Calipari the scumbag

[swirvenirvin 25]

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/stev...3_kelley03.html

 

Every coach preaches the notion of never giving up. Every coach wants his players to believe that no deficit is too deep, no comeback too impossible.

 

Down by 15 with 10 minutes to go, every basketball coach will holler to his team, "We've got to ratchet up the defense. We need some stops. Keep grinding. We can win this thing."

 

But there is a time when a coach should give up. There is a time when the clock has run out and a coach should shake a player's hand and admit defeat.

 

Take Friday, for instance, when Terrence Jones and his best friend Terrence Ross announced at a joint news conference, held at their Portland high school, they were going to play basketball for Washington.

 

It was a day for celebration. It was their day, nobody else's.

 

Then after their announcements, according to reports, Jones showed enough class to call Kentucky coach John Calipari to tell Calipari he was going to Washington.

 

Calipari reacted like a coach who hadn't heard the final buzzer. Jones still hadn't signed his letter of intent. To Calipari, that meant the game was still on, and there's no quit in Coach Cal.

 

Who knows what Calipari told Jones? Who knows what suggestions and promises were made? Who knows what game-changing strategy Calipari was employing?

 

Temporarily, at least, Jones postponed his decision to go to UW. Instead of allowing Friday's news conference to be celebratory, Calipari cloaked it in confusion.

 

Maybe nothing Calipari said to Jones was against NCAA rules, but with Calipari there is always room for suspicion.

 

Maybe he merely was lauding the idea of an education in the Bluegrass State. Certainly he has plenty to sell. There are few programs with the history of Kentucky basketball and few states as consumed by the sport.

 

I remember when Mark Pope was transferring from Washington and considering either Utah or Kentucky. I was talking with Utah coach Rick Majerus the day Pope visited Kentucky.

 

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"We have no chance," Majerus said. "Once a kid visits Kentucky, it's over for us."

 

Pope won a 1996 NCAA title with coach Rick Pitino at Kentucky.

 

Coach Cal is used to getting his man. From Marcus Camby to Derrick Rose, from Tyreke Evans to Chris Douglas-Roberts to John Wall, he rarely hears "no."

 

Already he is 1 for 1 against the Huskies this recruiting season, signing Turkish big man Enes Kanter, who earlier was assumed to be going to Washington.

 

How does Cal do it?

 

When it comes to recruiting, Calipari plays his own game and writes his own rules. And if by chance he runs afoul of the NCAA and gets his university in trouble, Coach Cal quits and leaves the cleanup to the schools.

 

It happened at Massachusetts. It happened at Memphis. Some day it probably will happen at Kentucky.

 

"We've gotten into this situation where integrity is really lacking, and that's why I'm glad I'm not coaching," former Indiana coach Bob Knight said last winter at a fundraiser for the Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame. "You see we've got a coach at Kentucky who put two schools on probation and he's still coaching. I don't understand that."

 

Coach Cal is like the soap-opera villain who runs roughshod over some fictitious TV town. He's the guy who terrorizes the citizenry; the guy who, despite heaps of evidence, the local law enforcers aren't able to arrest.

 

He's a hoops Houdini.

 

Maybe Calipari's talk with Jones wasn't against NCAA rules, but it was sleazy.

 

We don't know what he said to Jones. All we know is before the phone call, Jones was coming to Washington. After the phone call, Jones wasn't so sure.

 

Probably Jones, a 6-foot-9, do-everything player, will come to Washington and automatically make the Huskies a player in the 2011 NCAA tournament.

 

But why did Calipari have to slime a day meant for celebration?

[FeelingMN 273]

Huh?

 

So this kid calls Cal after he makes his decision. Not the other way around. Nobody knows what was said, and somehow this makes Cal a (bigger?) scumbag?

 

I'm not seeing it...not in this instance. The article is nothing but sour grapes.

