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May 29, 2009
Man, I defend Calipari and suddenly he's on the verge of losing his 2nd Final Four Appearance... Ouch... Cal is claiming he knew nothing of Derrick Rose's alleged SAT hookup - "hey homie, you mind taking my SAT real quick?" - although I find that extremely hard to believe and as I read in Luke Winn's SI.Com column, is it merely coincidence that Cal could become the first coach to vacate two Final Fours? Eh, and I guess we're still looking for WMDs in Iraq...
While some folks are screaming and yelling "I told you so!!", "Cal's a Cheat!", and the obligatory - "He's not a good game coach!" hey, it has nothing to do with recruiting, but people feel better pointing that out any chance they can... But, none of that matters because I believe nothing is going to come out of this, nothing is going to happen to either school and Memphis had no intention of letting this out until next month at the NCAA hearing... I've said this before and most of you know this - the NCAA is a business, and when Kentucky is thriving, business is good... When Memphis is thriving, business is good, and with the economy right now, there's no way that the NCAA is going to look too much into Cal or Memphis because they don't want there to be anything else found out and what the repercussions of such a discovery would mean to not just the schools involved, but what it would do to college basketball...
People are talking about Kentucky basketball because they have the chance to be good, National Championship good... And while Cal took some of the luster off of Memphis with him, Josh Pastner is a marvelous recruiter and he can keep Memphis playing at a high level in Conference USA, and he'll keep them in the Tournament - not to mention, Memphis loves its college basketball team and the fans have taken to Pastner because they see his pedigree - mentored under Lute Olson and Cal (is that a good thing?) - and the dude works non-stop... He was a great hire and will do well... So, two fresh starts, rabid fan support in a tough economy, and you think the NCAA is going to start snooping around? No way....
I understand I've gone conspiracy theory for a minute, but it’s amazing how money can change just about anything - the NCAA knows this, Memphis, UK, Calipari, everybody, they all know it... Cal's going to be fine, he'll just be more careful moving forward...
Lastly - on Cal's recruiting class, I know everybody wants to compare it to the Fab 5, but give it a rest - the Fab 5 changed the way we looked at basketball, these clowns are just changing the way we look at Kentucky... And I'm bias because I grew up watching the Fab 5, but c'mon, give it a break... But I will say this, and KU fans, I know a lot of you are pooh-poohing this idea, but UK is legit and will challenge for the National Title... Don't give me any of this, they're freshman, they don't have experience non-sense, they've got talent - and loads of it... I'm not saying they're better than KU, although top-to-bottom, whew, it’s close, but I'd be shocked if they don't make it to the Final Four, and c'mon, who wouldn't want to see KU beat another Calipari-coached team again for another Championship? Especially Kentucky... I'll take Sherron Collins' leadership and poise over John Wall, and I'll take Cole Aldrich over any UK big man, and of course, Bill Self over Cal...
Next year will be exciting - Rock Chalk For Life.
Comments
kushaw (anonymous) says...
good post freddy. I've also been pretty vocal on this topic, but I agree with you especially your second paragrahp. Good Post!
May 29, 2009 at 4:16 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
LAJayhawk (anonymous) says...
How long did Major League Baseball "look the other way" when it came to steroids because the league was having success with the long ball? Where did that get them?
Failure to fully investigate this issue and the OJ Mayo/Reggie Bush fiasco at USC pushes the NCAA -- an organization that's already in a semi-bleak place -- down a dark, corrupt road from which there is little to no return. If I may mix metaphors, the NCAA needs to clip the dead branches in order to save the tree.
Yes, we all want great competition in college basketball. And, yes, a good to great Kentucky program is good for the sport. But how far are we willing to go for this? How much is the NCAA willing to sell its soul for money and success? I just heard Kevin Blaskistone say on "Around the Horn" that this is "business as usual in high revenue college athletics." If that's the general feeling, the NCAA is already in trouble.
Selling your soul for success today means eternity in Hell later.
(Tossing in one last metaphor)
May 29, 2009 at 4:59 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
jayhawkinmullen (anonymous) says...
Wow you sure do love those tigers, don't ya. Maybe Coach Cal will put you on his staff, you can be the guy that tells him how wonderful he is when he is cheating and it's ok coach it's that rotton NCAA's fault that you can't pay all your recruits.
May 29, 2009 at 7:54 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
FreddyD (anonymous) says...
