Most hated coach is...Calipari

Turned Kentucky from a great program into one that acts as a place one and dones can go to do what ever they want, not graduate and go to the NBA. This is evident when you see kids like Gilchrist and Knight commit there to fill 4 freshman spots. Long story short, thanks for ruining the concept of student athlete and ncaa basketball. Even Thad Matta has you beat.

Don't hate Calipari for the current system. As long as the NCAA allows guys to go one-and-done, we'll continue to see a stream of John Wall or DeMarcus Cousins-types filter through college basketball. Calipari's not doing anything illegal (that we know of...lol). If he can continue to convince the best of the best to come to Lexington and play hoops for a year, and it helps the Wildcats continue to win games, what's wrong? The NCAA is who you should be upset with, because it's the organization that allows this to take place.

If I was a kid as good as John Wall, what incentive is there for me to stay in school? I would absolutely leave after one year (if I couldn't go pro straight form high school). Don't hate the man for embracing (and effectively using) the system in place, as Minnie said.

How come posters weren't complaining when Durant left? Or Oden and Conley?

He's always done this though. He did it at memphis, he's doing it at Kentucky, and i understand its not that he makes these players go one and done, but its like he doesn't even think of building a four year team, which is why he wont get a chamionship anytime soon. I honestly think cousins and wall maintained like a 2.0 gpa just to be eligible and Cal is alright with that. What kind of no class coach allows his players to use his team as a loophole to the NBA? I mean name some others who have consistanly more one and dones then Calipari.

Minnie Soda said:

Don't hate Calipari for the current system. As long as the NCAA allows guys to go one-and-done, we'll continue to see a stream of John Wall or DeMarcus Cousins-types filter through college basketball. Calipari's not doing anything illegal (that we know of...lol). If he can continue to convince the best of the best to come to Lexington and play hoops for a year, and it helps the Wildcats continue to win games, what's wrong? The NCAA is who you should be upset with, because it's the organization that allows this to take place.

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Couldn't agree more. A responsibility of a college coach is to recruit the best talent, and he is simply a premier recruiter. If you were a top ranked high school point guard, and you've seen Cal produce Wall, Evans, and Rose in the past three years, why wouldn't you want to play for him? Brandon Knight wants to be in the NBA, and the NCAA is forcing him to pit stop at a college campus for a year. NCAA needs at least a two-year requirement, or not one at all. For the record, I hate Calipari.

I guess what my point is, is that if Calipari is so concerned about recruiting the best and he knows they will only contribute to the team for a year, why doesn't he just leave college bball and coach in the NBA? That's where he belongs. I hope one of these days he gets what he deserves and he is left with like 1 senior on the roster and no one wants to committ so he doesn't even have 5 guys.

Go Gophs eh? said:

He's always done this though. He did it at memphis, he's doing it at Kentucky, and i understand its not that he makes these players go one and done, but its like he doesn't even think of building a four year team, which is why he wont get a chamionship anytime soon. I honestly think cousins and wall maintained like a 2.0 gpa just to be eligible and Cal is alright with that. What kind of no class coach allows his players to use his team as a loophole to the NBA? I mean name some others who have consistanly more one and dones then Calipari.

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That's pretty arrogant of you to assume that they only had a 2.0, and before you go and rip other teams about academics, don't forget that we had a player suspended for half the year because of grades...

And where does Bledsoe and Orton get off thinking that after one year they're NBA lottery picks? Orton averaged like 4 points a game and will go in the second round. Bledsoe while being athletic is only like 6'1" if that. He has no jumpshot either, who wants a 6'1" shooting guard with gaping holes in his game?

Yeah, I was hoping none of the kids would pick Kentucky, but of course, they did. Calipari would want/need the best players if he were an NBA coach, and he knows that's impossible. That's basically what he has in college, the ability to sign the best free agents at the same price, $0. And the best part, they want to play for him. It's like LeBron, Bosh, Wade, Joe Johnson, and Amare all calling Donnie Walsh saying they'll take a small paycheck to play together and chase a championship.

First of all does any one on this board honestly think that Calipari isn't going to caught cheating at Kentucky or didn't know what was going on at both UMass and Memphis. That's what I thought. With that out of the way.

The current system is terrible with the one and done. When it was first passed I completely called the fact that some schools would become a "one and done"(Texas and OSU are the first ones that come to mind now toss Kentucky into that group). They will be the schools that get all the hype every year then never win the national championship. The one exception to this has been Melo and Syracuse.

On the other hand you are going to see other school-most in fact-become 3-4 year schools. While these schools aren't going to get the hype that one and done school get they are they ones in the end that will be winning the national titles. Prime examples of this are Duke, Kansas, Michigan State, well I can keep going but you get the idea.

