Cal gets away....again

Written by Jason Brubaker | 21 August 2009

Houdini and his great escapes have nothing on John Calipari.

Like many people, I was hardly shocked by yesterday's news that John Calipari's 2008 Memphis team would have to vacate their 38 wins and Final Four appearance for having an ineligible player. Calipari has always walked a fine line with regards to NCAA rules, and he has long been suspected of crossing that line on a few occassions, although he always manages to get safely back on the right side before the NCAA comes looking.

No, what surprises me - to an extent anyway- is the energy with which Big Blue Nation has been defending him, grabbing for any excuse they can come up with to ensure that nothing gets in the way of their excitement over the upcoming season. If a coach at another program had two Final Fours vacated because of NCAA violations, the fans would be tripping over themselves to let the world know how dirty that program was. Yet somehow, despite Calipari's reputation and the fact that he has now had Final Fours vacated at two separate schools, Cats' fans are all of a sudden a little more understanding.

All I'm asking for is a little objectivity. I realize part of being a fan is having a measure of blind loyalty, but it seems many UK fans are letting the promise of banners and titles alter their perception. So as a UK alum who doesn't necessarily appreciate the image Calipari brings to my alma mater, I've decided to inject some reality for UK fans. Maybe this will help to ease the sting when any banners Cal hangs might have to be taken down in a few years.

Here we go...

Excuse: Calipari wasn't named in the NCAA report at UMass or at Memphis.

Reality: Are we really expected to believe this is just a wild coincidence? That the man has coached two programs, both of whom have been accused of NCAA violations and have had to vacate Final Fours, and yet he was just an innocent pawn? Don't be naive. Calipari is excellent at making sure he has plausible deniability. Let's not confuse that with him being totally innocent.

Excuse: Calipari actually reported that UMass violations, when Marcus Camby was provided gifts and money from agents.

Reality: Is is too far-fetched to believe that Calipari knew what was going on with Camby, sensed the NCAA closing in, and just cut his losses and reported it himself? Before you snicker, keep in mind this is a man who has no trouble bolting two schools during NCAA investigations. Just four days before he accepted the UK job, Calipari said he was not leaving Memphis and was excited for the upcoming year. While he's hardly the first coach to flip-flop like that, Cal's track record is one of caring only for himself. Call me a cynic, but something tells me he knew about the Camby situation long before he "reported" it.

Excuse: Derrick Rose was still in high school when he allegedly had someone take the SAT for him. How is that Cal's fault?

Reality: Calipari is unquestionably one of the best recruiters in the country. To be an effective recruiter, you have to get to know kids early, build relationships with them and their families, and learn about them. Calipari knows that as well as anyone. Yet, we're supposed to believe that he had nothing to do with ensuring his star recruit was going to be eligible the following year? That once Rose committed to Memphis, Calipari just shook his hand and said "we'll see you in the fall", never following up with him? Plus, Rose failed the SAT three times. Do you think Calipari was unaware of that? That he didn't know a potential program  changer for him was struggling to get into college? And when Rose did finally pass the SAT, he did it in Detroit, not in his hometown of Chicago. By sheer coincidence, Detroit just happens to be the hometown of World Wide Wes, a friend of the program who has ties to various coaches, players and agents at every level of basketball. Wes has long been a close friend of Calipari's, and is credited with helping Cal's tremendous recruiting success over the years. Add this all up, and you can see why there are some skeptics (although not in Lexington), that Calipari was fully unaware of Rose's SAT situation.

Excuse: This happens at programs all over the country.

Reality: This is an opinion shared by many, including me. Yet much of it is based purely on speculation. The fact is that Calipari is the only coach to have had Final Fours vacated at two different schools. Now maybe Tyler Hansbrough had somebody take his SATs for him to get into UNC. Maybe Kevin Love's brother traveled with UCLA all year and never paid for it. Maybe Duke's Gerald Henderson received $20,000+ worth of gifts from agents last year - who knows? We can speculate all we want about how much this goes on elsewhere. What we know for sure is these things have repeatedly happened on Caliapri's watch and at Calipari's programs.

And my favorite...

Excuse: He hasn't done anything at Kentucky- All this is in the past.

Reality: Very true. Cal has not been charged with any NCAA violations or been accused of any rule infractions since coming to Lexington. Maybe that will remain the case. But as the saying goes - a leopard can't change his spots. So while he's certainly in the clear as the leader of the Big Blue, it shouldn't come as a surprise to anyone if one day,  things aren't always as perfect as they seem now.