John Calipari: Smoke & Fire
May 28th, 2009
by Jason Brubaker
John Calipari - Memphis
Here we are, in the middle of the NBA and NHL playoffs, and yet UK basketball is still dominating the national headlines.
Too bad that those headlines aren't exactly brimming with positive news.
On the same day that former coach Billy Gillispie announced he has filed a lawsuit against the school hoping to collect $6 million, the Memphis Commercial Appeal has reported that Memphis is under investigation by the NCAA for major violations, including "knowing fraudulence or misconduct" on the SAT by a former player, as well as providing money to an associate of a player.
To make matters worse, it has been announced that prized UK recruit John Wall has pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor for a breaking-and-entering arrest in April. Under the plea agreement, Wall will have to complete 75 hours of community service and stay out of trouble for the next six months.
All of a sudden, UK fans who were full of excitement a week ago now find themselves using that energy to vigorously defend their coach, as well as the integrity of their program. Think the folks just down I-64 who wear Cardinal red will make any mention of this during the annual UK/UL tilt this year?
In a released statement, the UK Athletic Department made it clear that Calipari was not named in the report, although he does plan on attending a hearing held by the NCAA to address the allegations.
"First and foremost, there are no NCAA allegations against UK Head Men's Basketball Coach John Calipari," read the release. "Coach Calipari was forthcoming with the University of Kentucky during the hiring process about any issues under investigation at the University of Memphis at that time. It is normal procedure for the NCAA to ask a former coach to participate in a hearing. Therefore, Coach Calipari will participate as requested."
So while it's still early in the process, it appears Calipari may not be facing any charges, despite the fact that these alleged violation occurred on his watch. However, when you examine this situation and compare it to the situation at the University of Massachusetts when Calipari left, you'll find some eerie similarities.
In both cases, the programs were accused of major violations after Calipari left the school. In both cases, Calipari has not been directly named or tied to the violations. And in both cases, skeptical fans find it hard to believe that these violations could occur supposedly with Calipari having no knowledge of them.
With the news of the allegations breaking on the same day that Wall pleaded guilty, Calipari's reputation appears to be catching up to him. And for an image-conscious program like Kentucky, you have to think the administration is sweating just a bit right now as this process plays out.
Calipari supporters, and UK fans, will be quick to point out that Calipari himself has never had any violations, and that Wall is just a young kid who made a mistake (over-zealous UK fans could probably justify signing Christian Laettner right now if they thought he could deliver victories). But a look at the big picture delivers a disturbing reality, namely that trouble just seems to follow Calipari around.
Now maybe there's nothing to this story. And it's possible that he knew nothing about his player's SAT scores, or payments made to a player's friend. But when there's a pattern of behavior, a pattern of near-violations and recruiting kids with criminal records, you have to wonder... how much longer before something sticks on Calipari? Is it just coincidence that the two programs he coached at have been accused of major violations under him? Or is there something more to it?
It's still much too early in this process to make any determinations, and it can't be overstated that Calipari's name did not appear in the report. So the possibility exists that he was in no way involved with this.
But where there's smoke, there's usually fire. And there's been a lot of smoke around Calipari's programs. As for the fire? We'll just have to wait and see.
Comments
The list of schools
Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Thu, 2009-05-28 12:15.
The list of schools recruiting John Wall was lengthy indeed, and I seriously doubt we'd be having this conversation had Wall chosen any school/coach other than UK/Calipari.
To Marshallstack
Submitted by Tim (not verified) on Thu, 2009-05-28 14:32.
If you weren't so quick to criticize, you would have noticed the columnist's bio at the right side screen. Turns out this "know nothing," "UK hater" is actually a Kentucky grad and professional jounalist. Not to mention his picture is sporting a UK foam finger. This was a well- written, illuminating column based on John Calipari's well-documented history and the writer's plain common sense (which apparently doesn't exist inside your own blue and white bubble). So go on and continue to bash every writer that criticizes the Cats. I can't wait to see all the success they'll have against our "sad little basketball teams" in the next couple years. Too bad it will all be taken away by inevitable major NCAA recruiting violations under Coach Cal.
P.S. My favorite part of your comment: "you know absolutely nothing about anything!" Really? That's the best you could come up with? If you need more awesome insults, I'll take you to my mom's first grade classroom. I'm sure they can think of something more creative.
Christian Laettner
Submitted by Bob (not verified) on Thu, 2009-05-28 15:07.
I think you grossly underestimate the degree of loathing for Laettner felt by even the most casual 'Cat fans... and "the shot" is only part of the basis for that. Nice try at upsetting the Wildcat fan base, but it's going to take a LOT more than this to stem the tide. Settle in folks, it's going to be some kind of ride in Lexington for a while.