Any way I would take a program like Minnesota or Purdue where basketball players are really STUDENT-athletes and yet they are still able to go out and win basketball games.

Go Gophs eh? said:

And where does Bledsoe and Orton get off thinking that after one year they're NBA lottery picks? Orton averaged like 4 points a game and will go in the second round. Bledsoe while being athletic is only like 6'1" if that. He has no jumpshot either, who wants a 6'1" shooting guard with gaping holes in his game?

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Orton, had he been on not such a stacked team would be averaging more that 4ppg. Numbers don't always tell the story.

Bledsoe's family needs money. Broke as a joke. Not being insensitive, but the family needs someone to CTC.

I Don't Hate Calipari At All

I expect him to restore the UK luster that was 1992-2005.

goldygo4 said:

How come posters weren't complaining when Durant left? Or Oden and Conley?

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or Kris Humphries???? and soon to be Cory Joseph?????

What if a non-athlete is a prodigy that is offered a seven figure salary to be a big wig for a Fortune 500 company and he/she leaves after one year of college? Would anybody care?

Art Vandelay said:

What if a non-athlete is a prodigy that is offered a seven figure salary to be a big wig for a Fortune 500 company and he/she leaves after one year of college? Would anybody care?

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Happens in golf, tennis, hockey, baseball on a regular basis. Athletes are mostly white in those sports.

Hmm.

UK

don't they start losing schollies when all these guys leave early?

idagopher said:

don't they start losing schollies when all these guys leave early?

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Not necessarily - so long as they keep their academics up this semester.

Go Gophs eh? said:

He's always done this though. He did it at memphis, he's doing it at Kentucky, and i understand its not that he makes these players go one and done, but its like he doesn't even think of building a four year team, which is why he wont get a chamionship anytime soon. I honestly think cousins and wall maintained like a 2.0 gpa just to be eligible and Cal is alright with that. What kind of no class coach allows his players to use his team as a loophole to the NBA? I mean name some others who have consistanly more one and dones then Calipari.

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I think what you're failing to acknowledge (with the loophole comment) is that this is going to happen regardless. It's not like these kids wouldn't go pro after a year if they had gone to a different school. John Wall wasn't staying in school no matter where he went. That rule is BS, but why is that Calipari's fault? It contrasts with going for slightly less-talented players and developing them for four years, but that doesn't make it wrong.

Everyone's always hating on Calipari. I understand that he is perceived as scum, but the reality is that he was not personally penalized for the instances at Memphis and UMASS. It was ruled that he did not know. You could argue that he should have (and I'd probably agree), but the reality is that you could make that argument with any coach who has a player suspended and it holds a similar amount of truth in my mind.

He's not my favorite coach, but you can't deny the man has talent and can recruit the hell out of players. He's impressive, even if you do think he's scum.

A few points
- 1 and done is the NBA's doing, not the NCAAs. How can they regulate how long atheletes stay at a school other than penalizing the school, and then how do you penalize schools for players turning pro and not for transferring or quitting sports?
- the reason I dislike Cal isn't because his players are 1 and done, it's because he completely blurs the lines between legal and illegal practices

Art Vandelay said:

or Kris Humphries???? and soon to be Cory Joseph?????

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Cory will not be a one and done anywhere he goes. I am not saying a 4 year player, just not a 1 and done.

Friend Of Tubby said:

Happens in golf, tennis, hockey, baseball on a regular basis. Athletes are mostly white in those sports.

Hmm.

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I have been squarely in your corner in other debates on this board, but this post is unfortunate. In your rush to play the race card you conveniently neglected to mention that there has been a good bit of public debate accompanying early moves to the pros. BTW, you should rethink your last sentence as it pertains to baseball.

maxwellsmart said:

I have been squarely in your corner in other debates on this board, but this post is unfortunate. In your rush to play the race card you conveniently neglected to mention that there has been a good bit of public debate accompanying early moves to the pros. BTW, you should rethink your last sentence as it pertains to baseball.

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It's factual. Baseball players (leaving HS for pro baseball) are mostly white.

I've never heard criticism of those 4 sports in that regard. Hockey, tennis, golf, or baseball.

I don't hate Calipari at all... but Martin drives me crazy:

Friend Of Tubby said:

It's factual. Baseball players (leaving HS for pro baseball) are mostly white.

I've never heard criticism of those 4 sports in that regard. Hockey, tennis, golf, or baseball.

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Go mention Kyle Okposo's name (or Kris Chucko or Jake Taylor) to a Gopher hockey fan and see what you get.

What does your baseball example have to do with anything? They are going from HS to the Pros without a stop in college. Why would they be criticized? Also, if they go to college they have to wait three years to be drafted again. Why would anyone criticize someone leaving after their junior year?

