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From our friends at The World According to MoonDog:
In what could be called the John Calipari Rule, the Collegiate Commissioners Association issued a memo last week that immediately prohibits National Letters of Intent from being modified.
The CCAs action comes about as more highly rated prep basketball recruits had increasingly asked for amendments to the letters of intent.
While the amendments varied, most centered on a recruits ability to be let out of his commitment without penalty if the coach leaves the school for any reason.
Follow the link to read more about the “John Calipari Rule” that will now be in effect for national letters of intent…and why MoonDog is suggesting it be named after Mr. Ethics himself.
Earlier this week in my fantasy baseball league we began debating what makes a pitcher an ace. Naturally, this came in response to me taking it personally that I did not think one of my leaguemates was giving Mark Buehrle the credit he deserved for being an ace. I don’t want to rehash the whole argument here, because any consistent MSF reader knows that I espouse the underrated greatness of Mark Buehrle at every opportunity already. However, I do want to correct one claim that I made in my message post that was attempting to define an ace.
I listed out all of the current MLB pitchers that I consider to be aces. Here is the list:
Roy Halladay
C.C. Sabathia
Josh Beckett
John Smoltz
Mark Buehrle
Zack Greinke
Justin Verlander
John Lackey
Cole Hamels
Johan Santana
Chris Carpenter
Yovani Gallardo
Roy Oswalt
Carlos Zambrano
Chad Billingsley
Jake Peavy
Brandon Webb
Tim Lincecum
Of all the guys listed on there, the one that gave me the most trouble was Carlos Zambrano. Certainly he is a talented pitcher and has put up very good statistics over his career. But what made me pause when listing his name was Zambrano’s famous propensity to completely lose his cool, especially in big moments.
Well, the day after I posted the above list, Carlos Zambrano blew another gasket and not only embarrassed himself and his team, he was ejected in a big spot and will probably be suspended. The Cubs were leading 2-1 in the 7th inning at the time, and luckily for Zambrano his teammates bailed him out and held on for the 5-2 win. Still, with the Cubs struggling and their purported ace on the hill, you would like to think he could be counted on to keep his emotions in check and not be removed from the game for such a silly outburst.
Here is the video of the Carlos Zambrano ejection if you have not seen it yet:
While driving in to work today, Tim Kirkjian was on the radio and he was specifically asked if Carlos Zambrano was an ace, if his teammates trusted him. Kirkjian said that he talked to a former Cubs player who said he loved Carlos Zambrano, and obviously thought he was a great pitcher; but, that he would not trust him to control his emotions and put his team in a position to win in Game 7 of a playoff series or any other big game.
I defined an ace very much that way: a guy that the manager, teammates, and fans expects to put his team in a position to win every time he takes the hill, regardless of opponent or circumstance. It looks like I was wrong to include Carlos Zambrano on that list.
In other sports news…
The Memphis basketball program is facing some major trouble regarding possible impropriety in regards to the SAT test of a prominent member of the 2008 National Finalist team. Though his name is not officially included in the NCAA report, all of the speculation is surrounding former Tiger and current Bull Derrick Rose. Looks like John Calipari may have gotten out just in time. I wonder if he knew this was coming down and if that was any motivation to leave?
In other feel-good John Calipari news, his latest phenom recruit John Wall plead guilty to a misdemeanor charge of breaking and entering. The charges don’t sound egregious by any means, but made all the more interesting as the stench of Calipari continues to envelop college basketball.
Zoner Sports has decided to make a list of the five coaches most likely to be “Sprewell’d”. Coaches from two of my favorite teams made the list: Lane Kiffin and Ozzie Guillen. And if Bob Knight were still coaching, he might have made the list too. What is it with me being a fan of teams with loose cannon coaches?
You can feel the court of public opinion starting to trend in Michael Vick’s favor. The latest and greatest to jump on the “give Vick a second chance” bandwagon is JM Van Horn at MoonDog Sports.
While they are waiting, the guys over at WFNY wonder if tonight’s game impacts LeBron’s future in Cleveland. If it does, all I can say is I hope the Cavs win. I do not want to see him playing anywhere else…but this series has definitely proven that he still needs more help. Robert Littal BSO likens the current version of LeBron James to MJ circa 1989. It is an apt comparison.
The player ratings for the new Madden video game have been released. I wonder what LaDainian Tomlinson will think seeing himself at 94…but former backup Michael Turner at a 95. And does anyone else have a problem with Calvin Johnson being below Anquan Boldin and Roddy White? Those are both great receivers, but I think I’d rather have Johnson.
And that’s a wrap for this morning. Have a great day everyone.
The initial rumors about Billy Donovan going to Kentucky proved terribly wrong, but the rumors about John Calipari did not. After taking a night to sleep on Kentucky’s gargantuan offer, Coach Cal has accepted the head coaching position at Kentucky.
The coach sent a text message to ESPN.com’s Andy Katz on Tuesday evening saying, “I am accepting the UK job! Go Big Blue, coach Cal.”
