Kentucky had a great run in the NCAA tournament this year but if I was a Kentucky fan I’m not sure how excited I would be knowing that the head coach is John Calipari. It’s nothing personal against Cal but I don’t think that it’s a coincidence that controversy follows him. I think that Bob Knight said it best with this statement “You see we’ve got a coach at Kentucky who put two schools on probation, and he’s still coaching. I really don’t understand that.”
Now Bob Knight is not on the top of my list of people I agree with, but he makes a valid point. Cal has left two schools on probation and a lot of people are overlooking that like it’s just a coincidence. Coaches do questionable things all the time, but what did Cal really learn after UMASS had to vacate their tournament record in 1996? I’m going to go ahead and say nothing, because he went to Memphis and started doing shady stuff all over again. Before Memphis ever got caught up with the Derrick Rose situation Cal was doing all kind of shady things. When he recruited DaJuan Wagner in 2001 he brought along his father Milt and hired him as Coordinator of Basketball Operations. He hired Tyreke Evans “personal” strength coach as his administrative assistance after Evans was recruited by Memphis. Does any of that seem normal? Of course not it sounds shady as ever. So regardless of the Rose issues eventually Cal would have had Memphis on probation. It was just a matter of time.
Just like it’s a matter of time before Kentucky feels the wrath of Cal. When you hear about a former Calipari assistant making impermissible phone calls while at Kentucky doesn’t it just feel like the calm before the storm? I’m just waiting for the other shoe to drop because I know it’s coming. Kentucky will soon realize that Calipari was the easy choice and not the right choice. Kentucky looked at Memphis and saw how Calipari turned that program around and they thought that he would be a quick fix. While it might be all good right now, I wonder how Kentucky will feel about this “quick fix” once they have to vacate entire seasons.