[MedStudent 56]

There was a rumor that when calipari was an assistant at pittsburgh, he told a recruit who was thinking of going to St. John's that Lou Carneseca was dying.

[GettnHuge 2]

There was a rumor that when calipari was an assistant at pittsburgh, he told a recruit who was thinking of going to St. John's that Lou Carneseca was dying.

 

at least he was able to come back from the dead to have a catch with his kid

[Chronic Husker 85]

Huh?

 

So this kid calls Cal after he makes his decision. Not the other way around. Nobody knows what was said, and somehow this makes Cal a (bigger?) scumbag?

 

I'm not seeing it...not in this instance. The article is nothing but sour grapes.

 

I'm not a Calipari fan at all. He probably will lead Kentucky to probation. But there doesn't appear to be any wrongdoing. Just sour grapes.

 

Why did Calipari have to slime a day meant for celebration?

 

[Me_2006 14]

Watch the press conference where Jones "commits."

 

 

His mom reacts in shock and his dad reacts in disappointment.

 

 

CJ Leslie, who has been considered a "lock" for us for a long time, was planning on being the last blue-chipper to announce. Cal makes a trip out west to visit Jones, Jones sets an announcement date a few days later, and suddenly as the week of Jones' commit approaches, Leslie, who plays the same position as Jones, suddenly commits to NC State with no press conference or fan fare.

 

Jones then announces with his teammates, including best friend Terrence Ross who is decked out in Washington gear, and is in tears as he thanks his teammates and starts to say goodbye to all of them as they graduate and go their separate ways.

 

 

Jones then chooses Washington, and Ross runs up behind him in surprise and celebration.

 

 

15 minutes later, AFTER Jones, who is sitting with his parents at the table with a pen and LOI 6 inches in front of him still unsigned, calls Cal. Doesn't call Bill Self, Jeff Capel, or any of the other coaches he spurned. Just Cal. Since then, still no LOI to Washington. Even takes down his tweet that he's a Husky. Goes as far as to tell reporters that he 'almost chose the Kentucky hat.'

 

 

But yeah, it was Cal who hounded Jones. He even telepathically forced Jones to call him exclusively. Definitely that damned dirty slimeball up to his old tricks.

 

 

Just another butt-hurt, sour grapes hometown writer who can't fathom why a kid might actually want to be a lottery pick or compete for a title in an offense tailor-made for his skillset.

 

anyone else find it odd that an entire article devoted to Cal being the worst cheater in the game can't mention ONE NCAA infraction he's been charged with?

 

 

It's clowns like this that spread the concept anyway. No facts, no evidence, just venom and bullshit. It's goddam libelous, to be honest.

 

and lol at Bobby "I choke my players" Knight talking about the integrity of the game. Just because he can't keep up anymore and stopped being able to win with corn-fed white boys he suddenly has a problem with the state of college basketball. Despite the fact that he was on Kansas' nuts all year. Doesn't matter to him that they won a title (ON PROBATION) with a player who may not have graduated high school. Doesn't matter that Bill Self has more infractions than Cal. Doesn't matter that Kansas is the most penalized program in the country, historically. That doesn't hurt the integrity of the game. it's that squid Calipari.

 

 

that article is a joke. And the pathetic part is that those who don't know ish about the situation read it and run with the perception. So it grows. Why not mention that he raised a few million for Haiti in the middle of the season? Why not mention that he donates to the city of Memphis to this day, despite their attempts to run him into the ground?

 

 

I'm sure I'll get a bunch of responses telling me to "just wait" and talking about how dirty he is and just doesn't get caught and blah blah blah. Yeah. The best recruiters have been cheaters in every sport since they started keeping score, right? You'd think by now they could actually FIND something, God knows they're trying.

[swirvenirvin 25]

Huh?

 

So this kid calls Cal after he makes his decision. Not the other way around. Nobody knows what was said, and somehow this makes Cal a (bigger?) scumbag?

 

I'm not seeing it...not in this instance. The article is nothing but sour grapes.

