Kentucky going down tonight....

Is he a better than Drew?
Seriously.
Drew took a squad of much less talented players and beat them.

Baylor, which hasn't done squat in the Big 12, beat Cal and his All-Stars.
Both coaches are great recruiters. Cal has a 25,000 seat arena to sell so he'll get the better players. But, if last year is any sign, his bench coaching skills
are lacking.

How bad does he cheat? Check out this article:

caliparicaperlg.jpg


CAPER IN CALIPARI LAND


Note: A couple of times a year we turn our column over to our detective friend, Nelson, whenever we find a sports crime story. Basketball season hasn’t quite started, yet an interesting tidbit comes from the Memphis Police Burglary unit involving players on the Memphis Tigers basketball team. Take it, Nelson.

Something’s fishy going on. I was nibbling on my calamari when I noticed an item involving John Calipari, Memphis Coach. Coincidence or providence -- You be the judge. Four of his ballers report a burglary from their campus pad, $66,720 of stuff. They’re in an exhibition game exhibiting themselves in this pyramid-looking gym while a perp is boosting their stuff, helping himself to eight mink coats, diamond earrings, custom-made shirts and other necessities any self-respecting college jock can’t do without.

What peaked my interest was an earlier story about a Janice Dowell, owner of Motes Furs in Memphis, who reported eighteen full-length coats stolen from her store last month. I’m thinking this could be related and what are four ball players doing with two fur coats each? I know it gets really cold in Memphis because Elvis wanted to grow hair and be a teddy bear but it seemed to me this story was developing into t-r-o-u-b-l-e for Mr. Calipari. I thought maybe it’s time for me to mosey to Memphis and be a hound dog. I mean, it’s now or never. It doesn’t look right for the big boss man. Scholarship Basketball players don’t work. They shouldn’t have the jack to be hit for a big boost.

I pull into Memphis and see where John C. is explaining how college students can afford
$4000 in custom made shirts by using their meal money, Pell grants and internships. I know John loves his guys but he’s heading to Heartbreak Hotel if he keeps this up. You don’t have to be a hard hearted woman to know that’s a bit of business. I bet when the Pell grant people read this they’re going to pull out – return to sender, address unknown – that’s the last thing they need. They’re going to be all shook up, doesn’t matter if the recipients are in the ghetto or the burbs, the Pell’s not there to buy fur coats.

Now Calipari’s doing a second news conference, asking the local media to love me tender and forget most of the stuff from the first conference. He’s being syrupy. He’s saying I want you, I need you, I love you. Haven’t they heard this line before? And worse yet, now he’s claiming there weren’t $40,000 worth of mink coats, as first reported, just fake furs worth maybe $3600. Oh, no. The reporters are falling for it. They’re wispy eyed, looking at him like he’s the you in the wonder of you. This is too much. Either the ballplayers lied, got a few items stolen and were trying an insurance scam or they really had valuables and are now lying so they don’t have to explain how they got these valuables. Either way, Calipari’s attempt at a smooth over will be a case of burning love. The Memphis Police aren’t buying it. Calipari is now giving them all a lesson in elementary arithmetic, stating that when his player, Clyde Wade, called in the theft and said eight coats were stolen, and by the way they were a girl friend’s coats and not his, and was asked their value, he said $5000. The policeman incorrectly multiplied that by eight, whereas he had meant $5000 for the total eight. Calipari goes to the blackboard and does his math thing.

This is when the police point out to John that eighteen mink coats were stolen from the Motes Fur store a few weeks earlier. This is what I came for, to see the Calipari hang dog face. It’s the droop that out droops Larry Brown. He protests something about the coats not being fur.
“They were suede, not minks. Blue suede coats, a few shoes. Blue suede and shoes, I tell ya.”

If you really believe that Scott Drew is in the same league as Cal I have no idea what to say to you. But I do know I won't read any more of your articles b/c they are likely trash.