JMullen - I don't know exactly how you construe me loving the Tigers - and I guess I'm loving the Wildcats too - out of the above, I guess if researching Josh Pastner and following him since his hire qualifies as "loving the Tigers", then I guess I'm guilty by your rationale... I never once said I condone what Cal is doing and perhaps I wasn't explicit enough about that in the post, but the gist is - and I think this part was clear - nothing's going to happen because the NCAA doesn't want anything major to happen... Until the NCAA does something to stop or send a message to Calipari, he's going to keep operating the way he always as - and don't worry, he doesn't need me to tell him how great he is - he's got an entire fan base to do that for him...
May 30, 2009 at 8:41 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
waywardJay (anonymous) says...
That's nice and fine Freddy, but you forget.... Kentucky gets into this stuff every decade.... we clean them up and the get into this stuff again...... the don't sign gillespie toa contract.... then they do... then they don't......
They fire him after a 40-27 record without player splaying his style of basketball....
They bring in Cal to shaperone these one and done's to the NBA, and don't teach them defense or how to lead through adversity..... and expect these kids to challenge lebron and kobe ( neither of these two needed a year of college to learn what was needed in the nba..... but show me the names that line up with memphis and champions......specfically in the NBA )
The NCAA has to act on this, if not to justify going after roy williams in 2005-6 for his secondary infractions..... If Kentucky gets away with this then we will have a whole new bumper crop of Kelvin Smapson's bending every rule they can to acheive and win.... just like Calipari.
Im not worried about Demarcus Cousins... he's been lazy in AAU Ball
I'm not worried about John Wall, he hasn't qualified for College yet ( and as he's coached by the guy who got rose into college.... im not sure it matters if he IS qualified )
What I am worried about.... is giving people a level playing field.....
Bill Self outcoaches Calipari 7 out of 10 games if Calipari isn't allowed to cheat at recruiting..... So it's fair to let Kentucky get away with more because they draw bigger crowds than Kansas ?????
No Crush that. Kentucky should face any problem calipari brings them...and it's our job to ensure they check up oin it. Otherwise we would have anotehr fixed sporting like Like the NBA....
May 30, 2009 at 1:03 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
DefMike (anonymous) says...
[[Bill Self outcoaches Calipari 7 out of 10 games if Calipari isn't allowed to cheat at recruiting.....]]
Explain this. How does an agent giving Marcus Camby money and hookers and Derrick Rose cheating on his SATs make Calipari a cheat at recruiting?
[[Kelvin Smapson's bending every rule they can to acheive and win.... just like Calipari.]]
Explain.
May 30, 2009 at 3:19 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
jayhawkinmullen (anonymous) says...
Freddy,
Your right I am sorry that is what I meant to say you sure are loving those wildcats. Thanks for clearifying. I just don't get it you really gave two other teams quite a bit of love. This was just a strange blog. sorry dude better luck next time.
May 30, 2009 at 3:31 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
waywardJay (anonymous) says...
Def,
Self is ten times the game coach Calipari is..... IE Dorsey hedging screens up 9 under 2 ...... Free throws..... Self will leave his offense if at first it does not succeed....
Self matches Calipari in recruiting and is better then him a game.... i take kansas 7 of 10 times against Cal's teams....
Secondly... It's not just the SAT, though Calipari could be involved there..... i have also heard money changed hands...... money changed hands with dejuan wagner ( if memory serves ) money changed hands with marcus Camby..... and now this..... it's all too coincidental....
Thirdly.... Kentucky's student Newspaper has blacklisted any discussion of the matter ..... Why would they want to shut everyone up about this..... because they don't want the media to get wind of the fuill story....... I get the overwhleming feeling more is coming....
May 30, 2009 at 11:39 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
FreddyD (anonymous) says...
Is it illegal on a KU site to point out that other teams beside KU can do well? Is pointing out that UK is loaded - which everyone agreed to before the allegations came out - and point out that Memphis has a good young coach - which some folks were starting to come around on before the allegations - Is that allowed here?
Give me a break man, nothing is going to happen to Kentucky or Calipari - for now. It's going to take something bigger than the NCAA to bring down whatever alleged illegal activity is going on with Calipari - if it ever does. Perhaps pointing out the Rose indiscretion is the NCAA's way of portraying it cares and "sending a message" to UK and Memphis...