My top five most disliked coaches are:

1. Calipari
2. Ryan
3. Thad
4. Roy Williams
5. Whoever's coaching against the Gophers.

Also, FOT's theory is absolutely ludicrous.

Straying away from these crazy race arguments, ESPN First Take is about to address Calipari recruiting one-and-done players, for anyone interested. ESPN2

The rule itself is stupid but it is what it is. You can cite "well, baseball does it better!. It really is about what's best for the student-athlete!" No, it's not. Baseball players go through their draft process and 99% of them that are drafted but enter college do so for one reason: They didn't like their draft position and their first contract. These kids are not going to play for higher education or the pageantry of college baseball, they're going in the hopes of improving that draft status and getting a better deal.

What difference does it really make if a kid stays one, two, three or four years? It makes no difference in the end if they exhaust their eligibility without finishing their education. So a kid stays an extra year and leaves early as a sophomore (like Gordon Hayward) that's okay but we have to act all indignant when a kid wants to trade on his marketable skills after his freshman year? The best interests of these kids should come first and for many of them entering the Draft and playing in the NBA is their dream. For some of them it's also a matter of financial security for their families. If you came from poverty and after one year of playing basketball or studying computer science in college someone offered you millions of dollars in compensation for your skills what would you do?

I don't want to listen to any arguments about the "sanctity of college athletics." Minnesota doesn't build 300 million dollar football palaces to crank out Rhodes Scholars and Kentucky doesn't pay John Calipari 4 million dollars a year to teach HIST 105. At the end of the day, the only thing anyone can do is hope that these institutions do right (and vice versa) by the athletes. If any of this "purity" I keep seeing folks harping about ever existed it ended the day when Harvard and Yale started rounding up shell shocked World War I vets to bash each other's brains in because they realized they could make a killing selling out Yankee Stadium in New York.

As far as the issues directly related to Kentucky here's what I know:

1. No one around that program or during the recruiting process expected all these declarations when all these guys showed up on campus last summer. They didn't expect the rapid progress of Cousins and Bledsoe either. Calipari told Demarcus' mother when he was recruiting him at Memphis that he needed at least two years in college. NBA GM's and scouts said the same thing. No one saw the rapid progress in maturation and skill development of Cousins coming but he worked extremely hard. If you saw him playing AAU in high school you saw a kid with tremendous size and potential that wanted to be a guard.

Bledsoe's issues are directly related to money (terrible, terrible situation for him) but he wasn't on anyone's radar until GM's and scout started coming in to watch him workout. He's worked as hard as anyone on the team to improve. Orton is a trickier situation that I really don't feel comfortable talking about on a message board. Wish him nothing but the best though.

2. All those kids have/are finishing their classwork this semester. I'm not going sit here and say that they're all studying rocket science but they're doing right by the University and the basketball program. It's part of what the coaching staff expects of them: We'll get you ready for your futures but don't take advantage of the situation. John has stated that he's going to come back in the summers to complete a promise to his father and mother and get his degree (like Durant is doing at Texas) but it's going to be tough with how crazy his life is going to be.

3. I chuckle at how little people actually know about the recruiting process and what goes on. How the media creates and manipulates perception and popular opinion. Calipari is the devil, William Wesley is a bagman and Roy Williams or Coach K are saints beating back the "evils" that have infected college basketball. Recruiting is a cutthroat game and things go on everywhere (yes, even at Minnesota) that the NCAA deems "improper" but these grand conspiracies where hundreds of thousands of dollars in paper bags change hands are kind of rare these days.

He's not a bad guy at all, but he understands the system and works the NBA's rules to his favor in recruiting.

On John Wall
"I am saying that if he came to me and he was the No. 1 pick in the draft and he said that he wanted to come back, we would probably be wrestling around on the floor," Calipari said. "Because there is no reason other than me trying to win more games that he should come back.

On the rest of them

"I also have a couple of other guys that are in here and if they are in the top 15 to 20 picks and they tell me that they want to come back, I say for one reason. That is if you want to be the No. 1 pick in the draft. (Otherwise) you don't come back."

How is that wrong?

You can always go back to college later with the millions they will make!

To add to my previous point look no further then Willie Warren.
Willie Warren for some reason decided to stay another year at Oklahoma. No doubt in my mind Warren would have declared last year if he played for Calipari. Now he goes pro when he is at best a real late 1st rd or mid 2nd. If he goes in the second round he cost himself guaranteed millions.

Who is advising these kids?

I would rather have the guy who really looks for my best interest then some of these coaches just looking to win more games.

http://www.draftexpress.com/profile/Willie-Warren-5157/

http://blog.newsok.com/ou/2010/04/07/warren-to-go-pro/

Last years draft pick salaries
http://www.hoopsworld.com/Story.asp?story_id=9301