Insults
Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Thu, 2009-05-28 17:50.
"If you need more awesome insults, I'll take you to my mom's first grade classroom. I'm sure they can think of something more creative."
Wow! You're right! That's a much more clever insult.
Waste of space
Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Sat, 2009-05-30 10:46.
Wow. I always enjoyed reading your perspective before, but I will no longer click on any of your opinionated nonsense again. While you truly have a right to your opinion; Your opinion is so far off base and it is sad to see so many just label Cal a cheat even though an NCAA investigation has cleared his name and connection to the cheating scandal. I would hope collegehoopsnet will consider a new representative to discuss the SEC and KY will character not baseless opinions. I hope your journalism experiment ends soon and you take down any affiliation with the University of Kentucky.
Have the CHN editors gone to
Submitted by Blbskue (not verified) on Wed, 2009-06-03 16:49.
Have the CHN editors gone to sleep? Why is this still the front page article, 6 days later? Sheesh.
No smoke, no fire. Nothing to see here folks. Move along.
Smoke and Fire
Submitted by ALLBLUCAT (not verified) on Thu, 2009-06-04 14:49.
Jason,
I am just curious, do you lose your perspective about all of the people you blog about, or just Coach Calipari? As a UK graduate, I would have thought that common sense would overtake your youth and exuberance concerning your writing. Did the Florence paper publish this nonsense for you as well, or is it because it is a blog that you can ignore all of the facts surrounding this case? You know, being a reporter USUALLY means someone has the ability to write about a subject objectively, amd not subjectively. Maybe you should check back with a few of your professors about fact checking and research on your articles. Seems as though this one is more than just a little slanted.
Maybe you were shunned at some point by Coach Calipari for an interview, or he did not answer your question to suit you at some point and you hold a grudge? In any event, you get a pass on this one due to the youth and exuberance I mentioned earlier....My e-mail is posted should you care to elaborate on the subject further and make an even bigger fool of yourself.
Smoke and Fire
Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Fri, 2009-06-05 14:24.
Journalism 101: This is not a news story. This is a column, also known as an op/ed piece. Op/ed stands for opinion/editorials. The writer is not a news reporter, he's a columnist. Columnists get paid to have an opinion. Subjectivity is what makes a column a column. That's why they are known as op/ed pieces. Why is this so hard to understand for Kentucky fans? Are there no columnists in Lexington? I find that hard to believe.
More examples of sports columnists (again, not news stories). I assume these guys are making fools of themselves, too?
sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2009/writers/luke_winn/05/28/memphis/index.html
sports.espn.go.com/espn/columns/story?columnist=forde_pat&id=4213475&sportCat=ncb
Op/Ed
Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Wed, 2009-06-10 19:32.
The writer is not a news reporter, he's a columnist.
The bio says Jason Brubaker is a reporter. It does not say he is a columnist and this isn't identified as an Op/Ed piece. Maybe Ky fans would find it less offensive if he had said up front, "I don't have any real facts here, this is just the opinion of a small town reporter who has never been closer to the Wildcat basketball program than a student ticket in the ERUPPtion Zone." If he is a reporter from a Florence, KY newspaper, I will concede that he is likely also a columnist, as well as an editor, publisher and delivery boy.
Regardless, the "smoke" has been generated by the media, who now want to use that UMass smoke to support even more smoke (Memphis). Get it? No facts, just supposition supported by previous supposition. Makes writing a lot easier if you can forego the facts part. Despite all the innuendo, there is still not a shred of actual proof that Calipari ever broke rules and the NCAA has never found that he has.
The "where there's smoke there's fire" argument is a lot more convincing when the people yelling "fire!" aren't the same ones who blew the smoke.
It says "columnist" right
Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Tue, 2009-06-16 15:35.
It says "columnist" right under his picture.
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About Jason Brubaker
Columnist
Kentucky & SEC
Contact
jkbru22@yahoo.com
Background
Jason Brubaker is a graduate of the University of Kentucky. He formerly worked as a reporter for WVLK 590 AM in Lexington covering UK athletics, local high school sports, and the Kentucky Derby for a nightly
sports talk show. He is currently a reporter for The Community Recorder in Florence, Ky.
Location
Kentucky
smoke and fire
It is sad that a "troll" piece like this is even published. "over-zealous UK fans could probably justify signing Christian Laettner right now if they thought he could deliver victories" ... this goes to show to show you know absolutely nothing about anything! Was this little comment even necessary? How about the comment about recruiting "kids with criminal records" ... I gather you are talking about a Wall committing a misdemeanor... sure Cal isn't the only Coach to forgive a kid, and give him a chance for bigger, and better life. UK haters showing their colors is truly amusing. Get used to your sad little basketball teams getting their ass handed to them annually!