 

 

Really? The kid commits to Washington, has the decency to call Calipari up to tell him he is going to Washington, and all of sudden the kid puts a hold on his commitment? If you don't think Calipari made some last ditch effort and threw some more "incentives" the kids way then you are delusional. Majoirty of non scumbag coaches at this point tell the kid good luck with his career wherever he plays.

[swirvenirvin 25]

Whats the story on the facebook thing? I heard someone created an account acting as him, and told some recruit that he couldnt mention anything that KY was doing for him etc. The kid responded no problem coach or something like that?

 

Any truth to that?

[tikigods 76]

Really? The kid commits to Washington, has the decency to call Calipari up to tell him he is going to Washington, and all of sudden the kid puts a hold on his commitment? If you don't think Calipari made some last ditch effort and threw some more "incentives" the kids way then you are delusional. Majoirty of non scumbag coaches at this point tell the kid good luck with his career wherever he plays.

 

This article is fvcking gay. Washington wasn't able to close the deal on this kid. Big. Fvcking. Deal. Instead of whining like a phag, this guy should be out there getting the kid to sign with Washington. Dumb.

[RLLD 4,237]

Calipari had every right to make his last ditch attempt, what was included in that attempt is pure speculation.

 

Yes, Calipari is a scumbag, yes he likely broke rules to get his kid, but that is what he is about, and everyone knows it. Breaking rules to win is fine by him.....there is no shock here, we all know that winning by any means possible, and riding that line between legit and illegitimate.....is what he is all about...

[FeelingMN 273]

and lol at Bobby "I choke my players" Knight talking about the integrity of the game. Just because he can't keep up anymore and stopped being able to win with corn-fed white boys he suddenly has a problem with the state of college basketball. Despite the fact that he was on Kansas' nuts all year. Doesn't matter to him that they won a title (ON PROBATION) with a player who may not have graduated high school. Doesn't matter that Bill Self has more infractions than Cal. Doesn't matter that Kansas is the most penalized program in the country, historically. That doesn't hurt the integrity of the game. it's that squid Calipari.

that article is a joke. And the pathetic part is that those who don't know ish about the situation read it and run with the perception. So it grows. Why not mention that he raised a few million for Haiti in the middle of the season? Why not mention that he donates to the city of Memphis to this day, despite their attempts to run him into the ground?

I'm sure I'll get a bunch of responses telling me to "just wait" and talking about how dirty he is and just doesn't get caught and blah blah blah. Yeah. The best recruiters have been cheaters in every sport since they started keeping score, right? You'd think by now they could actually FIND something, God knows they're trying.

 

Why not mention all his Final Four appearances?*

 

When talking about Cal, there's definitely a lot of smoke. Even retarded UK fans have to admit that. So it's not all petty jealousy from ex-coaches and beat writers. Maybe...just maybe Knight has heard some sh!t throughout the years....and that's why he criticizes Cal....not because he's jealous. Seriously, what has Cal won....ever? What is there to be jealous of?

 

Really? The kid commits to Washington, has the decency to call Calipari up to tell him he is going to Washington, and all of sudden the kid puts a hold on his commitment? If you don't think Calipari made some last ditch effort and threw some more "incentives" the kids way then you are delusional. Majoirty of non scumbag coaches at this point tell the kid good luck with his career wherever he plays.

 

If he had any decency, the kid would have called all the other coaches who were recruiting him too.....but he didn't. He chose to contact Calipari. Why is that? I'll go out on a limb and say it's because he wasn't all that comfortable with his decision to go to UW in the first place....he has a "what have I done?" moment. He talks to Cal for a few minutes...Cal lays on a guilt trip....."That's too bad, we could have really used a guy like you....you could have been the missing piece for a title run that would later be stripped from the school.....but good luck to you." I see nothing at all wrong with this scenario.....and I'm sure a lot of coaches do this.

