John Calipari strikes back at Rick Pitino over social media comments
By Paul Jordan
Mandatory Credit: Spruce Derden-USA TODAY Sports
It is probably the silliest argument that ever has been had in the history of the Kentucky Wildcats and Louisville Cardinals rivalry. Yet, when John Calipari takes jabs at Rick Pitino over ANYTHING, another angel earns its wings and it makes me smile. So earlier this week, Rick Pitino made the following statement about social media on ESPN’s “Mike and Mike” program on Wednesday.
And of course, John Calipari, who is a master of social media had his thoughts on Pitino’s comments on the same show yesterday.
"“The coaches you mentioned [Pitino, Tom Izzo], they know nothing about social media. Nothing. They don’t do it. They feel it’s another job. … What we are trying to tell those kids [is], Hey, you build your brand or you break your brand down. For anyone to say [about social media], ‘Don’t do it … it’s crazy.’ I don’t know what you’re talking about.”"
I’m of course a big fan of Twitter and without Twitter, we would not know who else may be affected by Pitino’s comments (H/T to theScore)
And since we are all Twitter crazy this morning … a shameless plug
Spruce Derden-USA TODAY Sports
I don’t think at this point in the season, anyone is going to put UK in their list of National Title contenders and neither does Dick Vitale.
"With Vitale, completing his 35th season as a college basketball analyst for ESPN, the top line belongs to unbeaten Syracuse, Florida, improving Duke and Michigan State. Yes, the Spartans have lost three of their last five games. They also have not been healthy, dealing with injuries to Adreian Payne, Keith Appling and Branden Dawson."
Vitale however has Kentucky, Louisville, and Kansas in the next tier of teams.
"For Kentucky and John Calipari, Vitale said the challenge is different. Kentucky has the parts. What the Wildcats lack are the seniors with post-season college experience, guys like Smith and Hancock. “I think Kentucky’s getting better and better,” Vitale said. “The key is the Harrisons (twins Aaron and Andrew). “They’ve got talent. They’re capable on any given night of beating anybody in the country. But they’re also capable of getting that shocking upset from somebody you wouldn’t expect to beat them … “They’re not what Kentucky was with John Wall, you know what to expect every night or what they certainly were when the had the combination of (Michael) Kidd-Gilchrist and they had Anthony Davis (in 2012). They spoiled a lot of Kentucky fans because that was as special as can be as a team. “I think sometimes it gets a little frustrating for John — for Calipari — because the bottom line is he’s such a perfectionist and he believes so much in the team concept, playing together, sharing the ball, playing with great effort, it’s never been a problem for John Calipari, kids playing with a great effort. This team here has had some moments when they haven’t played with that supreme effort you would expect wearing that jersey. “Because that jersey and they have to understand this, that jersey is more than it is about with Harrisons, (freshman center Julius) Randle. That’s about a history that goes way back to Adolph Rupp and how much pride the Kentucky fans have about basketball.”"
Of those three teams, Kentucky has the biggest ceiling, followed by Kansas. No knock on Louisville, but we know what we are getting with UL. Those players really don’t have that ceiling in which to improve.
Remember this guy? Yea, You can bet that John Calipari and company remember Johnny O’Bryant very well because they did a bad job of containing him last time UK played LSU. Don’t count on that again ….
"The beginning of Kentucky’s game at LSU last month raised a question in the mind of Johnny O’Bryant III: Where is everybody? That’s because UK chose to defend O’Bryant with only one defender. “To be honest, that probably was — that was — the first time all year that happened,” O’Bryant said Thursday. “That was the very first time I saw one-on-one coverage. I tried to take (advantage) as much as possible.” O’Bryant made five of his first six shots, which propelled LSU to an early 22-6. Kentucky, which lost by a deceptively close final score of 87-82, came away wiser. Coach John Calipari openly second-guessed the decision not to double- or even triple-team O’Bryant from the start of the game. Judging by comments made on Calipari’s radio show Wednesday night, Kentucky won’t make the same mistake in Saturday’s rematch with LSU."