Many Big Blue fans, and even some of the commentariat (notably Dick Vitale) have mentioned that John Calipari doesn't get enough credit for molding talented young freshmen into great basketball teams. In fact, I read many who assume that any great coach could do the same, only better.
Oh, yeah? What about Connecticut Huskies coach Jim Calhoun? When Calhoun landed top five recruit Andre Drummond shortly before the season began, everybody looked at his recruiting class that included such worthies as Drummond and DeAndre Daniels (Rivals #10) to go along with his returning players from last year's national champion -- Jeremy Lamb, Shabazz Napier, and Alex Oriakhi -- had to be considered a favorite to get to the Final Four, and possibly even repeat.
Comes now this ESPN piece entitled Slipping and sliding into bubble season from Jason King with the following remarkable statement:
In for now, but could be in trouble
Connecticut: The Huskies are 14-6 but have lost three straight games.
Did anyone seriously imagine when this season began that UConn could be, "in trouble" halfway through conference play? This is a team many considered as likely as UK or North Carolina to wind up playing for it all, yet here we are (or at least, King is) talking about them being on the precipice of The Bubble™.
Now, I'm not sure I agree with King that's where UConn really is at this moment, and to be fair, he did say they COULD be in trouble, obviously due to a three-game losing streak. Also to be fair, a lot of people began to wonder about Kentucky about this time last year, only to see them go to the Final Four. So there is still plenty of time for UConn to get back to their pre-season expectations.
Still, looking at the struggles of Drummond and the pedestrian output of Daniels, it's not hard to wonder if they were really that good. After all, who would question the bona fides of a Hall of Fame coach just coming off a national championship?
Far be it from me. I think Calhoun is a great coach. But I think Calipari is showing everyone this year just exactly how unappreciated he really is, and how difficult it is to get this many freshmen not just playing at a high level, but playing at the highest level in the country. Calhoun hasn't been able to get any of his touted frosh playing at this level so far, and many think (and I might agree) that there is no better coach in the country. I'm sure he's not deliberately waiting until nearer season's end, either.
I just think it's about time people realized just how special a coach Calipari is to accomplish this, not just once, but three years running with no end in sight. Say what you want about his past, but his present is pretty remarkable, and not just as a recruiter.
By the way, don't just stop there with King's article -- it's pretty good, and you should read the whole thing.
0 recs | 34 comments
You make some great points-
Coach Cal gets great high school phenoms to play defense. That is some feat when these guys are primarily scorers… This year our guys have played great D every night. It is probably the biggest reason we are 22-1, and #1 in the nation…
iam4ukintn - February 1, 2012
absolutely
I think the tide of conventional wisdom may have started to change last year with the run to the Final 4 – particularly the win over Ohio St. This year should only serve to reinforce it, but the only way it will change completely is if Cal wins a title.
That’s not how it should be, but it’s how it will be.
JLeverenz - February 1, 2012
Before he came to Kentucky, I heard all the pundits say "great recruiter, average coach"
and so, I naturally believed it. However, the man can flat out coach. We’ve seen him go through the DDMO, the handoff, and the pick-and-roll offenses. Now, we seem to be back to a form of the motion. On top of that, as iam4uk says, his three teams have all flat out defended, achieving some of the best defensive teams in the nation each year. You don’t do that with freshmen players unless you got some coaching ability. We even saw him break out a 1-2-2 zone earlier this year.
College basketball fans are going to believe what the talking heads tell them (most of us did). But who am I going to believe — them or my lying eyes?
jdogblue - February 1, 2012
Talking heads?
Last night Jay Bilas said live that Peyton Manning and Tom Brady were playing Sunday. I heard it with my own ears. Point being, they are not always right.
a2d2 - February 1, 2012
That's funny
jdogblue - February 1, 2012
Snicker
blue oregon - February 1, 2012
I got your Snickers.....
Greg Alan Edwards - February 1, 2012
Dang, that looks better than my snickers
sweasyf - February 1, 2012
Yes, I did
a2d2 - February 1, 2012
Here we go again :)
blue oregon - February 1, 2012
Cuonzo Martin said last night
He’s just trying to get players and coach culture and attitude. Who among the coaches in the nation does that better than Cal?
jdogblue - February 1, 2012
I probably should just make another post on this, so I will try to do my best Reader's Digest remarks
Calipari’s abilities as a recruiter make the rest of his coaching abilities fodder for the masses. Well in this case, the masses are missing the rest of the show.