[surferskin 30]

This article is fvcking gay. Washington wasn't able to close the deal on this kid. Big. Fvcking. Deal. Instead of whining like a phag, this guy should be out there getting the kid to sign with Washington. Dumb.

This.

[DanXIII 8]

Huh?

 

So this kid calls Cal after he makes his decision. Not the other way around. Nobody knows what was said, and somehow this makes Cal a (bigger?) scumbag?

 

I'm not seeing it...not in this instance. The article is nothing but sour grapes.

 

This.

 

I'm no Calipari fan, but there was no reason for that kid to call him after committing to Washington. Maybe the kid wanted to see if Cal would offer a "better deal?" I mean, since we're speculating and all...

[parrot 789]

and lol at Bobby "I choke my players" Knight talking about the integrity of the game. Just because he can't keep up anymore and stopped being able to win with corn-fed white boys he suddenly has a problem with the state of college basketball.

 

Bobby with a couple of those "corn-fed white boys".

 

If you knew anything about Knight you would know that he's long been critical of the state of college basketball, there's nothing "suddenly" about it.

[BRANDON ROSS 0]

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/stev...3_kelley03.html

 

Every coach preaches the notion of never giving up. Every coach wants his players to believe that no deficit is too deep, no comeback too impossible.

 

Down by 15 with 10 minutes to go, every basketball coach will holler to his team, "We've got to ratchet up the defense. We need some stops. Keep grinding. We can win this thing."

 

But there is a time when a coach should give up. There is a time when the clock has run out and a coach should shake a player's hand and admit defeat.

 

Take Friday, for instance, when Terrence Jones and his best friend Terrence Ross announced at a joint news conference, held at their Portland high school, they were going to play basketball for Washington.

 

It was a day for celebration. It was their day, nobody else's.

 

Then after their announcements, according to reports, Jones showed enough class to call Kentucky coach John Calipari to tell Calipari he was going to Washington.

 

Calipari reacted like a coach who hadn't heard the final buzzer. Jones still hadn't signed his letter of intent. To Calipari, that meant the game was still on, and there's no quit in Coach Cal.

 

Who knows what Calipari told Jones? Who knows what suggestions and promises were made? Who knows what game-changing strategy Calipari was employing?

 

Temporarily, at least, Jones postponed his decision to go to UW. Instead of allowing Friday's news conference to be celebratory, Calipari cloaked it in confusion.

 

Maybe nothing Calipari said to Jones was against NCAA rules, but with Calipari there is always room for suspicion.

 

Maybe he merely was lauding the idea of an education in the Bluegrass State. Certainly he has plenty to sell. There are few programs with the history of Kentucky basketball and few states as consumed by the sport.

 

I remember when Mark Pope was transferring from Washington and considering either Utah or Kentucky. I was talking with Utah coach Rick Majerus the day Pope visited Kentucky.

 

advertising

 

"We have no chance," Majerus said. "Once a kid visits Kentucky, it's over for us."

 

Pope won a 1996 NCAA title with coach Rick Pitino at Kentucky.

 

Coach Cal is used to getting his man. From Marcus Camby to Derrick Rose, from Tyreke Evans to Chris Douglas-Roberts to John Wall, he rarely hears "no."

 

Already he is 1 for 1 against the Huskies this recruiting season, signing Turkish big man Enes Kanter, who earlier was assumed to be going to Washington.

 

How does Cal do it?

 

When it comes to recruiting, Calipari plays his own game and writes his own rules. And if by chance he runs afoul of the NCAA and gets his university in trouble, Coach Cal quits and leaves the cleanup to the schools.

 

It happened at Massachusetts. It happened at Memphis. Some day it probably will happen at Kentucky.

 

"We've gotten into this situation where integrity is really lacking, and that's why I'm glad I'm not coaching," former Indiana coach Bob Knight said last winter at a fundraiser for the Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame. "You see we've got a coach at Kentucky who put two schools on probation and he's still coaching. I don't understand that."