Have you looked at Cal's resume? What he does year in and year out? It is quite impressive what he did at Umass, Memphis and now at Kentucky.
 
If you really believe that Scott Drew is in the same league as Cal I have no idea what to say to you. But I do know I won't read any more of your articles b/c they are likely trash.

Have you looked at Cal's resume? What he does year in and year out? It is quite impressive what he did at Umass, Memphis and now at Kentucky.

Of course I don't think Scott Drew is anywhere close to Coach Cal. Just that Calipari is a great recruiter who under achieves with the best talent in America. He's a greedy talent waster. I can't think of one player he "put in the league" that wasn't already destined to be there. If you can think of one, please inform.

Everything in my article happened. Coach Cal's Memphis players were dumb enough to call the cops when stuff they likely got from boosters got stolen. The TWO press conferences Cal gave happened, just like I described it. Look it up. I researched it extensively.

I don't care whether you read my articles. Some of the posters aren't in love with cheating coaches.
 
Of course I don't think Scott Drew is anywhere close to Coach Cal. Just that Calipari is a great recruiter who under achieves with the best talent in America. He's a greedy talent waster. I can't think of one player he "put in the league" that wasn't already destined to be there. If you can think of one, please inform.

Everything in my article happened. Coach Cal's Memphis players were dumb enough to call the cops when stuff they likely got from boosters got stolen. The TWO press conferences Cal gave happened, just like I described it. Look it up. I researched it extensively.

I don't care whether you read my articles. Some of the posters aren't in love with cheating coaches.

Josh Harrellson...that took 30 seconds.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Josh_Harrellson
 
Of course I don't think Scott Drew is anywhere close to Coach Cal. Just that Calipari is a great recruiter who under achieves with the best talent in America. He's a greedy talent waster. I can't think of one player he "put in the league" that wasn't already destined to be there. If you can think of one, please inform.

Everything in my article happened. Coach Cal's Memphis players were dumb enough to call the cops when stuff they likely got from boosters got stolen. The TWO press conferences Cal gave happened, just like I described it. Look it up. I researched it extensively.

I don't care whether you read my articles. Some of the posters aren't in love with cheating coaches.

If you don't think he is anywhere close to Cal why did you say this?
Is he a better than Drew?
Seriously.
Drew took a squad of much less talented players and beat them.

Baylor, which hasn't done squat in the Big 12, beat Cal and his All-Stars.
Both coaches are great recruiters. Cal has a 25,000 seat arena to sell so he'll get the better players. But, if last year is any sign, his bench coaching skills

you are letting your hatred for him cloud your judgement on what kind of coach he is.

I'll take an underachieving coach that took Umass to five straight ncaa tourneys (including 1 s16, 1 elite 8, 1 final four); took memphis to the tourney 6/9 years (2 elite 8s, 1 s16, 1 final); and a kentucky team that was down( 1 elite 8, 1 FF, 1 championship).
 
If you don't think he is anywhere close to Cal why did you say this?


you are letting your hatred for him cloud your judgement on what kind of coach he is.

I'll take an underachieving coach that took Umass to five straight ncaa tourneys (including 1 s16, 1 elite 8, 1 final four); took memphis to the tourney 6/9 years (2 elite 8s, 1 s16, 1 final); and a kentucky team that was down( 1 elite 8, 1 FF, 1 championship).

He learned under Larry Brown. One thing under Larry - find a player with a brother or a dad you can pay off. Like giving Daniel Orton's dad an exorbitant speaker's fee to come talk at a Kentucky camp or help out Marcus Camby's or Derrick Rose's brother. In Camby's and Rose's case wins were vacated.

At one time during his U Mass days Cal was a good coach. A few of his teams overachieved. But I think a lot of his skill was beaten out of him during his NBA days with the Nets. 3-17 will do that to you. I think somewhere around that time Calipari felt he could make a go by selling marginal Eastern students that they could come to Memphis, be treated like kings and not have to worry about things like studying.

