WBN 5For Wednesday: Five Men Who Made These Cats Winners

Who would have thought that the University of Kentucky would owe a debt to the man on the right for this year’s success? But the fact is that if UK wins #8, a thank you card, and a whole lot of e-mails need to be sent to Billy Clyde Gillispie when it happens. He has to be given credit for DeAndre Liggins, Josh Harrellson, and to some extent John Calipari being here at UK. So we are going to give a few props out today to the people that started this whole ball in motion. First: Tubby Smith. Tubby finally decided after 10 years of loyal and successful service that he was going to find a place with a little less stress and strain than Lexington. And after the 10 year run he had, he had earned it. Hats off to you Tubby for bringing in #7 and putting this all in motion. Second: Mitch Barnhart. I call the photo you see above “Barnhart’s Blunder” in my files, which is actually more of a tribute than an insult. Yes, Billy Clyde was not the guy for UK. That does not mean he was not a good coach, and it certainly does not mean he is not qualified, but it means he too was not interested in the stress and strain the job brings along with it. But Mitch hired BCG, and he was also an integral part of this because Mitch did not believe that John Calipari was the right man for the job. BCG showed him the error of his ways, which put Mitch in the position of getting some good qualified basketball people to help him with his decision. So Mitch also gets a portion of the credit for the Cats success. Third: Dr. Lee Todd. Dr. Todd, who I must confess did not impress me when he first arrived at the University of Kentucky, made the decision to get himself more involved in the hiring (and firing) process during his tenure at UK. He helped make the decision that brought John Calipari to UK and ultimately, after hearing Calipari speak for only “a couple of minutes” knew he was our guy. And he also believed in Cal and understood his role in events of the past. Fourth: Billy Clyde Gillispie. As I stated above, BCG brought in Josh Harrellson and DeAndre Liggins, snatching Liggins right from under Calipari when he was at Memphis. And although his handling of both players was dead wrong, it gave them the desire that once Coach Cal did arrive and gave them a purpose and some direction, they both not only have succeeded, they have excelled. BCG has now brought himself back from limbo and I believe is going to do a bang up job at Texas Tech. He is a major upgrade from their previous 2 coaches anyway. Fifth:John Calipari. Coach Cal, JC, The Big Kahuna, The man who saved Kentucky Basketball, or at least put it back on the map. John Calipari has not only embraced the role of being the Coach at UK, he has elevated the position to such a point that whomever replaces him, whenever it happens, is going to have a bar set so high that they can get nose bleeds sitting down. And that’s before they start coaching. The man, simply put, has changed the game for all coaches from here on out. PR will not be enough, winning will not be enough, player development will not be enough, and maintaining the program will no longer be enough. I have no idea how long John Calipari will be at UK. My gut tells me that no one can keep this pace up for very long, but then again, Cal will probably prove me wrong too. He has disproved every theory about himself, and done it in some incredible ways. People said he was a rogue against the NCAA. He goes out and starts working with the NCAA to get things changed, and decides to embrace the changes the NCAA threw at him. He was labeled a recruiter, but not a coach. Well, this year’s job has disproved that one time and time again. He was labeled an egomaniac who was all about himself, so he goes out and raises over a million dollars for Haiti, and then he starts washing children’s feet, as well as getting his entire team to do the same. On their own time. He supposedly would allow others to take the fall in order to preserve his own image. Ask Rod Strickland if that one is true. John Calipari has already in two years accomplished what Tubby and BCG could not do in 12. He has reunited this fanbase against the world, and brought smiles to every face involved with this program. It is an amazing thing to witness. And all of the people in this list should receive part of the credit for this success. And John Calipari will be the first one to tell you so. Honorable mentions for this list include: Mark Emmert, NCAA President, Gene Smith, Ohio State University Athletics Director, Rick Pitino, University of Louisville Head Coach, Bobby Knight, ESPN Analyst

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