Keep putting your heads in the sand about how good Kentucky is or that something is going to bring them down - because it's not happening any time soon. Kentucky is stacked, and will be in the Final Four. Put it down. This isn't a case of jock-riding Kentucky, it's one man looking at UK's roster and realizing how good this team is.
And I know, start the "Calipari can't coach" argument... Let's see, our own CJ Henry, who our Savior Bill Self said "he expects to push for major minutes" this season, picked Cal over Self - after he committed to Self in '05... I guess CJ's not that bright and must be on the take too...
I guess all this makes me strange. Next time I'll try to "clearify" it better.
May 31, 2009 at 9:15 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
jayhawkinmullen (anonymous) says...
Hey freedy I've enjoyed your other blogs, I just thought that you gave to much love to a cheat of a coach and a Kentucky team, while they do have alot of recruits coming in did not make it to the NCAA tourny last year.
May 31, 2009 at 12:46 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
stravinsky (anonymous) says...
Yeah Freddy! You should know better than to spout off nonsense about a coach who was one free throw away from winning a national championship and is bringing the top recruiting class doing well. I mean, it's not like that plus the possibility of keeping probable first team All-American Meeks as well as Pat Pat means they'll have any success next year! They didn't make the tournament last year, so how could they do so well this year with at least one, possibly two of the top players in the SEC coming back to combine with the #1 recruit in the nation and two of the highest ranked big men? Shame on you for going on a KU site and saying what every other columnist in America is saying, that Kentucky won't be good next year, they'll be damn good.
This is a site for mindless cheerleading, not for intelligent commentary. Keep your newfangled idears to yourself. We don't want any of your truthiness.
May 31, 2009 at 2:14 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
Theutus (anonymous) says...
UK will be good, and they will win some big games... That being said, they won't have the consistency needed to go far in the tournament.
They will not be a contender for the national championship with a bunch of freshman oad's. Good on them for bringing the program back to competitive status, but don't give them too much credit yet.
May 31, 2009 at 2:23 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
ralster (anonymous) says...
I want to see Kentucky play this year, in addition to religiously (oh, snap....didnt mean to bring religion into this...) watching all the KU games. I want to compare what Self did last year with 2 very good players and a bunch of freshmen to what Calipari does with 2 returning very good players and a bunch of god-like recruits..(dang it, stop already with the religious sarcasm, ralster--geez!). You could say the incoming KY players (oad's) are 'better' than last years KU incoming freshmen, so this longitudinal/observational study has a bias in favor of KY. Self only got COYear for last year's efforts in the tough(er) BigXII, and Calipari gets to see what the SEC throws at him (other than the rulebook--haha!). Ok, sorry. Trying to stay objective and make up my own mind, I shall watch and analyze as many KY games as I can (along with the 09-10 Hawks). I want a courtside seat to this. Maybe I'll catch a glimpse of Princess Judd...dammit, I digress again. I hope the NCAA doesnt interfere with my research...
May 31, 2009 at 4:19 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
TIGER7880 (anonymous) says...
I wouldn't get too worked up over Kentucky's recruits this year. At least three of them (Cousins, Wall and Bledsoe) have not qualified. All three will be under the microscope for their ACT/SAT scores thanks to the Rose accusations. With luck, maybe one of them will qualify.
May 31, 2009 at 7:59 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
waywardJay (anonymous) says...
FreddyD.... there's no rule against saying Kentucky will be good.... You are fine to say whatever you please....
Note the Jayhawks are harping on you because we are SICK of hearing how Good Kentucky is going to be ( on paper )
Right now, Wall hasn't even qualified yet that i have heard.... neither has Cousin's....
Cousin's has been slacking playing AAU Ball, while our kids are trying out for national teams.....
Orton's knee may or may not be 100 % by season start....
WE don't know about chemistry.... we don't know how they are going to get there shots and function as a team....
WE don't know anything other than... Yeah they got alot of "five star recruits".... well "five star recruits" are only as good as they are willing to play as a TEAM.... and that has yet to be seen.....
I've seen many more teams with much more experience, with as good of hype fall on their face before..... remember QUin SNyder's last year at Mizzou for example ?
I just would rather see them play 10 games before i say .... final four team..... Makes me look a bit more credible Freddy.
May 31, 2009 at 11:37 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
waywardJay (anonymous) says...
Stravinsky ????