Cal’s first ability isn’t as a recruiter. It is as a salesman. Admittedly, the talent serves him well in recruiting, but his salesmanship is used best on the media and the fans. He creates an atmosphere of hysteria around his program. He did it at UMass, and he did it at Memphis, both mid-major schools trying to get to the next level. And it worked. The folks at UMass went ballistic when Calipari brought his show to town, and he hadn’t even polished it up that much yet. The show was so good that the NBA hired Cal, even though he had not really proven all that much at UMass. Of course, after leaving Jersey and going to Memphis, he did it all again. So when he arrived at UK, a place where the hysteria was already at peak levels, his addition to the fold just sent the fans off the deep end. We bought in hook, line, and sinker. And that is exactly what the program needed.
He then uses that same ability to bring the talent to the “Greatest Show On Court”, and we start getting all the big names signing on the dotted line. Everything falls into place, and that leads to even more recruits. But that is when the real work starts.
Calipari can blend egos, talent, the media, and the fans into a machine. The fans feed the players. The media turns the fans into as big a story as the team, and that takes some of the pressure off the players, which is what they need to play in this fishbowl that is Kentucky Basketball. He then teaches them the game he wants played. He pushes that talent to do what it takes to make it in the NBA, or Europe, or wherever it appears they are headed. He teaches them to put their egos in their back pockets and play the game for their teammates, which is the single hardest thing to do when every guy in the room is a budding millionaire. He then finds other pieces, guys that fit small roles and work harder than everyone else to help him in teaching his system enough to scratch the surface
Ah, but then he gets talent that doesnt fit his system, he gets guys who dont play that exact style. So what does he do, he throws his system out and feeds it to them piecemeal, letting them absorb it a little at a time. They win, build their confidence, and he challenges them every step of the way, and pushes them to learn more and more.
In this end, this is where Calipari’s greatest talent lies. It is in his brain. And it is in the humility he learned from a debacle of an NBA career. He has learned that by being flexible, and being open to change and adapting to the players he has, his system gets better and better. His coaches learn not to be rigid, his players learn not to be rigid, and they can adapt and overcome most anything thrown at them.
And that high level talent he recruits, that just makes the job more fun to do. Calipari’s I.Q. is probably genius level. But we will never know that for sure. And that is exactly how Calipari wants it. He wants to be the guy in the room that everyone underestimates. His only problem is that his talent is really too good to stay hidden. But he has no problem with the masses thinking he is just a recruiter. It is all part of the game.
Greg Alan Edwards - February 1, 2012
Greg
A great explanation. I don’t always agree with everything you write, but this is spot on. Good job.
jdogblue - February 1, 2012
thanks J.....
Greg Alan Edwards - February 1, 2012
this is extremely well-stated, Greg
blue kentucky girl - February 1, 2012 via Android app
apppreciate it Sarah
Greg Alan Edwards - February 1, 2012
great post greg
I forwarded your readers digest post to several of my cal hater friends. They can’t give him credit. Let’s hope that ’12 is the year he gets the national COY. Oh, and #8. Go cats!
big-cuz fan - February 2, 2012 via mobile
unfortunately I guess not all share that same assessment of Cal....
not even everyone here in our back yard. But that’s ok…..to each his or her own
Greg Alan Edwards - February 2, 2012
+2!!!
KYCatwoman - February 2, 2012
Adapting
The best coach adapts style of play to what his players do best. Cal has proven this the last three years.
phillbilly - February 2, 2012
Forde On AD
Pat Forde says that because of Anthony Davis everyone in SEC and the nation is playing for second. Coming from Forde that is more than hyperbole.
Wild Weasel - February 1, 2012
AD Has One Man's POY Vote
ESPN’s Jason King picks Anthony Davis over Thomas Robinson.
Wild Weasel - February 1, 2012
No Days Off For Calipari
Zagsblog says a win last night, on the road tonight (Wednesday) in Las Vegas to see Shabazz Muhammad in a game and Anthony Bennett at practice
Wild Weasel - February 1, 2012
Coach Cal is A Coach First
You are correct. Cal doesn’t get near the respect he should for be a “coach” and not just a recruiter. It is hard to mesh so much talent together but he finds a way. Look at the New York Knicks, all kinds of talent but the coach can’t get them to gel.
UK NEWS at http://www.facebook.com/everythingkentuckyonline
Sam Henson - February 1, 2012
Coach Cal
Good comments all. My two cents worth:
1- Cal is obviously a great salesman and recruiter
2- His most impressive feat is getting al these superstars to play defense and to play as a team.
3- I think this year’s team is playing the best D and seems to have the best chemistry of Cal’s work at UK.
4- No doubt, he is among the smartest guy in any room and knows more about college hoops than 98% of the rest of us.
5- The rest of the country is expecting Cal’s success at UK to be vacated.
6- For my money (daughter in her 3rd year with out of state tuitio) Cal has been great for the BBN.
7- If not for a missed final shot last year vs. U Conn, UK would have been Champs. I think this year’s team will get at least that far, if not all the way.
BarryM - February 1, 2012
seem to remember...
the teams in years not so far in the past…that defense didn’t form well from the beginning of the season…we had ‘to wait’ for them to develop…this team is sooo far ahead it’s scarey!!!…love it !!!
KYCatwoman - February 2, 2012
No doubt Cal coaches great teams, or rather,
coaches them into great teams. As part of that process I hear one word coming from the players a little at first and then more and more as the season progresses. That word is “family” and I’m not sure that I’ve heard it as often and passionately from non-Cal teams. And this is with the berated “one and done” teams. I see more chemistry with his players that bond with their teammates and school more than most of the 3 and 4 year players at other schools.
Among all of the things that Cal does, it amazes me how he continues to progress his players like no other coach, and that is coaching. I’m not sure what other coach could have successfully melded last years team into the power they became (unselfishly) and raise their play to NBA draft levels. Last year Cal sent more players to the NBA than anyone thought possible at the outset of the year. Again, that is coaching.
hoboat33 - February 1, 2012
had a thought as i read your post...
maybe the reason he gets them to play as family is because they are only here for one year…its not enough time for the egos to explode.
memphis wildcat - February 1, 2012
Don't tell the other teams...
or they’ll learn Cal’s “tricks”. and he is a magician when it comes to teaching the raw young talented guys how to play the game. And we can all think of coaches who use the
excuseexplanation of how the freshmen can’t play that well they haven’t learned the system, it’s too complicated. Well Cal explains away early season errors that way, but somehow by the end of the season he has managed to teach them his system.Once might be a fluke, twice could be a coincidence, but three years in a row (and hopefully many more) is magic.
“Ladies And Gentlemen, little children and babes in arms! Now appearing at center court here at Rupp Arena, I give you the master of recruiting, the greatest living court magician, the magnificent master of basketball legerdermain the GREAT CALIPARI.!!! See him transform boys just out of high school into banner raising world beaters…” {hopefully.]
Saw a post somewhere where a Dukie was claiming they had the most current NBA players of any school, and I thought….
if true, enjoy it while you can, because at the rate Cal is turning them out soon he’s going to have a couple on nearly every team. LOL
blenheim bard - February 1, 2012
Coach Calipari is the National Coach of the Year
I don’t give a bucket of recycled oats what the media "experts" say.
This man, Coach John Calipari, is the National Coach of the Year if the season ended today.
Who else recruits athletes this elite, motivates them to excel on both ends of the court, insists they exude class and character on and off the court, gets them to listen to him and love their brothers like he does?
Oh, did I mention that he coaches them during games as well or better than anyone else as well?
ukfastcat - February 2, 2012
and they go to class...
memphis wildcat - February 2, 2012 via mobile
i was deee-lighted...
with Cal’s Christmas gift to the BBN…gave me insight as to how hard he and they work…yes, he should be National Coach of the Year!!!…his talents shine on and on and on…continuing to feed our lust for winning and talent!!!
KYCatwoman - February 2, 2012
hmm
all one has to do is watch (or better yet LISTEN) to that UK coach on the sideline during a game…he has been guiding, prodding, coaxing, yelling, pulling, giving guys the hook for not playing Defense…or as we say…COACHING…grading coaches must include how their teams fare in the classroom (bye bye Calhoun), the recruiting trail, dealing with the media and fans/alumni, the practice sessions, the games…and the big time SEC and NCAA tourneys…I hope Cal wins it all…he will be, for more reasons than we really know, will be the best coach in the nation…imagine…winning #8, Cal brings in yet another #1 recruiting class….Goodwin, Poythress, Cauley, Shabazz, Nerlens, and Bennett (with a possibility of another)…to add to Harrow, Wiltjer, Hood, Beckham…ah…a great time to be a UK fan…and a great time for UK period…Coach Cal can coach…
fincity - February 2, 2012
Re: UCONN
They have now lost 4 straight after last night’s absolutely pitiful performance at Georgetown. Their next three games are against Seton Hall (who they lost to by 12 a few weeks ago), at Louisville, and at Syracuse. UCONN may easily be sitting at 14-10 very soon.
blbskue - February 2, 2012
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