What Will the Kentucky Homers Say About John Calipari Now?
1-liner, College Basketball, Shady McShady, William Wesley (aka Worldwide Wes) August 21st. 2009, 3:00pm
John Calipari: The media smells blood in the water. ESPN’s Dana O’Neil: “Kelvin Sampson got tarred, feathered and run out of the game (and rightly so) for phone digit-itis. Yet Memphis, John Calipari and Derrick Rose get the amnesia penalty for a fraudulent SAT score and free rides on a team plane.” Geoff Calkins of the CA: “Care to guess what significant friend of Calipari’s has deep connections in Detroit? William Wesley a.k.a. Worldwide Wes, the most mysterious and connected man in college basketball. Who knows how this all played out? But if you think Calipari didn’t know how his star player qualified to play basketball at Memphis, I have a 2007-08 Final Four banner I’d like to sell you. Of course he knew. He absolutely knew.”
71 Responses to “What Will the Kentucky Homers Say About John Calipari Now?”
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August 21st, 2009 at 3:03 pm
“It’s okay as long as we still don’t have that black coach who took us to a title.”
August 21st, 2009 at 3:04 pm
let him stay at kentucky so they can vacate all their wins 10 years from now.
August 21st, 2009 at 3:04 pm
Of Dana O’Neil and Geoff Calkins:
I concur.
August 21st, 2009 at 3:06 pm
Tubby Smith finds all of this hilarious.
August 21st, 2009 at 3:06 pm
Of course I am basing this on no evidence, but merely hearsay and conjecture.
August 21st, 2009 at 3:06 pm
if you root for kentucky or from the south you’re racist.
/clown and a few others
//that is a little stale guys and i hate kentucky
August 21st, 2009 at 3:09 pm
What’s funny is that about 75% of the people who comment negatively about Calipari is that they’d love for him to coach at their school or alma mater. The rest either don’t care about college basketball or have a good coach in place already (i.e. Self, Kruyudfuwehf, Williams, Izzo)
August 21st, 2009 at 3:09 pm
“It’s okay as long as we still don’t have that black coach who took us to a title.”
Mini Review of this comment. I laughed, I cried.
August 21st, 2009 at 3:10 pm
nevermind that smith won with pitino’s players
August 21st, 2009 at 3:12 pm
I lived down here when the “Fuck Tubby” bandwagon was exploding, and it was embarrassing. I never understood it (not being from here and all) and I heard so many stories about what they did to the guy it made me ashamed to go to the school.
Tubby, when he became head coach, once had people place a uhaul on his yard, put “For Sale” signs on his lawn and put a sign that said “Get out N—–”. Shit like that is disgusting.
August 21st, 2009 at 3:13 pm
Nope. Sleazy. Listening to him speak makes me feel like a I need to take a shower.
August 21st, 2009 at 3:16 pm
So even though he would bring prosperity to your program you wouldn’t take him because he might get a “scandal”?
August 21st, 2009 at 3:16 pm
what will kentucky homers say? this.
August 21st, 2009 at 3:17 pm
@Sparty – damn straight.
August 21st, 2009 at 3:18 pm
I can offer you Mizzou or Southeast Missouri State University (which shockingly had wins/scholarships stripped and is now on probation WTF) So fuck yes I’d like John Calipari, thank you.
August 21st, 2009 at 3:19 pm
Sampson’s Final Four in 2002 is overshadowed by Indiana and Maryland. I had to look it up to even remember he got there.
Calipari went to the Final Four. Twice. He won nearly 30 games every year.
And there’s the whole race card that I’m just going to fold and let everyone else run with.
August 21st, 2009 at 3:19 pm
Jim Rice: still an asshole
August 21st, 2009 at 3:20 pm
Sure Shatner, he is clean, whatever you need to tell yourself on this, I posted this before but there was basically a bidding war for rose, these sat scores are just the tip of the iceberg.
The one thing Cal is good at is just staying 2 people removed from any of the shady stuff that went/goes down.
Do you actually think the John Wall recruitment was clean?
August 21st, 2009 at 3:20 pm
That’s the old GEICO philsophy; Ricky Pitino was such a dominant coach the year before, even a: pick an insult (a)caveman (b)negro (c)monkey, could’ve coached Tubby’s team to a title.
August 21st, 2009 at 3:21 pm
I’ll chastise him for breaking the rules because what he’s doing is wrong and creates an unfair advantage. But would I want him coaching my Alma Mater? Hell yes.
Then the unfair advantage is mine and I don’t care. I don’t think even Calipari could recruit to Iowa though.
