My opinion is simply this, the court of public opinion is now in session. This court requires no real proof, only circumstantial proof. I find myself in this court every now and then though I try to get out of jury duty there (I often get slapped with an opinionated felony because of this). However, the proof that such a court has about Calipari might be attributed only his friendship WWW which is all its ever been proven to be, and his in “your” face attitude towards his accusers. Having said that, I believe Mattearly has also fallen a bit victim to this perception. There is nothing wrong with having a perception about a person, just that it isn’t usually true. I don’t agree with Matt’s take, and I don’t believe that public opinion is truth. Case in point, MANY people still don’t believe Einsteins equations which talk about gravity bending light and (perhaps less believable to most people) that one can travel forward in time. Though many people don’t believe it, does it make it any less true? Of course not.

Having said that,

I don’t believe that the NCAA is a good “court,” (the NCAA just ruined themselves in my eyes with the conviction on Memphis and letting Duke slide scotch free with the whole Maggette thing when Maggette ADMITTED that he took money). Though I don’t believe that Coach K “over the borderline” (that’s what she said), that could be my perception. You see, perception works both ways……. That’s about all I have to say on this issue, I think.

i do agree with you that it is necessary to push the envelope to succeed, but part of the reason it is necessary is because coaches like Calipari have made it so.

Calipari is not the only coach by any means that has “pushed the envelope,” but i think because of the recent happening at memphis, the face of the “pushing the envelope” kind of coach is John Calipari. At least thats definitely true where i am from. You hit it on the head though, the landscape is changing and there is a new type of coach that is winning.

I can’t fault you for defending your coach, as you are correct in that he has never been in trouble with the NCAA, but i am still in awe he hasn’t been punished because of what happened under his watch at his previous programs

A few years back, Bill Self and the KU program got punished pretty heavily for giving players graduation gifts, even though Self had no knowledge of it because the gifts had been set up by Roy Williams before he left. (the players were Roy recruits, Langford, Simien, Miles etc…)

Self got punished because it happened on his watch. Calipari has now had 2 programs under his watch nailed for violations much worse than what KU did. Even if Calipari had no knowledge of Camby taking money or Rose/Doziers shady Test scores, he is still responsible, in my opinion, because he is in charge of the program. Apparently the NCAA thought so in 2005 for Self, but not in 2009 for Calipari. Typical inconsistent NCAA.

My real beef i suppose is with the NCAA, they are the only ones with the power to change the landscape back to the way it used to be. It’s impossible to fault Calipari because he hasn’t been punished yet. He is a step ahead of the NCAA and its working for him.

Your Thoughts?

PS, i appreciate you being able to have an intelligent, honest conversation about this, unlike many of the other UK fans on the internet. (same goes for you too blasphemy)

My argument is not that Cal is necessarily a pioneer, but rather that he is operating within the parameters of a college basketball scene that is very different from the one many of us grew up with. The main facet that has changed is the transformation of NCAA basketball from a true “amateur” sport to a business that more closely resembles minor league baseball. The kids that Avaricious refers to are not simply poor disadvantaged kids that are getting taken advantage of. They, and their support networks, are looking out for the players’ best financial interests by hooking up with Cal and others who can get them to the next level.

This is not to say that any of us should like today’s college game better. There are many many aspects that are sad– and you all hit on them well. My point is that, regardless of whether it is respectable to push the envelope, it is more or less necessary to succeed in today’s game. I think that there are still exceptions (Tom Izzo for example), but they are disappearing now and most are not competing for Final Fours any more.

I am not trying to glorify today’s college basketball landscape– I am only trying to identify the environment that Cal is operating in. I do argue that, no matter what we all think of that environment, he is operating within its parameters and not outside of them. I am, as you have pointed out, a UK fan and I do support Coach Calipari. I will continue to do so until someone shows actual evidence that he is breaking rules. However, at this point, the only basketball coach in the Commonwealth with NCAA infractions attached to his name is Rick Pitino.

Thanks.

i understand he has never been implicated in any sanctions, but just because he hasn’t been caught doesn’t mean its right to bend the rules.

i understand your argument, but i have to respectfully disagree, i think the college game would be better if there were more bob knight types and less coaches who were “pushing the envelope.”
I have a feeling if you were not a UK fan (which i assume you are) you would feel differently than you do now about Calipari. but hey, nothing wrong with defending your team and coach

thoughts?

This is a fascinating story, but where is the evidence that Cal has broken NCAA rules? Is Calipari really so much smarter than the NCAA that there is simply no way to bust him on these “crimes”?

Your assessment of Cal’s raiding of “academically-weak, inner-city, African-American young men from broken homes” could be an indictment of many programs and coaches– if you choose to go that way. However, I would argue that many of these “African-American young men from broken homes” are active agents in their own lives and futures and are in fact making very shrewd business decisions by pairing up with Cal and other coaches like him. And they have million dollar contracts with NBA teams to back that up. I don’t agree that they are unwilling victims.

I love the Twain quote about KY, but I actually think they better sum up your outmoded views on the realities of college basketball. The fact is that college basketball is now a business and coaches like Cal and Pitino understand the new rules and how to make them work for their programs. There is a reason that the Bobby Knights of the college basketball world are a vanishing species.

You don’t have to like it, but you should recognize that Calipari is one of many coaches who push the envelope and that he is at the forefront of those who excel in the “new” college basketball. He is no better or worse than the host of other coaches who are now thriving in the NCAA by bumping up against the borders of the rulebook.

Thanks for the thoughtful discussion.

There is no defense for fellow Italian-American Rick Pitino’s behavior. He has committed the worst type of betrayal on his wife and children. Given the types of kids that he generally targets, I don’t expect his reprehensible behavior to have an effect on Louisville’s recruiting..

“When the end of the world comes, I want to be in Kentucky, because everything there happens 20 years after it happens anywhere else.”
-Mark Twain

See you in the final 4 and GO CATS!!!