Too Slick, Too Loud, Too Successful Why John Calipari Can't Catch A Break

The NCAA hasn't held him accountable for any major violation, and dark rumors about his recruiting methods have never stuck. Still, no matter what good the Kentucky coach does—visiting the sick, helping at-risk kids—he's assumed to have an ulterior motive. 

S.L. Price 

There was a time, early on, when it seemed easy to peg John Calipari. Back in the late '80s he was just another pretty face, one more Pat Riley clone with the slick hair and dazzling patter, the just-so suits and shoes. Talent flocked to him, but he radiated a knockoff's flimsiness: too much talk and an ambition about as subtle as sharkskin. Opposing recruiters wanted to beat him bloody. Opposing coaches tried to sabotage his hiring. Omens? His first game as a head coach, the scoreboard caught fire. You just didn't figure Calipari for the long haul.


These days, of course, he is basketball's great survivor, the ever-moving (Gas up the private jet!), ever-hustling (four McDonald's All-Americans for 2011!), ever-tweeting (1.1 million followers!) head coach of the University of Kentucky. And while his eight-year, $31.7 million contract—the richest in the college game—is the most obvious measure of his success, it's hardly the most telling. Like the sharpest scavenger after a storm, Calipari has prospered more than any other coach in college basketball's broken system, gathering up top recruits, winning 30 games a season and then happily waving his one-and-done players goodbye. Last spring an unprecedented five Wildcats, four of them freshmen, went in the first round of the NBA draft. And if this season has been a relative struggle, most of Kentucky's rivals would gladly take a morning after that includes a 22--8 record, a No. 15 ranking, a 34-game home winning streak and more than enough talent to play deep into March.

Read more: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1182972/index.htm#ixzz1HZrsPx6c

Big Money Boosters Want Pitino Back at UK

Earlier tonight, one of my colleagues told me that Arizona was hot on the trail of Rick Pitino. UA school officials thought he would be the perfect choice to replace outgoing legend Lute Olson--the same man, of course, who stopped Pitino from winning back-to-back NCAA titles in 1997.

Arizona was prepared to pay $2 million or more for Pitino to move to the desert.

However, in pursuit of details on that story, I stumbled across this stunner: Pitino could very well be on his way back to UK!

Earlier tonight, Pitino hosted two of Kentucky's biggest boosters. I won't divulge the names of those who attended, but I will tell you that one is huge in the banking business, the other in coal.

According to multiple sources, the boosters traveled to Louisville to persuade Pitino to come back to Lexington and try to fix the mess created by Mitch Barnhardt and Billy Gillispie.

Initially, Pitino was pushing Travis Ford for the job, but the boosters said no. They were adamant about wanting Pitino, and only Pitino. So much so, that they said he could have anything he wanted. "Name your price" was a frequent response from the boosters.

Now, don't get too excited just yet. Pitino did not accept the offer, but he didn't turn it down either. After first being reluctant to even listen to any offers, Pitino gave the boosters the impression that he would seriously consider it before ending the meeting.

And if it was up to Pitino's staff at Louisville, which includes Steve Masiello, Walter McCarty, and Richard Pitino (all with ties to Lexington), he would have said yes during the meeting. Word is that Pitino's assistants are really pushing for him to take the job.

And why wouldn't they? Besides going back to the place were Pitino reached the pinnacle of his career, it would also be much easier to win SEC titles every year as opposed to the jam-packed Big East. If the money is truly as good as I am hearing, it would be a no-brainer for Pitino to go back to UK.

However, that doesn't mean he will take the job. I wouldn't be shocked if he did, but I would be somewhat surprised. Nonetheless, I seriously doubt anything official would come out until after the NCAA Tournament anyway.

But anybody remember when Roy Williams was grilled by Bonnie Bernstein about leaving Kansas for North Carolina after losing the NCAA title game to Syracuse in 2003?

Could we witness a similar scene this year in Detroit? UK fans can only hope!

Interesting Rumors Around The UK Program

Currently, I am at Staples Center hosting the halftime and post-game shows for the Clippers game tonight against Golden State-- while also sneaking inside for a peek at the Lakers game against Philly.

But I wanted to pop on real quick because I am hearing some very interesting talk about Billy Gillispie leaving Kentucky as well as the man some big money boosters are trying to get to replace him.

Stay tuned because more details will be coming shortly.

But first I have to tell the fans how Baron Davis is doing while facing his former team.

Ford and Horn Are Not The Right Choices For UK Right Now

Having been born and raised in Kentucky and a proud UK grad, I can understand why so many people think getting a person with Kentucky ties would be good for the program. And while there may be some merits to that idea, it doesn't mean that a Kentucky person would be the right choice right now.

The program needs a person who would make a splash nationally to put the program back in the minds of every top recruit in the country.

I have known Travis since I was 10 years old, and I covered Darrin's high school games in Lexington. But with all due respect to both of them, neither would make blue chippers take notice if they were hired at UK--at least not right now.

Kentucky needs someone to come in like Rick Pitino did back in 1989-- a coach who had success in the college ranks and also had NBA experience. That's why I think Lon Kruger from UNLV or Tim Floyd from USC would be great choices.