A source told Katz that Calipari will receive an eight-year, $35 million deal. He gets a $2.5 million signing bonus and $3 million per year for the first four years. In years five, six, seven and eight, Calipari will get an additional $1.5 million per year, so for the last four years of the contract his salary would be $4.5 million. Incentives push the deal up a few more million to get to the $35 million mark.
The contract is the richest in college basketball.
As I’ve said, I think this is a great move for Kentucky all things considered. And now that he has accepted the job and obviously is looking forward to the challenge, it is a great move for John Calipari.
Don’t have a lot of time right now, but here are some relevant links, including my thoughts on this issue over the past week:
ESPN.com is reporting tonight that John Calipari and the University of Kentucky are “inching closer” to a deal and that something could even be ironed out as soon as late tonight. (Coincidentally, the picture to the left is reporting that John Calipari likes to spontaneously air-ride motorcycles in the middle of basketball games.)
It’s 11:00 CT as I write this, and I have seen no announcement yet.
According to the ESPN report, the deal being negotiated between John Calipari and Kentucky is for 8 years and somewhere in the neighborhood of $35 million. Such a deal would make Calipari the highest paid coach in America, despite the fact that he has never won a national title nor coached in a conference other than the Atlantic 10 or Conference USA. Hmm…
For more on the bio and career of John Calipari, we traced his successes (at UMass and Memphis) and failures (the NBA, his reputation with the public and some peers) over what has certainly been a distinguished and somewhat controversial career.
Currently, Calipari has four years left on his Memphis deal, which pays him $2.35 million annually. The AP reported that Memphis AD R.C. Johnson said that Memphis will do whatever it can to keep Calipari with the Tigers. Something tells me that 8 years and $35 million may be a bit out of their price range; but, the Tigers are the only game in town, so perhaps they can dig deep and keep their coach around.
Also of interest to Kentucky and Memphis fans: recent Memphis commit DeMarcus Cousins has not signed a letter of intent with Kentucky, and could follow Calipari to Lexington and play next year. Memphis is also supposedly a finalist for the top unsigned player remaining in the class of ‘09: John Wall.
Thus, If Jodie Meeks and Patrick Patterson stay in school and Calipari comes galloping into town (or air-riding a Harley) with Cousins and Wall, the fortunes of the Wildcats could turn around pretty quickly.
(Excuse me for a moment while the Cream & Crimson blood pumping through my veins induces me to vomit. And while I realize that statement does not make physiological sense, all IU fans know what I’m talking about.)
I’ll keep you posted on what happens, but let’s be honest: you’ll probably find out about a final deal between Calipari and Kentucky before I get it posted here. However, if you want funny John Calipari pics to go along with your Calipari-Kentucky updates, we’re your source!
And, as always, we can’t post about John Calipari without also embedding this video:
If Calipari ups and leaves Memphis for the bluer pastures of Lexington, John Chaney might not be the only person who wants a piece of Coach Cal.
But seriously, he’s a college basketball coach, with a rep as being one of the sleazier ones in the business, and Kentucky is going to pay him more than any other coach in America. Can you honestly say that you’d be surprised, or begrudge him, for leaving?
I can’t. And the truth is, it’s probably a hell of a move for Kentucky if it happens.
Plus, we’ll all get a chance to see if Calipari can only dominate as a big fish in a small pond, or if he can truly build a winner in a legitimately competitive conference.
I just hope that if Calipari is at Kentucky that Tom Crean and the Hoosiers give him a proper ass-whooping welcome in the IU-Kentucky game next year. Losing to Kentucky would be bad enough. Losing to Kentucky with John Calipari on the sidelines…well that would just be…dirty.
And it would make me feel like this:
Good luck Kentucky. Calipari will win games, and all things considered I like this hire for the Wildcats if it comes to fruition, if for no other reason than Kentucky fans and their administration have proven that all they care about is winning.
But all I will say is this: Indiana once made a desperate deal with the devil not too long ago during a moment of weakness when winning was the only thought on our minds. We hired a coach that had been to the Final Four but had never won a title, who was dogged by a less-than-sterling reputation among his peers, and whose huge ego drove him to chase a bigger contract and a higher prestige job right after signing a great recruiting class at his old school.
Sound familiar?
It all started out great — or so we thought — and then a couple of years later we won 7 games.
Look, I don’t know if John Calipari’s reputation is spot-on, or more fact than fiction, or vice versa, and I’m not saying John Calipari will be anything like Coach Snake (nor do I wish that kind of malfeasance on anyone). I’m just saying be careful. When winning is the only consideration, sometimes you end up getting exactly what you wish for…right before getting kicked in the groin with a steel-toed boot that you never see coming.
FYI — There have been plenty of updates on this story since I first posted it late last night. Scroll down to view the latest reports or click through to our latest post on Monday night, which discusses the ongoing contract negotiations between Calipari and Kentucky.
Now that the hype of Billy Donovan-to-Kentucky rumor mill has died down a bit, the question becomes what big name coach or up-and-coming former Wildcat will eventually take the job?