 

Coach Cal is like the soap-opera villain who runs roughshod over some fictitious TV town. He's the guy who terrorizes the citizenry; the guy who, despite heaps of evidence, the local law enforcers aren't able to arrest.

 

He's a hoops Houdini.

 

Maybe Calipari's talk with Jones wasn't against NCAA rules, but it was sleazy.

 

We don't know what he said to Jones. All we know is before the phone call, Jones was coming to Washington. After the phone call, Jones wasn't so sure.

 

Probably Jones, a 6-foot-9, do-everything player, will come to Washington and automatically make the Huskies a player in the 2011 NCAA tournament.

 

But why did Calipari have to slime a day meant for celebration?

 

This article not-so-cleverly juxataposed a few facts with ignorant conjecture. But you have to consider the source. He is just giving his readers what they want.

[DankNuggs 305]

Calipari = Pete Carroll

 

He's a dirty coach doing an injustice to the institutions he represented. This is a cycle with him, its how he operates, the real crime is that the NCAA should shut him down after the second asterix season.. aren't many other industries other than wallstreet, politics and college sports where you can lie cheat steal, and deceive, then just jump ship to the next lucrative offer.

[BRANDON ROSS 0]

Calipari = Pete Carroll

 

He's a dirty coach doing an injustice to the institutions he represented. This is a cycle with him, its how he operates, the real crime is that the NCAA should shut him down after the second asterix season.. aren't many other industries other than wallstreet, politics and college sports where you can lie cheat steal, and deceive, then just jump ship to the next lucrative offer.

 

I'd love to have somebody tell me what they think Calipari did without using google. Hell, even using google, I'd like to hear what y'all think he did.

[Me_2006 14]

Calipari had every right to make his last ditch attempt, what was included in that attempt is pure speculation.

 

Yes, Calipari is a scumbag, yes he likely broke rules to get his kid, but that is what he is about, and everyone knows it. Breaking rules to win is fine by him.....there is no shock here, we all know that winning by any means possible, and riding that line between legit and illegitimate.....is what he is all about...

If we all know it, show me what he did. Seriously. List for me the infractions against John Calipari. It shouldn't be hard if this is such public knowledge.

 

 

If what you mean is that we all PERCEIVE that he breaks rules, then it goes back to my OP about bullshit stories like this one that are pure speculation.

[DankNuggs 305]

I'd love to have somebody tell me what they think Calipari did without using google. Hell, even using google, I'd like to hear what y'all think he did.

Camby and Derrick Rose were bogus. I loved that UMass team too... Lou Roe was a beast

[DanXIII 8]

I'd love to have somebody tell me what they think Calipari did without using google. Hell, even using google, I'd like to hear what y'all think he did.

 

I don't think anyone has ever tied Calipari directly to any scandals, whether at UMass (Camby), Memphis (Rose, Williams) or KY.

 

It's obvious that you are a KY fan and you're sticking up for your man, and that's fine by me. I did the same thing during Bama's scandal-plagued years. That said, why do YOU think that every college at which Calipari has been a head coach (so far, not counting KY) winds up on probation, forfeiting wins, etc? Is it all just a big coincidence?

[DankNuggs 305]

I don't think anyone has ever tied Calipari directly to any scandals, whether at UMass (Camby), Memphis (Rose, Williams) or KY.

 

It's obvious that you are a KY fan and you're sticking up for your man, and that's fine by me. I did the same thing during Bama's scandal-plagued years. That said, why do YOU think that every college at which Calipari has been a head coach (so far, not counting KY) winds up on probation, forfeiting wins, etc? Is it all just a big coincidence?

Not just forfeiting wins, but the BIGGEST wins in the schools history.. He takes obscure schools, brings them into the limelight only so they can be publically shamed...

[surferskin 30]

I don't think anyone has ever tied Calipari directly to any scandals, whether at UMass (Camby), Memphis (Rose, Williams) or KY.