I forget are we talking about the same guys who expected Bobo Morgan and Greg Monroe to be dynamite interior players for UCLA and Georgetown ( successively... )
Or the ones who said without a tone of Dissonance, Undefeated North Carolina ????
Or the ones who said Florida and TEnnessee will be sleepers in a young and upand coming SEC......
or the ones who Predicted Kansas would win the big 12 regular season ????
Or the ones who said Blake Griffin would win the National Player of the Year and the national Championship crown ????
You see... i just hear those experts say so much from week to week it's hard to know what to believe....... sometmes they even don't agree wit what they said last week.... which makes me skeptical all the more about these Young, athletically gifted, potentially injuryprone ( orton and Patterrson), Ineligible ( wall cousins and bledsoe ) Experienced ( meeks is still in the draft ) Well Coached ( Calipari could be looking at NCAA infractions ) Kentucky Wildcats.....
The only thing i know for certain .... There'e alot of hot air being blown into their balloon right now..... And when a ballon gets TOO Full of air .... it Pops....
How's that for intelligent insight, and not homerism either ( because i didn't stop to sing our boys praises once...... )
See them Play College ball.... then give them their crowns.....
May 31, 2009 at 11:50 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
underwjc (anonymous) says...
I guess I am at a loss as to what people are thinking Kentucky is getting away with? I have read articles in Kentucky and the national press that state the issues being raised are more to do with behaviors in the Chicago High School system more so than just Memphis. In fact 3 other kids are being looked at by the NCAA. Kentucky has said they knew about the investigation and that Cal was open with them before making the decision to hire him. I would hope that if Cal mis-led Kentucky or worse the NCAA, that they would fire him to protect the integrity of their own program. But who knows if they would or not.
As to Kentucky's talent coming in. From what I've heard, its not about the freshman leading but rather, filling in the talent gaps that surround Patterson and Meeks (if he comes back for his Sr season), that makes them an immediate national prescence. Both of those guys will without question be pre-season all americans.
June 1, 2009 at 10:15 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
hawkitup (anonymous) says...
CJ Henry picking Calipari over Self (after he committed to Self in '05) is quite possibly the dumbest argument I have ever heard as to why Self isn't a better coach then Calipari. If you follow that stupid logic than you could argue that CJ picked Self again in '09 when he had the chance to follow Calipari to Kentucky. Also, that faulty logic could carry you into the argument that CJ sat under Calipari's coaching for a full year at Memphis and still chose Self instead of following Calipari to Kentucky. So, who is the better coach then if you go off of your lame argument? Based off your logic, Self would be the better coach because CJ picked Self a second time AFTER being with Calipari for an entire season. Pushing all that to the side, I still say Bill Self if the better coach. Time will only continue to prove this.
June 1, 2009 at 10:22 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
stravinsky (anonymous) says...
Oh I think most people here would agree that Self is a better coach, I just thought Mullen's knee-jerk reaction to another team getting praised was ridiculous.
June 1, 2009 at 11:04 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
FreddyD (anonymous) says...
Hawkitup - let me be clearer about the CJ Henry comment - it did not suggest in any form or fashion that Calipari is a better coach than Self and that's why CJ went to Memphis (try reading it again) - I'm arguing that Cal is a better coach than people give him credit for in general... And saying that, if CJ Henry is a guy that Self thought/thinks highly of, and yet CJ decided to go play for Cal - despite committing to Self three years earlier - I'd like to think that says something about Cal's coaching ability... So before you start going off about lame arguments and logic, why don't you first stop and actually read and think about what's being said before you start making lame arguments... Thanks for reading though.
June 1, 2009 at 11:21 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
truehawk93 (anonymous) says...
The coach and the UK boosters will see to their "success." I think Cousins, Wall and Bledsoe will make Rosey-like scores on the SATs. Afterall, the NCAA wants UK to succeed! UK is desperate to win at any costs. Why do you think they hired this kind of coach and paid him big $$$? Gillepsie wasn't crooked enough or possessed the mentality to win at all costs.
I have no problem with a good coach running an honest program. I look forward to when KU faces UK. I don't think it will happen. I don't think UK does much this year.
June 1, 2009 at 2:13 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
soapboxstew (anonymous) says...
Freddy-
I wouldn't put Kansas or Kentucky in the F4 in 2010 just yet (as it is still 2009); nobody ever knows how the tourney will shake out (no way was UofA better than Kansas in '97). I do agree with you that those two should be there based on the paper line-ups.