August 21st, 2009 at 3:21 pm
according to the record books, he hasn’t gone.
August 21st, 2009 at 3:23 pm
@clown – that story made me laugh. Where the hell did that come from? Why do little league teams need to be taught about steroids?
/Worst Hall-of-Famer
August 21st, 2009 at 3:23 pm
i pick (d)corpse
August 21st, 2009 at 3:24 pm
You think Memphis is glad they had Calipari??? I doubt it seriously, if Chalmers misses that shot, Memphis gets a National Championship taken away from them. Calipari left that program in shambles, all the recruits bolted.
It’s more than a “scandal”, it’s a disaster area. That’s like saying would all be forgiven at UK if Sutton had won a title. Hell, they haven’t forgiven Tubby, and he DID win a title.
I wouldn’t take Cal under any circumstances.
August 21st, 2009 at 3:24 pm
I see that Jim Rice quickly caught undeserved Hall of Famer disease (an unfortunate ailment that has laid Goose Gossage low for quite some time) and now thinks people give a shit about his ignorant opinions. I hope somebody asks Jeter about this and he says “Jim Rice needs to keep my name out of his mouth.”
August 21st, 2009 at 3:24 pm
What’s funny is that about 75% of the people who comment negatively about Calipari is that they’d love for him to coach at their school or alma mater. The rest either don’t care about college basketball or have a good coach in place already (i.e. Self, Kruyudfuwehf, Williams, Izzo)
I think you’re painting with a very broad brush there. I wouldn’t touch Calipari with a 10 ft. pole even if my team didn’t already have a coach of questionable temperment (which they do, Matt Doherty).
August 21st, 2009 at 3:25 pm
Sparty, as you said in your column, everything will be fine while he is there, getting the top talent and winning. Its when he leaves that Kentucky better run for cover.
August 21st, 2009 at 3:26 pm
fixed.
August 21st, 2009 at 3:26 pm
As an Indiana fan it is bs that our program got cleaned out over phone calls, but having a player with a fake sat score and letting him play while the program knew about it gets nothing is ass backwards.
All I can say is I am happy now Indiana didn’t get Rose, god only knows what the NCAA would have done to our program.
August 21st, 2009 at 3:27 pm
Yep. If you get a Final Four appearance taken away at one school, ok, fine, maybe you get past it. At two schools???? That is unprecented scumbaggery, and the dude shouldn’t be coaching anywhere.
August 21st, 2009 at 3:28 pm
I think Memphis will be hit hard by this but the problem is, what does the NCAA do to Calipari and Rose?
August 21st, 2009 at 3:28 pm
Only in the record books. It doesn’t take away the thrill of attending the Final Four as a student or alum and watching your team win. That’s all that really matters to most people.
Right or wrong… it’s true. You still get to see your squad at the end of one shining moment.
Do you think Red Sox fans feel that those 2004/2007 titles don’t count. Hardly. Not when you wait that long.
August 21st, 2009 at 3:28 pm
I know, he should be ashamed that he does whatever he can to get his team to the championship, especially by being smart and keeping all the dirty work away from himself. What an asshole.
The worst part about it is that he’s never been caught, and we’re all supposed to talk about how shady he is while forgetting that he’s a recruiting allstar and he’s been to two final fours (Off the record!) and he wins. Id rather have a shit team that tries their hardest and is squeaky clean but a bunch of shit than a talent laden team that works hard and is awesome but might have been put together in a shady back room. What a joke. You dont do this shit to make friends, you do it to win. Ask the boosters if they’d rather have a nice guy coaching an NIT team or a seemingly nice guy coaching a juggernaut.
August 21st, 2009 at 3:29 pm
jim rice does know he played in the same era as reggie jackson right?
August 21st, 2009 at 3:29 pm
How do you even get awa with a fake SAT score? Some investigative bureau the NCAA has. It’s not like the 12th guy on the bench had a fake score. It was one of the most highly recruited players in the country.
August 21st, 2009 at 3:30 pm
rose? nothing. but hopefully he mans up like Camby did, and give the revenue back to the school.
August 21st, 2009 at 3:31 pm
Has anyone seen Inglorious Basterds yet?
August 21st, 2009 at 3:32 pm
So even though he would bring prosperity to your program you wouldn’t take him because he might get a “scandal”? Seems to be batting .1000 so far.
August 21st, 2009 at 3:32 pm
Tubby’s title is about as well-earned as Barry Switzer’s.
August 21st, 2009 at 3:32 pm
When did the NCAA take away your memory of the title? You vacate it, but you know you still won. So it’s not in the record books, who cares? You remember they won. I know im in the minority here, but I can care less if a book rememembers that alma mater won the title.
