Calipari's Reputation?

People's main complaint with him is that he likes to recruit mainly one-and-done players.

Great coach, probably cheats. Definitely slimy.

the anti-Izzo

its pretty common knowledge that cal is dirty

Elite Recruiter
Mediocre to Average X's and O's coach
Dirty

True that

quote:

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He does not emphasize good FT shooting.

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Interesting...we shot close 84% on the line tonight and shooting awfully good this year.

I guess you missed Memphis' Championship Game appearance a couple of years ago? And maybe UMass' Final Four appearance in the 90s? Google works wonders for that sort of thing.

As for the earlier questions, Cal is a better recruiter than coach, but he isn't as bad as some say. He just isn't elite at X's and O's and in-game adjustments. This is why his teams have a tough time breaking through in the biggest games. You tend to be facing more of those elite coaches at that level. I will say that the NBA rule change requiring a year after high school before entering the draft MADE him. He was having a tough time at Memphis, striking out on several guys that ended up skipping Memphis and going straight to the NBA. Things instantly changed for him after that rule.

Besides recruiting, Cal is extremely good at three things. He brings a ton of media attention to a program, both good and bad. He also knows how to manage star personalities, which is not an easy thing. Some really talented teams have crashed and burned because their coaches couldn't pull this off.

Third, and most important, he gets his players, stars included, to play defense. This is his best coaching attribute, as anyone who has ever watched NBA basketball has probably noticed how few stars are actually willing to expend the extra effort to play real defense.

As for the dirty part, yeah, he is. He doesn't ever do the dirty work himself. He keeps everything at arms length. He is surrounded by shady people like World Wide Wes, so his programs will always have that element to them. And I think it is pretty clear that he is on the NCAA hit list at this point, meaning any time there are any allegations reported, they will do their best to hit his current program hard. They dug around the Memphis program for a year, and all they pinned on Memphis directly were some secondary violations involving Derrick Rose's brother not repaying all of his team travel expenses. Everything else was on Rose before he got to Memphis and just regarded his eligibility. The point is, the NCAA dug until they could make something stick. If they bide their time, they will eventually get UK, too. Of course, Cal will see the writing on the wall and be out the door before the hammer falls. He's also really good at that.

As for the lack of coach-speak, I'm not sure where that is coming from. You won't find a slicker used car salesman than John Calipari. If you listen to enough of him, he is nothing but re-packaged coach-speak. It may be a little different at UK, since they are an established power, but he had the same material at UMass and Memphis. It was all us against the world. We are a National program (even before that was true). If you weren't with him and everything he said, then you were a "miserable." Until he started willing big at Memphis, he was actually VERY divisive.

actually cal has no final fours. they both got taken away.