 

It's obvious that you are a KY fan and you're sticking up for your man, and that's fine by me. I did the same thing during Bama's scandal-plagued years. That said, why do YOU think that every college at which Calipari has been a head coach (so far, not counting KY) winds up on probation, forfeiting wins, etc? Is it all just a big coincidence?

Maybe the corruption of these basketball programs is the reason he leaves. He's a true man of integrity and he doesn't want to be a part of it.

[DanXIII 8]

Bobby with a couple of those "corn-fed white boys".

 

If you knew anything about Knight you would know that he's long been critical of the state of college basketball, there's nothing "suddenly" about it.

 

Bobby Knight's players graduated. Calipari's don't.

[FeelingMN 273]

If we all know it, show me what he did. Seriously. List for me the infractions against John Calipari. It shouldn't be hard if this is such public knowledge.

If what you mean is that we all PERCEIVE that he breaks rules, then it goes back to my OP about bullshit stories like this one that are pure speculation.

 

Why won't you address that UMass and Memphis had to forfeit their Final Fours under Cal's tenure? There's nothing bullshit about two * next to his name.

 

And Bobby Knight hasn't said Cal is a cheater. He said he doesn't have any integrity. He doesn't mention any other coach.....Roy, Motta, Self, Izzo, Coach K, Donovan, et al.....but he goes out of his way to mention Cal and the two * next to his name.

 

Prolly just misperception and sour grapes, huh?

 

[Me_2006 14]

Why won't you address that UMass and Memphis had to forfeit their Final Fours under Cal's tenure? There's nothing bullshit about two * next to his name.

 

And Bobby Knight hasn't said Cal is a cheater. He said he doesn't have any integrity. He doesn't mention any other coach.....Roy, Motta, Self, Izzo, Coach K, Donovan, et al.....but he goes out of his way to mention Cal and the two * next to his name.

 

Prolly just misperception and sour grapes, huh?

 

You don't think that twelve years apart with two schools that probably require you to take a chance on some kids from questionable backgrounds had something to do with it? How is it dirty that Marcus Camby had an agent? What does that have to do with Cal? How does it implicate Cal that he played a player who had been cleared by the NCAA Clearinghouse TWICE? What coach wouldn't have played him?

 

 

Btw, you mention Coach K. Why didn't Knight mention the Myron Piggie incident at Duke? Think maybe it's because he and Coach K are boys from their days together?

[JT 137]

Huh?

 

So this kid calls Cal after he makes his decision. Not the other way around. Nobody knows what was said, and somehow this makes Cal a (bigger?) scumbag?

 

I'm not seeing it...not in this instance. The article is nothing but sour grapes.

 

Exactly.

 

If I graciously accepted defeat anytime someone called me with a "no", or "We've decided to go in a different direction", I'd be broke.

 

The sale doesn't start until somebody says "no". Calipari is a consumate salesman. That's what got him the job he has today. Not x's and O's, though he's no slouch there. It takes a top level salesman to get top level talent to UMass and Memphis.

[KSB2424 3,148]

College recruiting is like golf. You should try your damnest to win (get the recruit). You shouldn't give up until it's over. Practice and persistence is the key. However you are playing against other gentlemen that are your peers (other coaches) and there should be at least a small level of sportsmanship and honor. You must call your own fouls. When a recruit calls (to be considerate) to tell you that he's made his decsion to go to another school, the honorable thing to do is wish him good luck and nothing more.

 

Calipari is the guy that will use a foot wedge when nobody is looking.

[JT 137]

College recruiting is like golf. You should try your damnest to win (get the recruit). You shouldn't give up until it's over. Practice and persistence is the key. However you are playing against other gentlemen that are your peers (other coaches) and there should be at least a small level of sportsmanship and honor. You must call your own fouls. When a recruit calls (to be considerate) to tell you that he's made his decsion to go to another school, the honorable thing to do is wish him good luck and nothing more.