August 21st, 2009 at 3:33 pm
if he’s batting .1000 that’s pretty shitty average
August 21st, 2009 at 3:34 pm
Not even remotely true. You aren’t allowed to hang your banner. Sure, maybe you have the memories and what not, but to most others you become an embarrasment.
As for the Red Sox comparison, that is laughably irrelevant. MLB isn’t taking away those titles, nor should they. The NCAA is, and they should.
August 21st, 2009 at 3:35 pm
I am a huge UCONN fan but the level of scumbaggery that will be on the court when UCONN faces UK and Calipari and Calhoun are there will be epic. How do they hype that game? I would hope it be by saying The battle of the 2 most unethical coaches but I am sure it will be 2 storied programs with 2 coaches who know how to build a program to a champion.
August 21st, 2009 at 3:35 pm
SouvenirCity- I hope you guys give licklighter a chance, he is friends with a couple of my buddies that are assistants at smaller schools, if he can get the players for his system, he will be able to make a run at the big ten every few years and to be honest that is probably all you can ask for right now, since the coaching/recruiting in the big ten is tough from top to bottom.
August 21st, 2009 at 3:36 pm
.
That’s a sickening attitude…basically you are saying I don’t care if he cheats, or if my program is dirty, I just want to win. My memory of the title would be so tainted, it would make me physically sick.
August 21st, 2009 at 3:38 pm
How is it laughably irrelevant? Aren’t both forms of cheating? And, doesn’t the Red Sox cheating actually have an impact on the GAME? They took drugs to make them better at the sport. Cal got a kid into school for one season which made his team better.
Don’t confuse me for defending what Calipari did as right. It’s not. But having the banner in the rafters isn’t the only thing that denotes a championship.
If you’ve won a championship, do you really care what others think? We’re talking about sports fans. Not Nobel prize winners.
August 21st, 2009 at 3:39 pm
I don’t care. We win, and to act like every other program is squeaky clean is living in a fantasy world.
August 21st, 2009 at 3:41 pm
I know, he should be ashamed that he does whatever he can to get his team to the championship, especially by being smart and keeping all the dirty work away from himself. What an asshole.
The notion that he is innocent because he endeavored to keep himself away from any malfeasance is absurd. You’re right, there is no proof that he was directly involved and it is always dangerous to assume that correlation and causation are related, but I find it difficult to believe that He would have been completely in the dark about the practices of other officials in his program, especially if it involves making STAR PLAYERS eligible.
Ask the boosters if they’d rather have a nice guy coaching an NIT team or a seemingly nice guy coaching a juggernaut.
Because consulting with boosters is a great way to stay within NCAA regulations. No coach has ever gone wrong by doing that.
I think this is being framed incorrectly. Of course everyone wants a team to win, but I think the “win at all costs” attitude is less pervasive than you think it is. Especially since the NCAA has, occasionally anyway, made the consequences pretty severe for those who live by that attitude. USC excluded of course.
August 21st, 2009 at 3:41 pm
I just don’t think you can “take away” a championship, saying it doesn’t make it so.
August 21st, 2009 at 3:41 pm
plausible deniability – see john wooden
On one hand, UCLA has a tradition rich with success, class and glory. Good people, great stories, wonderful memories. On the other is the fact the Bruins eviscerated the rule book like no program before or after, but went largely unpunished by a NCAA that wanted no part of taking down its marquee team.
http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/basketball/news?slug=dw-uclalegacy040206&prov=yhoo&type=lgns
August 21st, 2009 at 3:41 pm
Kentucky has a history of cheating, so i am not surprised by GSG reaction.
August 21st, 2009 at 3:43 pm
@TheGeneral – He has to make the tournament in the next two seasons. He lost his two best players to transfers this last off-season. It was his own doing as well.
I like the guy. Then again, I went to school when we had Alford. Anything is better than that. He cheated AND he didn’t win.
August 21st, 2009 at 3:44 pm
so until Bolt broke the WR last year, Justin Gatlin was still the WR holder in the 100?
August 21st, 2009 at 3:45 pm
Are you kidding me? Sports fans in general tend to care what other people think more than most other groups. If you can’t brag about your title, where would you be?
Calipari is absolutely despised in Memphis right now…if he had won a title, maybe things would be different and maybe I’m wrong…but i doubt it.