However, if you can't find someone with NBA experience, then someone like Jamie Dixon would be a good choice. I have also previously mentioned Lorenzo Romar at Washington and Jeff Capel at Oklahoma because both coaches come from winning programs in their past (Romar was an assistant on UCLA's national title team in 1995 and Capel of course played at Duke) and both have recruited some of the top players in the nation, who have moved or are going to move on to be all-stars in the pros (Brandon Roy at Washington and Blake Griffin at Oklahoma).

Travis and Darrin do not have the overall appeal of any of those coaches.

At times like these, UK fans have to get out of their Kentucky/SEC bubble. UK should be a national program not a regional one.

I think Mitch Barnhart, who came from a very regional program in Oregon State, either lost sight of that fact or never understood it in the first place.

What Happened To The SEC?

As I sit here and watch the championship game of the SEC Tournament, I am fascinated by what I see on the court between Tennessee and Mississippi State. And not in a good way.

The level of play is, quite frankly, pathetic. That statement is not so much an indictment of these two respective teams, but rather the league as a whole.

What happened to the SEC? Whether it's the coaching, the players or both, the league is a shadow of its former self.

We are not that far removed from Kentucky going to three straight NCAA Title games (1996-1998), winning two titles in the process.

And even more recently (2006 & 2007), Florida won back-to-back national titles.

But heading into Sunday's title game, the SEC was only guaranteed to get two teams into the NCAA Tournament. Mississippi State would have to beat Tennessee to make it three teams from the conference earning a trip to the Big Dance.

Both numbers are ridiculous when you consider the wealth of athletic talent in the nine states making up the Southeastern Conference. The league should be able to get at least four teams in the NCAA Tournament every year, even if they just held open tryouts for pickup games.

The SEC may still be King of the college football world, but on the hardwood, the league is close to holding down the last seat on the bench.

The Sign of the Apocalypse For UK Basketball

If you still need more evidence as to why Kentucky should fire Billy Gillispie, check out this e-mail I received from a close friend in Lexington. I am withholding the name to protect my friend's anonymity.

I mean it's one thing to lose games and be a jerk in the process, but running off former players is blasphemous.

"Yo, the whole program is a JOKE! They do not reach out to former players AT ALL! In fact, they charge them for tickets. Here's what I don't get: If you are an athlete at UK and get a DUI, you get your scholarship taken away (see Desmond Allison). If you have 2 DUI's they hire you to be the Head Basketball Coach and pay you more than Tubby and Rick. Hypocrites bro! All former players are now migrating to Louisville games where they get in for free, hang with Jurich in his suite and get treated like they should.....with respect. It starts with Barnhart. I worked with the man and as we all know, you can't bring in too many outsiders to run this program. It is and will always be run by the Blue Bloods. Instead of trying to run them off, work with them. Whew....I'm done."

Billy G Needs To Go

So this is what it has come to? Both Western Kentucky and Morehead State locked up automatic bids to the NCAA Tournament, and Louisville could very well end up with a number one seed, yet Kentucky--the team with the most NCAA wins in history--is headed to the NIT? The freaking NIT? Seriously?

Well, that's it. Enough is enough. Billy Gillispie needs to go!

Even though I thought it was a mistake by Kentucky to hire Gillespie to replace the under-appreciated Tubby Smith, I gave the man the benefit of the doubt. Not because I personally saw potential in his abilities, but because Texas coach Rick Barnes and Oklahoma coach Jeff Capel both assured me that Gillispie was capable of being the coach UK needed.

Maybe they were trying to hype up the Big 12 or maybe they simply didn't want to bad mouth Gillispie, but either way, they were wrong. Gillispie is about as far away from being the coach UK needs as Chris Brown is from being Time's Man of the Year.

Not only is the team under performing--NBA execs tell me both Jodie Meeks and Patrick Patterson have a future in the pros--but the program has no sense of direction. Can you tell me what style of play the Cats are supposed to be playing? And if you do know, can you please tell the players, because they obviously have no clue either.

And if that alone wasn't bad enough, Billy Gillispie treats people--including diehard UK fans--as if they don't matter.

Dana O'Neill wrote recently on espn.com that "(Gillispie) is perceived as prickly, aloof and guarded, a lunch pail of bad personality traits in the fishbowl that is Kentucky basketball... He has been brusque with the media, both local and national, and his rude dismissals of ESPN sideline reporter Jeannine Edwards have been a hot topic in Kentucky. He is not one to engage in small talk with anyone, brushing into and out of meeting rooms, locker rooms and breakfast rooms with a purposeful stride."

Tubby Smith was never like that, and although Rick Pitino was a bit leery of UK fans in the beginning, at least he was winning!

Gillispie acts like a jerk--oftentimes for no apparent reason--but can't beat Georgia at home. Nobody likes an asshole, especially one headed to the NIT!

I agree with Kenny Walker and others back in the Bluegrass, who are calling for Kentucky AD Mitch Barnhart to do something drastic: recognize that he made a mistake and fire Billy Gillispie after just two seasons on the job.

Fan morale could be at an all-time low, and player morale seems to be even lower. Both deserve better.

The job at Kentucky is certainly not made for everyone, and it's readily apparent to me that it certainly wasn't made for Billy Gillispie.