 

Calipari is the guy that will use a foot wedge when nobody is looking.

 

You can be professional and sportsmanlike while still trying your best to win. And let's not delude ourselves that college coaching is about anything other than winning, on the court and in recruiting.

 

Nobody knows why the recruit called, but the results show that he wasn't 100% comfortable with his decision. As poiinted out earlier, for whatever reason, he called Cal, not anyone else. And you better believe that if he had called K, Izzo, or anyone else in the same scenario, they would have done all they could to make sure there wasn't any doubt in the young man's mind.

 

He's making the biggest decision of his young life. He had better be certain. Apparently he wasn't.

[KSB2424 3,148]

He's making the biggest decision of his young life. He had better be certain. Apparently he wasn't.

I thought the whole point of the press conference thing was to tell everyone which school he was committing to.

 

It's not like this happened before he announced his decision.

 

ETA: I understand what your saying, but maybe the player shouldn't announce if he is unsure. Very odd situation. Something Calipari seems to always be in.

[Me_2006 14]

By the way, where is the outrage over Austin Rivers? I doubt many of you follow college hoops like I do, but look it up and get back to me. But again, it's ok if coach K and Roy Williams do it.

[KSB2424 3,148]

By the way, where is the outrage over Austin Rivers? I doubt many of you follow college hoops like I do, but look it up and get back to me. But again, it's ok if coach K and Roy Williams do it.

There is no outrage. The difference between Rivers and this kid is all about timing. The fact that this recruit held a presser, then very very shortly thereafter is waffling after speaking with Calipari, is what is troubling. Rivers verbally commited to Florida long ago and then opened it back up.

 

The main problem is that they need to do away with these "verbal" commitments. If they don't mean anything then don't even acknolwedge them. Let alone have a damn news conference. I blame the chilldren.

[BRANDON ROSS 0]

Why won't you address that UMass and Memphis had to forfeit their Final Fours under Cal's tenure? There's nothing bullshit about two * next to his name.

 

Prolly just misperception and sour grapes, huh?

 

 

You've shown that you know nothing more than the names of the schools involved.

[FeelingMN 273]

By the way, where is the outrage over Austin Rivers? I doubt many of you follow college hoops like I do, but look it up and get back to me. But again, it's ok if coach K and Roy Williams do it.

 

Austin Rivers? Nah, I got nothing against him. As an IU alum, I can tell you there's some outrage over his big bro.....who hasn't learned in his 3 years of college ball that you can't make a cross court pass from the wing. Freaking idiot.

 

But like I said above, Cal is completely innocent in this instance insofar as he didn't do anything any other coach wouldn't have done.

 

He still has those two vacated Final Four appearances though. I bet that's something he and Steve Fisher can chuckle about at some coach's function.

 

[tikigods 76]

I had Coach Cal as a teacher during my undergrads at UMASS.

[DankNuggs 305]

verbal commitments are a joke...

[JT 137]

There is no outrage. The difference between Rivers and this kid is all about timing. The fact that this recruit held a presser, then very very shortly thereafter is waffling after speaking with Calipari, is what is troubling. Rivers verbally commited to Florida long ago and then opened it back up.

 

The main problem is that they need to do away with these "verbal" commitments. If they don't mean anything then don't even acknolwedge them. Let alone have a damn news conference. I blame the chilldren.

 

Until he signs the LOI, it's a verbal commitment. The only difference between this kid and Rivers is the amount of time that elapsed between verbally committing to one school and signing with another.

[KSB2424 3,148]

Until he signs the LOI, it's a verbal commitment. The only difference between this kid and Rivers is the amount of time that elapsed between verbally committing to one school and signing with another.

Well yeah. But my point is that if a kid is going to hold a press conference he needs to sign the LOI. We don't need a presser saying you think you know where you are going. It's getting out of hand.