August 21st, 2009 at 3:45 pm
If you want to stop cheating it has to be stopped before the championship is won. Anything you do after that is window dressing. The closest thing in pro sports to this is the asterisk argument about baseball records. Does it matter if Bonds has an asterisk by his name, or if they say he isn’t the “real” home run champion? Does that make his homeruns less “real” in any tangible way? The only way to have stopped Bonds from holding the record is to bust him before he breaks the record. The only way to stop a team that is cheating is to stop them before they win a championship. Otherwise you can close the door to the barn all you want but the horse is gone.
August 21st, 2009 at 3:46 pm
and not powell?
August 21st, 2009 at 3:47 pm
@Jay V- I’m not disagreeing on the points of right and wrong here, what my main point is is that there’s certain battles in sports I’m willing to fight.
I have to imagine it’s somewhat like being married is like. There are certain things you put your foot down on and others that you just roll of your back because you know fighting for them will put you on the losing end of a pointless battle.
There’s cheating done in every sport. I hate to use NASCAR as a baseline, but they say that “If you’re not cheating, you’re not trying” in that sport. There’s a semblence of truth to that in every sport.
We’re not going to get all the cheaters out of every sport. I’d like to keep my milestones and records clean of drugs and actual federal/state laws intact. When it comes to academic cheating, it pisses me off, yes… however I know that it’s been happening since the beginning of college sports.
I’d like to keep it out, but I know that it’s a relative impossibility.
August 21st, 2009 at 3:47 pm
I know I’m smacking of homerism here, and very much so. But to act like no other program has cheated is lunacy. Every major program has bend the rulebook, some more than others, and Calipari is a winning coach who has had large issues with this in the past (and this).
The truth is that the NCAA telling Memphis they DIDN’T go to the Championship when everyone remembers that they did is not even a slap on the wrist. If this is the consequence for UK going to the championship, I’ll gladly take it.
/Stops homerisms
August 21st, 2009 at 3:49 pm
so until Bolt broke the WR last year, Justin Gatlin was still the WR holder in the 100?
I think PED use in track is a different animal, but yes, Justin Gatlin had still ran the fastest clocked time ever, and I’m sure he was proud of that even as a drug cheat.
August 21st, 2009 at 3:51 pm
I’d like to introduce you to Mr. Ben Johnson.
August 21st, 2009 at 3:54 pm
With track (at least in this country) there isn’t a large devoted following that won that championship with choose your juiced sprinter. It’s easier to take something away from people who didn’t know or care about it in the first place. I suspect Ben Johnson quitely thinks he still won though, just like the fans of any program that gets games/championships taken away thinks.
August 21st, 2009 at 3:54 pm
gonna whore myself out twice in the same post.
AYFKM? You think he is proud that he broke the record via cheating?
August 21st, 2009 at 3:56 pm
I know I’m smacking of homerism here, and very much so. But to act like no other program has cheated is lunacy. Every major program has bend the rulebook, some more than others, and Calipari is a winning coach who has had large issues with this in the past (and this).
While I agree with you that many programs cheat to some extent, that doesn’t mean the NCAA is any less justified in wiping the record books clean after catching the program. The “But everyone else is doing it” argument is not a terribly strong one.
August 21st, 2009 at 3:57 pm
he might have, because Lewis had been busted for doping. but Lewis never had roids in his body. Ben Johnson tried to comeback clean, and couldn’t do it. cheated again, and was caught again.
August 21st, 2009 at 3:59 pm
I think that in the mind of someone willing to cheat the rationalization has already been made. He won the race. I’m sure he thinks (rightly) that many of his competitors were also cheating, and you can’t take the memory of him beating them away from him. Like most cheats I assume he is more embarassed he got caught then anything else.
August 21st, 2009 at 3:59 pm
Tom Izzo would like a word with you.
/Izzo walks on water, heals lepers, etc.
August 21st, 2009 at 4:00 pm
his biggest mistake is that he took long to get the players he wanted in the system, but I give the guy credit for doing it the way he thinks is right, I just hope he sticks.
In reference to Alford, I wanted to throw up at all the Indiana people who wanted him to get hired. New Mexico is a good spot for him though, no pressure, good arena and you can find some decent overlooked talent on the west coast.
August 21st, 2009 at 4:01 pm
yeah he does. dude just got players from detroit within the last couple years.
August 21st, 2009 at 4:02 pm
sorry last comment was @SouvenirCity
August 21st, 2009 at 4:04 pm
or was caught with roids in his body.
August 21st, 2009 at 4:05 pm
shatner,
Everyone cheats not going to argue that, but cal the last 3-4 years has taken it to epic porportions, he has the biggest runner in basketball working for him, WWW, he has had prep schools on the take to get guys eligible, he had his players living in a mansion on campus, fur coats,
and the list can go on and on.
No doubt Memphis enabled him but some of this has to go back to him.