The 'Tuckey media won't all be fawning over Caps
- Thread starter saddawg
- Start date
That will not make the Blue Sheep happy, but they are legitimate questions. The Herald Leader does a pretty good job of holding UK accountable. I believe it was their investigative tactics that blew up the program in the late 80's. A lot of people still haven't gotten over it, but if it hadn't been for the Herald Leader, the Maestro would have never made it to Lexington.
You know that Cal is far from clean. You don't recruit well in basketball without using some questionable tactics. And you don't recruit at his level without using big time questionable tactics.
Obviously his formula will work if he can stay out of trouble, but if he definitely will be receiving a lot more scrutiny in Lexington than he did in Memphis. Memphis fans were just glad to be winning, and they really didn't want to ask a lot of questions about how it was happening or how their players were acting off the court. It has been so bad that a bouncer at a bar a few years back, during the NCAA tourney, refused to press charges against a couple of players that had gotten into a fight at the bar with him, because he simply didn't want to be the guy that derailed their tourney run. And the sad thing is, he'd have been seen as the villain had he pressed charges. He came out and said to the media that he wasn't going to press charges because he didn't want to be that guy.
Obviously his formula will work if he can stay out of trouble, but if he definitely will be receiving a lot more scrutiny in Lexington than he did in Memphis. Memphis fans were just glad to be winning, and they really didn't want to ask a lot of questions about how it was happening or how their players were acting off the court. It has been so bad that a bouncer at a bar a few years back, during the NCAA tourney, refused to press charges against a couple of players that had gotten into a fight at the bar with him, because he simply didn't want to be the guy that derailed their tourney run. And the sad thing is, he'd have been seen as the villain had he pressed charges. He came out and said to the media that he wasn't going to press charges because he didn't want to be that guy.
I thought that was an excellent article.
It pisses me off to no end that a coach can get crucified for letting a player use a phone or something minuscule, but these AAU "handlers" can get away with what they get away with without getting touched. I'll guarantee that once the NCAA does something about this, You'll see guys like Calipari go to the crapper. He's heavily relied on freak talent throughout his career, and it makes up for some of his shortcomings in the X's and O's category.
It pisses me off to no end that a coach can get crucified for letting a player use a phone or something minuscule, but these AAU "handlers" can get away with what they get away with without getting touched. I'll guarantee that once the NCAA does something about this, You'll see guys like Calipari go to the crapper. He's heavily relied on freak talent throughout his career, and it makes up for some of his shortcomings in the X's and O's category.
dawgatUSM said:
I agree with that. Cal definitely has shortcomings as a floor coach. The primary thing I notice with him is that he really doesn't have a lot of variation in what he does. He has his system and his schemes, and if a coach finds a good way to counter it, he doesn't adjust well. And yes, he relies a lot on the corrupt AAU networks and his "people" to get the players he needs. Most coaches that get decent talent are buying at least a piece of the AAU pie, but Cal definitely is in deep with it. I still don't know what the NCAA can do about it, but college basketball really is a joke.
Very good article. I don't understand UK's rush to make hires. There's something to be said about doing your due diligence and making the right hire based off that. They may still make the right hire with the short turnaround they apparently want, but I just don't understand why you would rush such a decision, especially since the last time you rushed it, the decision was an utter failure.
BlindDawg said:
They didn't rush to a decision last time. They waited 2 weeks on Donovan and when he finally said no, they moved on. This search is entering its second week. The first week was spent doing below the radar work until UK lost in the NIT and BCG could officially be hired. They got feedback that Donovan, Barnes, and Izzo were staying put and they went after Cal who had expressed interest and was available. If you have a guy on your A list who has interest and who's season is over, why would you wait?
jakldawg said:
Somewhat reminds you of a portion of two fanbases in Mississippi that both think a certain state paper is out to get them whenever something not 100% positive is written.
We will see how well "Cal" handles that. It has been a while but from what I remember. He didn't get off to a very good start at Memphis. They were ready to fire him a few seasons in and the Commercial Appeal published a few articles that were not glowing endorsements of how he was running the program. Which lead "Cal" to say on sports radio......"Only time I see the paper is when I back over it in the morning." Which was very funny. Anyway, the pressure at UK will be ten fold what it was in Memphis 7-8 years ago.
check out "The Quad piece: Only in Kentucky"
what he's getting at: "Perhaps predictions of a Final Four from an over-eager prospect's father are a bit premature at this point"
what he's saying if you have on your blue shades "I have nothing but ill will and jealousy towards your basketball team"
what he's getting at: "Perhaps predictions of a Final Four from an over-eager prospect's father are a bit premature at this point"
what he's saying if you have on your blue shades "I have nothing but ill will and jealousy towards your basketball team"