 

It used to be that when a player verbally commits that is a sign for the other coaches to back off. Sorta like a unspoken rule. That's why kids verbally commited (or used to) so he would stop being hounded by coaches. But now it seems nothing is off limits until the ink is dry. Which make the verbal commitment mean absolutely nothing, so they should stop even doing it as all. It has no merit.

 

A player is recruited up until he he declares and immediatley signs. Done and Done.

[tikigods 76]

verbal commitments are a joke...

 

So is the grade I got in Calipari's class. It has a * next to it.

[Stewburtx8 67]

You don't think that twelve years apart with two schools that probably require you to take a chance on some kids from questionable backgrounds had something to do with it? How is it dirty that Marcus Camby had an agent? What does that have to do with Cal? How does it implicate Cal that he played a player who had been cleared by the NCAA Clearinghouse TWICE? What coach wouldn't have played him?

Btw, you mention Coach K. Why didn't Knight mention the Myron Piggie incident at Duke? Think maybe it's because he and Coach K are boys from their days together?

 

 

The problem with Calipari is that he doesn't take any ownership for things that happened on HIS watch. Instead he leaves right before the sanctions and vacated Final Fours. Why is that? I'm not saying he is completely at fault in either instance, but he is the head basketball coach, therefore his players problems are his problems. These programs lost the biggest wins they ever had, and yet Calipari goes on like it never happened.

 

You forgot to mention in the case of Derrick Rose, that even if there were no questions about his SAT scores, that he still would of been ruled ineligible because his brother was ALLOWED to travel with the team to road games for free. This is a direct NCAA violation. I guess Calipari knew nothing about this?

 

Don't forget that after recruiting Dajuan Wagner, Wagner's dad became the Coordinator of Basketball Operations at Memphis. I guess this was just a coincidence?

 

There was also another story about how some coach of Tyreke Evans became an assistant at Memphis after Evans committed to Kentucky.

 

I'd say there is quite a bit of "evidence" against Calipari to just say this is all speculation. I'm not saying this doesn't happen quite a bit in the NCAA, but it's hard to believe Calipari is innocent in ALL of this. Maybe he wasn't ALWAYS directly involved in these situations, but I have to believe he had his hand in some of them, or at least knew what was happening. The fact that he leaves the program before any NCAA sanctions, just doesn't look very good.

 

In this situation, I do not believe it is a huge story because we have no idea what Calipari said to the kid. Maybe the kid already was having 2nd thoughts and Calipari just said that Kentucky is still an option. But since it involved Calipari, it's going to be more highly scrutinized than if it was another coach.

 

The difference between the Myron Piggie/Maggette instance was that Maggette completely mislead Duke and signed a waiver saying he had not accepted any money from anyone while in high school. Then he later came out and admitted he did after bolting Duke for the NBA. This was money he accepted in high school to attend prep school and travel to basketball tournaments. Despite this, before the case ever was heard, Coach K came out and said that if the report was true, then he would take responsibility. He said that if it was true, Duke should face sanctions. He also came out and said he didn't agree with the NCAA's rule about players receiving money for educational expenses. But Coach K took ownership. When has John Calipari EVER done that? Not to mention this was the only instance of questions raised about Coach K, yet their are multiple questions about Calipari. Big difference I'd say...No?

[Stewburtx8 67]

Well yeah. But my point is that if a kid is going to hold a press conference he needs to sign the LOI. We don't need a presser saying you think you know where you are going. It's getting out of hand.

 

It used to be that when a player verbally commits that is a sign for the other coaches to back off. Sorta like a unspoken rule. That's why kids verbally commited (or used to) so he would stop being hounded by coaches. But now it seems nothing is off limits until the ink is dry. Which make the verbal commitment mean absolutely nothing, so they should stop even doing it as all. It has no merit.

 

A player is recruited up until he he declares and immediatley signs. Done and Done.

 

 

I agree with this. Verbal commitments are pointless if they don't hold any weight.