Calipari is calm; Big Blue Nation should be too
By Paul Jordan
Since taking the job at Kentucky, John Calipari has had to meet the expectations both on and off the court, as every coach before him. It’s what the job requires, right? He went 35-3 in his first season with an amazing team, seven points short of a Final Four berth against Duke. And so far in his second season, he has a team comprised mostly of freshmen who compete hard game in and game out, whether we realize it or not. Maybe close losses and a 17-7 and 5-5 SEC record don’t necessarily reflect that. But let’s take a look at the bigger picture before we attack Coach Cal and the players, and realize that there is still a ton of basketball to play, compared to let’s say the past five years.
Obviously Tubby Smith had a tough time as coach at Kentucky. Despite winning the National Championship in ’98, he was dubbed “Ten-Loss Tubby” after some time. Eventually the name stuck after Tubby stopped recruiting names like Rajon Rondo and got names like Mike Williams and AJ Stewart, who did not contribute in the way the fans would’ve liked, and have not been heard from since they departed UK. Does Tubby have it easier up north Minnesota? Not exactly as easy as you would think.
He had all the resources he needed at UK, and has virtually no pressure at Minnesota, or didn’t at least. The fans in Minnesota are starting to become restless with the Tubster. A columnist for the Minneapolis Star-Tribune issued a sort of “apology” on behalf of the Golden Gopher fanbase for knowing that UK fans were right about Tubby. He is a good coach, but not great, as he was or had the opportunity to be at one point in his career. He has even made excuses for himself and his players after losses, such as the lack of facilities and quality because his players had to walk in the cold to the weight room. His mediocre recruiting and coaching, as described in the column, has followed him from the tail-end of his time at UK to Minnesota.
And it doesn’t stop there, because Billy Gillispie didn’t even live up to Tubby’s standard at UK, much less met the actual job expectations required of him. He, also, was a good basketball coach at one time, one of the hottest in the country. He had two of the best turnarounds in NCAA history at UTEP and Texas A&M, making him a viable candidate to come to Kentucky. When he didn’t exactly appear to be the guy he was after a year or so, considering all the embarassing losses in that short amount of time, it was obvious Kentucky wasn’t the ideal for him either. And after a year hiatus and a considerable time in alcohol rehab, he is finally being considered a candidate for a coaching job. But it’s not an attractive one, at least for someone who was one of the hottest coaches in the country, was a great recruiter for nearly ten years, and had just got fired from Kentucky. Wyoming? Wyoming, is right. That is where he is being considered for next season, and the fans want him so much they started a Facebook page.
You might consider the arguement that Tubby did better in conference play, and so did Gillispie, considering at this time in 2009, he was 7-3 (on Valentine’s Day) with a win against Arkansas and Florida, and without Patrick Patterson. But Gillispie and Tubby both slid; that is the difference between them and Calipari. Calipari has had the will to win, from UMass, to Memphis, and now at Kentucky. Remember, the record will say seven losses, but we all know that they are a better team than that. And we need to cut them a break; they are 18-year-old college freshmen, taking the bulk for the team, while playing hard game in and game out, within a hair of winning. Don’t worry Big Blue Nation, we will win and continue to win, and Calipari knows that too.
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