Josh Harrellson? An 2 time Missouri all-stater recruited by Gillespie? Harrellson always had an NBA body but I guess the 88 minutes of playing time (in 22 games) Cal gave him sharpened him up for the league.
 
Josh Harrellson? An 2 time Missouri all-stater recruited by Gillespie? Harrellson always had an NBA body but I guess the 88 minutes of playing time (in 22 games) Cal gave him sharpened him up for the league.

Calipari was the main reason he got in shape, which led to him getting in the league. If you think being an all-state player at a 800 student high school makes the individual "destined to be in the NBA", then there would be thousands of NBA players across the nation every four years. Blanket statements are fun.
 
Calipari was the main reason he got in shape, which led to him getting in the league. If you think being an all-state player at a 800 student high school makes the individual "destined to be in the NBA", then there would be thousands of NBA players across the nation every four years. Blanket statements are fun.

Not necessarily. But a two-time first team all-stater in Missouri has a leg up. Right now there are eight (8) All-staters from Missouri in the NBA. Among them, besides Bradley Beal, Alecs Burks, the rest are big guys - Andrew Tolliver, David Lee, Hansbrough brothers, Otto Porter and Harrellson.

Missouri has always produced good big guys and many of their big all-staters had serviceable careers. To name a few: Steve Stipanovich, Bob Ferry, Jahidi White, Jon Koncak, Jim Krebs, Anthony Bonner, Joe Kleine. It's not unthinkable to believe a number of other coaches could have gotten Harrellson in shape and provided him with more pressure-packed playing time.

But, if Calipari wants to make Josh Harrellson his showpiece example of "I'll-get-you-to-the-league" sales pitch. He needs to add "Come to Kentucky, I'll recruit over you and I might kick you off I find someone better but you might still get 4 minutes a game."
 
John Chaney says Calimari is the best and most honest coach he ever went against.
 
Not necessarily. But a two-time first team all-stater in Missouri has a leg up. Right now there are eight (8) All-staters from Missouri in the NBA. Among them, besides Bradley Beal, Alecs Burks, the rest are big guys - Andrew Tolliver, David Lee, Hansbrough brothers, Otto Porter and Harrellson.

Missouri has always produced good big guys and many of their big all-staters had serviceable careers. To name a few: Steve Stipanovich, Bob Ferry, Jahidi White, Jon Koncak, Jim Krebs, Anthony Bonner, Joe Kleine. It's not unthinkable to believe a number of other coaches could have gotten Harrellson in shape and provided him with more pressure-packed playing time.

But, if Calipari wants to make Josh Harrellson his showpiece example of "I'll-get-you-to-the-league" sales pitch. He needs to add "Come to Kentucky, I'll recruit over you and I might kick you off I find someone better but you might still get 4 minutes a game."

Well the coaches at Western Illinois, junior college, Gillespie weren't able to do it. Like I said previously, if people want to overlook how he has tweaked his offense the last four years to try to maximize his player's potential and put them in situations which might make them more appealing to NBA scouts, then that is a major oversight on their part.
 
John Chaney says Calimari is the best and most honest coach he ever went against.

Good one. Chaney really lost it on Calipari years ago. Many probably don't recall Chaney bursting into Calipari's press conference and threatening to kill him.
 
Well the coaches at Western Illinois, junior college, Gillespie weren't able to do it. Like I said previously, if people want to overlook how he has tweaked his offense the last four years to try to maximize his player's potential and put them in situations which might make them more appealing to NBA scouts, then that is a major oversight on their part.

It's pretty rare that a junior college gets a guy in shape. And, of course, our old friend Gillespie was a fitness guru.

Kentucky's a whiskey state - ideal spot for folks like Howard S, Eddie and Gillespie to coach. I can see Gillespie bringing Harrelson into his office and saying "You need to get in shape. Wild Turkey, Jim Beam or Maker's Mark. I recommend Maker's."
 
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