Coach Cal's Top Ten Feuds

A website called The Lost Letterman has a piece called, "Everybody Hates Cal: Calipari's Top 10 Coaching Feuds".  And because we here at KSR love Coach Cal, and writing in lists, it deserves our attention. Of course, the list has the obvious John Chaney fight at the top - but there a few stories you might not be aware of.  Like, Calipari allegedly telling a recruit that a rival coach is dying of cancer and Coach Cal stealing his "Refuse To Lose" phrase from the UMass football program.  Check it out. Coach Cal's Top 10 Feuds... 1. John Chaney 2. Jim Calhoun 3. Rick Pitino 4. Bruce Pearl 5. Phil Martelli 6. Lou Carnesecca 7. Jim Reid 8. Lute Olsen 9. Bob Knight 10. Rollie Massimino Our two favorites...

3. Rick Pitino Pitino and Calipari, on the surface, look like Michael and Sonny Corleone. In fact, Pitino helped Cal get the head coaching job at his alma mater UMass. But as time’s gone on, the two have grown apart. Like other coaches on the list, Pitino finds issue with Calipari’s penchant for goading referees and leaving the coaches’ box. When Louisville left Conference USA for the Big East, Pitino refused to play against Memphis unless it was forced to in March. Said Pitino: “I don’t pay any attention to John when it comes to begging for officiating. I have heard him since the UMass days talking about the officials. I pay no attention to anything he says. When people start talking about officials, you know they have some psychological problems.” As Calipari continues to reel in top recruits that Pitino has his eye on like Marquis Teague, expect the bad blood to only get worse.

4. Bruce Pearl There’s no love lost between these two rivals, and it stems from Calipari’s days at Memphis. The two have gone back and forth sparring with each other ever since Pearl landed in the SEC, and in 2009 Calipari publicized the disdain he has for Pearl. “He was trying to take over the state, and I wasn’t going to let him. I conceded the rest of the state other than Memphis. I’m not recruiting Knoxville, you’re recruiting Memphis; that’s why I didn’t want to play him in a home-and-home. What good does it do for me to go to Knoxville, other than to play in front of 22,000 people in orange … I can’t stand the color.’’ For good measure, Calipari threw in one last jab, “I’m never going to paint my body.” While the two say they have a good relationship, people know better. Just scheduling a game between Memphis and Tennessee became a war between the two, with Pearl stating that no team in the country respected the Vols less than Cal’s Tigers.

(H/T: Anthony Wireman)