybe, or maybe dumbest was actually yet to come when Calipari attempted to explain himself:
I made the statement, and I'll make it again, that [the NBA Draft] was the biggest day in Kentucky basketball history, and I wasn't talking to the past. I was talking to the future.
Whaaa? I'm out of time this morning, so I'll leave it to y'all to unpack that last one. Get some coffee, because it will take some time.
P.S. Yes, I once described Lane Kiffin as the anti-Dale Carnegie and followed it up with a "woo." Isn't perspective fun?
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Next year, he'll describe the Bulls' first-round exit as the best season they've ever had.
SPOILER ALERT
Simulated Gameday Experience - just like the real thing, only we have smoke machines.
Wow
And ASOLOL is actually defending that statement? I thought Kentucky fans were insufferable before, but that’s bordering on ludicrous. They’ve gone plaid.
Best article title I’ve seen in a while Joel, nice one.
"I condone fun things" ~~ Cortland Finnegan
Hello ladies. Look at your man, now back to me, now back at your man, now back to me. Sadly, he isn't me.
Oh yeah
Y’all know my self-imposed rule on going to other blogs, but did anybody bother to ask ASOB how that whole “more talent than any other team” thing worked out for them this season? Or Memphis a few seasons back? sddbaker? ;-)
Yeah, old slimy may be able to recruit, but he’s just really not that great of a coach tbh.
"I condone fun things" ~~ Cortland Finnegan
Hello ladies. Look at your man, now back to me, now back at your man, now back to me. Sadly, he isn't me.
It's funny that West Virginia didn't have 5 guys selected in the draft.
Official MCM Hater!
"If anyone asks you, you fixed my television. Now go!"
Yeah
And think about this: if the strategy is to prove that the best way to win is to have the best players, then maybe Cal’s right that Kentucky has peaked. If he wants to improve, he’ll need to get more than just five players drafted every year, right?
by Joel Hollingsworth on Jun 29, 2010 1:01 PM EDT up reply actions
Oh gee...
I’ve started to comment on that post at ASOB several times since it went up, but since I got BLASTED (including having the hopelessness of my life highlighted, and my driving ability questioned) after complimenting one of the moderators there and being told to get lost in all kinds of new ways on a thread that was deleted (hopefully in shame), just for having the temerity to give my opinion on something, well, I’m a little skittish I guess you could say.
Anyway, if I had commented, I would have just pointed out how kinda, sorta ridiculous it is to criticize Sentel’s article as “silly” and “a bunch of nonsense”, just because he seems to believe that John Calipari actually means what he says. Yeah, how convenient to declare anything stupid Calipari says as “hyperbole” — and even dismiss people who “don’t get it” as unenlightened folks
to whom “basketball” is a strange game played in the interregnum between football seasonsbecause, you know, if you’re not a UK basketball fan, then you don’t have the logical reasoning ability (or something) to understand a brilliant basketball mind like Johnny Boy’s.
All in all, I welcome Calipari’s “strategy”. It might work in random years, if he had enough actual coaching ability. Fortunately, that doesn’t seem to be the case.
"It breaks your heart. It is designed to break your heart. The game begins in the spring, when everything else begins again, and it blossoms in the summer, filling the afternoons and evenings, and then as soon as the chill rains come, it stops and leaves you to face the fall alone." A. Bartlett Giamatti
Sounds oddly Kiffin-esque, doesn't it?
Kiffin – I planned those recruiting violations to have people talking about us so that we’d raise our recruiting profile rather than it resulting from me being completely ignorant about the rules
which I don’t agree with (Calipari quote)…and a complete [FULMERIZED] personally.
Calipari – I planned to say something completely stupid about having the most talented team (5 NBA First Rounders) never to make the Final Four and spin it so that it was the greatest event in Kentucky basketball history rather than a complete bench-coaching failure on my part.
By the way, Kentucky has decided to abandon the Judeo-Christian calendar and begin at 0 with the NBA Draft serving as the touchstone date. Calipari is quoted as saying that this is
fitting since he is the best thing since the incarnation.
COEXISTence is difficult when core beliefs are mutually exclusive and those on the other side keep blowing up buildings, people, etc.
Muhammed sez: "Don't Lase Me Bro!"
by memphispete on Jun 29, 2010 12:35 PM EDT up reply actions
Thanks, VolBrian
I completely missed the NBA Draft, but I’m glad that quote had enough legs to survive until I got back, because it was easy pickin’s on a slow day.
by Joel Hollingsworth on Jun 29, 2010 12:58 PM EDT up reply actions
Jim Rome
Went on one of his rants after the draft, ripping Calipari for not winning a National Championship with what was clearly the most talented team in the NCAA last year. Can’t disagree with him here.
So Sayth King Zach I
he would insist on a dribble-drive offensive in Afghanistan
then blame the troops when it fails.
by golfballs03 on Jun 29, 2010 12:19 PM EDT up reply actions
My favorite remains
losing to Kansas in the title game because you shot 63% from the line and went 1-for-5 there in the final two minutes, and calling it “God’s will”.
by Will Shelton on Jun 29, 2010 12:26 PM EDT up reply actions
I'm confused on the "god's will" part - did Calipari will it? (little 'g', little 'o', little 'd')
COEXISTence is difficult when core beliefs are mutually exclusive and those on the other side keep blowing up buildings, people, etc.
Muhammed sez: "Don't Lase Me Bro!"
I guess we'd find out if Wes is actually world-wide
by Joel Hollingsworth on Jun 29, 2010 1:05 PM EDT up reply actions 1 recs
*rimshot*
Simulated Gameday Experience - just like the real thing, only we have smoke machines.
by Chris Pendley on Jun 29, 2010 1:54 PM EDT up reply actions
President
It’s a presidential category whopper.
COEXISTence is difficult when core beliefs are mutually exclusive and those on the other side keep blowing up buildings, people, etc.
Muhammed sez: "Don't Lase Me Bro!"
by memphispete on Jun 29, 2010 12:37 PM EDT up reply actions
Absolutely!
"It breaks your heart. It is designed to break your heart. The game begins in the spring, when everything else begins again, and it blossoms in the summer, filling the afternoons and evenings, and then as soon as the chill rains come, it stops and leaves you to face the fall alone." A. Bartlett Giamatti
Thanks to you two
She did great, especially since she’s been battling a bad (snappy) hip for a couple of months now. They also had one fence that was reflecting the light in a way the horses really didn’t like. About half of them refused, a couple were dismissed after multiple failed attempts, and at least rider was completely thrown before I quit watching. Dakota (my daughter’s leased horse) wanted out and actually broke to a trot before going over, but he went over.
It was a good trip, and we’re really proud of RA.
by Joel Hollingsworth on Jun 29, 2010 1:09 PM EDT up reply actions
Good take, Joel
I think the folks at ASOB are right to see this as a recruiting pitch and defend it as such, and everyone else is right to dismiss it as ridiculous. But ridiculous does not necessarily mean stupid. And until he leaves in the night for USC NBA, he’ll keep winning games (although hopefully not more tournament games than us. :-) ), and they’ll keep liking him.
by Incipient_Senescence on Jun 29, 2010 1:29 PM EDT reply actions
To Joel the Boil
Man, what barrell did they scrape you out of?
Happy days are here again,
The skies are Wildcat Blue again,
We've got the best recruits again,
Happy days are here again.
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