But let's just say that Kansas' paper is laminated (as in: KU knows what they have "on paper" to start the season) whereas Kentuckys' paper is soggy from having just fallen into the sewer.
We here at Kansas knew what our starting 5 was some 60 days ago (after X signed). We know who our leader is (on and off the court). We know our system, coach, gameplan, preparation, etc. We know who we are.
Kentucky needs EVERY one of these questions answered perfectly for their "paper F4" to remain intact:
1. Will the alleged Rose sit-in on the SAT's or his changed grade (from a D to a C) that made him eligible for his senior year/college effect UK? (I doubt that it will)
2. Will the alleged improper benefits that Rose's older brother received (planes and hotel equaling more than $5000) from a Memphis handler come back to Kentucky? (I believe that this will come back to Cal- but just wait till they find out about the Mercedes and the Condo)
3. Will the Memphis self-report (overseen by shunned Memphis A.D. Johnson) implicate Cal? (Memphis- as a town, fan base, school, and administration- is fuming about Cal demolishing their program. Memphis went from pre-season #1 to back-of-the-CUSA-pack when Cal left and took his recruits with him- a move too low for St. Thuggins who wouldn't do that to the KSU program that he coached for 1 whole year. Memphis is going down, and they want to take Cal with them. I expect to hear much more from this 'self-report')
4. Does the fact that Cal has to be a part of the NCAA hearing mean anything? (It must mean something as it is very rare that the former coach is questioned at these things)
5. Will Meeks be back? (I don't think so. He is an undersized 2 in the NBA no matter what he does. All he can do is prove that he can score- which he did more last season than he can do this season)
6. If Meeks comes back, who else will get axed? (4 players have already been shown the door- amoung them a 5th year senior and a Jr.; the only players that remain were very significant last season. And how will that effect team chemistry?)
7. Who is the leader of this freshman laden team? (Meeks and Patterson are the great leaders that have 1 tourney win between them for their careers)
8. Can they go from perennial NIT losers that couldn't make the tourney out of the weakest BCS conference (by far), to winners of the highest variety in one season? (It took Roy more than 1 year to turn 6 NBA picks into a winner at UNC)
9. How long will it take for these players to learn a new system? (Again, it took Roy- a better, more experienced coach- 2 years to implement his system @ UNC, where former assistant Daughtery coached prior to Roy)
June 1, 2009 at 3:32 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
soapboxstew (anonymous) says...
continued...
10. How will team chemistry work? (Are there enough balls to go around with these OAD's and two others that look to be in the NBA next season? With at least 4 starters looking to the NBA lotto next season, somebody will not get their shots, and egos will take a major hit)
11. Will Wall, Cousins, and Bledsoe qualify? (Especially with the NCAA sticking a microscope up their @ss after all of this with Rose)
12. Will these freshman/ players that have never won a tourney game have the experience that it takes to make a run? (no.)
All of those questions have to be answered perfectly for Kentucky to maintain their paper F4. Kansas has NO questions that have to be answered prior to the season. Ours is in practice- theirs is in theory.
Freddy is right about some things:
Cal is a good coach
Kentucky will be good (if all of the above questions are answered perfectly)
But Freddy- don't get upset when you do a pro-Kentucky blog on a KU site and bombarded for it. We don't want to hear anything contrary to our greatness- ever. Kentucky has become a threat to our 2010 title; the last thing we want to hear is that Cal is in the free-and-clear, Kentucky will be as good (if not better) as Kansas, and Cal is as good (if not better) than Self. It may all be true, but truth is highly overrated on blogs. This is an opinion forum, and people don't like the aforementioned opinions. Don't take it personally.
June 1, 2009 at 3:33 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
waywardJay (anonymous) says...
Soap...right on.
however, I don't think there is any question that seasoned college players are better than high school player who might not qualify.....
I think there is no legitimate threat to the title.... but if kentucky would beat kansas.... i don't want to see COle and sherron lose toa team that has to forfeit it's win because thye cheated.....
and Cal and Self aren't even close..... recruiting ...cal's better because he pays kids.... but in game..... self's owns him...... take Rosey out of that lineup and they don't even make the final four period. w likely get Texas in the title game ( which would have completely my tournament pool that year .... SO i guess rosey owes me some mnoney too )
June 1, 2009 at 4:40 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )