John Calipari Has Some Crazy/Fantastic Ideas About the SEC Tournament
By Tully Corcoran
If John Calipari has an idea about marketing something, it’s probably worth considering, because that’s basically the same as Dr. Dre telling you he has some beats he thinks would work for you.
In this case, the Kentucky basketball coach’s ideas concern the timing and arrangement of the SEC Tournament. Specifically, Calipari wants to play it before the season in a football stadium with multiple games happening at once.
I'm sure you've heard about my crazy idea for the SEC Tournament being played before the season. Got another crazy idea while I was driving.
— John Calipari (@UKCoachCalipari) June 1, 2016
Why don't we play the games in the football stadium in Atlanta and set up two courts with stands split down the middle?
— John Calipari (@UKCoachCalipari) June 1, 2016
You could play the games where fans can go from side to side and watch multiple games.
— John Calipari (@UKCoachCalipari) June 1, 2016
You could even have the winner's bracket on one court and the loser's bracket on the other court.
— John Calipari (@UKCoachCalipari) June 1, 2016
Other than making the SEC tournament feel like an AAU tournament, this is a good idea from a fan’s perspective. It would more closely replicate the game-toggling experience of watching basketball tournaments on television and, critically, this would be happening in November.
Overnight, the SEC basketball tournament would become the most important and popular amateur basketball event this side of the NCAA Tournament. It would be the unofficial kickoff of the college basketball season, which could use something like that. And it would make it seem like the SEC was the most important basketball conference in the country, meaning it might actually become that.
John Calipari is a master.