PMC2726
Believe
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- Aug 5, 2010
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I really admire Coach Calipari. He's a total class act. It's hard to put all of his quality attributes in a box, but I'll try.
WOW, a completely ignorant post lacking any factual basis at all. I'm from Memphis. I'm a Memphis basketball fan and Vol football fan. I was just as upset when Cal left Memphis as I was when Kiffin left for USC. Regardless, you can use innuendo all you want to slander Cal, but Cal is one of the top coaches out there today. The facts are the facts --
1. Integrity - The guy just reeks of down home honesty. I'd even let him work on my car.
Integrity -- Prior to Cal arriving at Memphis, the UM basketball team had not graduated a single player in over a DECADE. Think about that -- in over a decade. The last 15 of 18 seniors on his team graduated. During his tenure, except those players that did not go pro early, he had over an 85% graduation rate.
You obviously have NO IDEA what Cal did to help throughout the Memphis community. As many on this board often bring to light (read: Dane Bradshaw), a lot of Memphis is in the hood. Cal and his family did so many things above and beyond the call of duty for the underprivileged in Memphis, it's too numerous to mention here. Even after Cal left, he gave $1million to Streets Ministry in Memphis because of his ties to the community. DO YOU PUT YOUR MONEY WHERE YOUR MOUTH IS?
Let's also not forget who has thrown the most stones at Cal's integrity over the last few years -- John Chaney and Rick Petino. Those guys are definitely living in a glass house.
2. Loyalty - When he commits to a town and a team, he's in it for the long haul. Clearly not in it for himself.
When Cal first signed at Memphis, he VERY publicly stated that he would only stay 4 years. Short term project. He ended up staying more than twice that. Although I hate that he ultimately left for his Notre Dame job, that's loyalty. He stayed in Memphis, even though Memphis has NOTHING to offer other than a (now Jerry West-less) NBA team being in the same town. He also continues to give back to the community -- see $1million donation above. Not sure how you define loyalty, but it's not a life-time of service anymore.
3. Skill - One of the best bench coaches I've ever seen. Knows when to foul, when to call timeouts, how to close out 9 point leads in NC games, etc.
:lolabove: This one is laughable. Really? He IS one of the best coaches of you've ever seen! You can harp on SAT scores or Marcus Camby taking money from an agent all you want, but the numbers don't lie
(1) From 198896 at UMass, Calipari led the Minutemen program to five consecutive Atlantic 10 titles and NCAA Tournament appearances, including periods where the program was ranked first nationally. He finished with a 18970 record overall, with a 9141 record in Atlantic 10 conference games. Calipari was named Atlantic 10 Coach of the Year in 1992, 1993, and 1996. He was also named the Naismith, NABC, Basketball Times & Sporting News National Coach of the Year in 1996. Final 4 appearance.
(2) In Calipari's first nine years as head coach at Memphis, he won 253 games, posted nine consecutive 20-win seasons (including an NCAA record four consecutive 30-win seasons) and earned nine consecutive postseason bids. His 20072008 team's 38 victories set a new NCAA Division I Men's Basketball record for most victories in a season. The nine consecutive 20-win seasons and the nine consecutive postseason appearances are the most in school history. He was named Conference USA Coach of the Year in 2006, 2008, and 2009. In 2008, he was named Naismith College Coach of the Year, receiving the honor the second time. In 2009, he was named Sports Illustrated College Basketball Coach of the Year. NC appearance.
4. Class - This guy won't just go out and recruit some thug. His players are all above board and love their mommas. His players rarely make the police blotter.
Not sure how you define class, but I can't seem to recall the last time any of Cal's players committed an armed robbery to celebrate a victory.
5. Vigilance - Cal thoroughly investigates his recruiting practices to ensure there isn't even a hint of impropriety.
I'll give you that D.Rose probably had the single greatest increase in SAT scores ever in the history of the test.lol: I blame the Clearinghouse -- YOU WOULD TOO if it was a UT player.
6. Charm - He just looks like a nice guy. A guy you'd want to bring home to meet your parents. A guy you'd want in charge of your parent's financial retirement.
He DOES have a lot of charm. And parents DO like him. He built an elite national program by recruiting blue chip players from all across the country --- Dajuan Wagner from Camden (NJ), Darius Washington Jr. from Orlando (FL), Rodney Carney from Indianapolis (IN), Shawne Williams from Memphis (TN), Joey Dorsey from Baltimore (MD), Chris Douglas-Roberts from Detroit (MI), Antonio Anderson from Lynne (MA), Robert Dozier from Lithonia (GA), Derrick Rose from Chicago (IL), and Tyreke Evans from Aston (PA).
I tried to hit the highlights of the glory that is John Calipari. I fear I missed some things though.
Just sayin'.