Earlier this past week, immediately after Billy Gillispie was fired, John Calipari’s name was apparently not one that was on the list. But according to a report at ESPN.com tonight, Calipari is very much on the list — most likely right at the top.
From the ESPN.com report by Pat Forde and Dana O’Neil about the possibility of John Calipari-to-Kentucky becoming a reality:
Memphis coach John Calipari has taken a place on Kentucky’s radar in its search to replace Billy Gillispie, multiple sources told ESPN.com’s Dana O’Neil and Pat Forde.
On Friday, a source told O’Neil that Calipari ‘likely would not be interested’ in the job but on Sunday, multiple sources said Calipari is indeed interested. A source also said Kentucky was gathering information on Calipari over the weekend.
According to Memphis sports information director Lamar Chance, Kentucky officials have not contacted Memphis for permission to speak to Calipari.
Other names tossed out in the ESPN report are former Wildcat players including current Oklahoma State coach Travis Ford and current Arkansas coach John Pelphry. Non-Kentucky guys Sean Miller (Xavier) and Thad Matta (Ohio State) are also mentioned. Tom Izzo is discussed, but more in terms of why he is not a candidate than why he would be.
Two quick words on Izzo going to Kentucky: no way.
But let’s circle back and discuss John Calipari. My knee jerk reaction to John Calipari-to-Kentucky rumors is that he would not be a good choice for Kentucky, but a great choice. Say what you will about Calipari’s recruiting tactics or his academic standards or his less than sterling reputation with some of his peers, but the guy knows how to build a winning college basketball program (at least on the floor).
Oh, but don’t ask John Chaney for a recommendation:
John Calipari took over UMass in 1988 and they went 10-18 in his first season. By 1992 the Minutemen were an NCAA Tournament fixture, advancing to at least the second round every season from 1992-1996, with an Elite 8 and Final Four sprinkled in. He left UMass to coach the Nets in the NBA, and we all know how that turned out. But then he triumphantly returned to college coaching in 2000 at Memphis, and over the last four years, the Tigers have gone 61-1 in Conference USA and made two Elite 8s plus a trip to the title game last year.
Calipari’s 446-140 record proves that he can coach and that he can lead a big time basketball program. He is also calm and cool when dealing with the media (for the most part) and slimy and dishonest gritty and resourceful enough to do what is necessary to compete in the oft-sleazy world of college basketball recruiting.
Now, critics will say that Calipari has never coached at a place as rabid as Lexington, nor in a conference as competitive and balanced as the SEC. And they would be right on both counts. But name a candidate who has experience coaching in a place like Lexington? Other than Rick Pitino, there aren’t many — and he isn’t a candidate. And while I’m sure Calipari enjoys being the alpha dog in Conference USA, his Tigers would still be an annual competitor for the title in any conference except maybe the Big East.
So is Calipari-to-Kentucky really a possibility? I don’t know. John Martin wrote a nice piece over at the Bleacher Report earlier today that offers some pretty compelling reasons why John Calipari will not be going to Kentucky. Chief among the reasons:
Memphis will pay Calipari whatever it takes to keep him (I agree);
Calipari enjoys the relative lack of “pressure” in Memphis as opposed to what he’d face in Lexington (I agree, but think he could handle it);
Calipari would have to rebuild Kentucky and teach them the Dribble Drive Motion offense (I disagree — I think he’d relish the challenge, plus he could have Jodie Meeks and Patrick Patterson as a foundation if they do not go pro);
Calipari has a son enrolled in Memphis city schools and a daughter at the University of Memphis and would not want to disrupt the family (I agree).
Our buddy MoonDog also offers up some similarly solid reasoning for why Calipari will not be going to Kentucky, including the killer recruiting class he has coming into Memphis next year.
Update 3/30 7:05 AM: Jeff Goodman of FoxSports.com is reporting that there is the possibility of a Calipari-Kentucky meeting this week. He also says that Calipari could potentially bring top recruits DeMarcus Cousins and John Wall with him to Lexington.
Update 3/30 10:00 AM: Andy Katz from ESPN.com is now reporting that John Calipari met with Kentucky officials at an “undisclosed location” on Sunday as is spending Monday meeting with Memphis officials discussing “what is expected to be a multiyear, multimillion offer to coach Kentucky.”
All in all, it sounds like at least the possibility of Calipari-to-Kentucky is real. At the very least, Calipari will likely milk the interest into a new deal and more money with Memphis, or perhaps some kind of program/facilities upgrade if any area could use it. I don’t know Memphis basketball well enough to know if it could.
If I were Kentucky, I’d go after Calipari hard. Fans in Lexington care about one thing: winning. I don’t think John Calipari would be a good fit in a place like Bloomington, where academics, character, and program reputation are so highly valued (especially after the debacle with Coach Snake), but I think fans in Lexington are so desperate to be back on the national radar screen that the baggage and reputation that follows Calipari would be just fine.
(By the way, feel free to flame me for the last paragraph, as I am a biased IU fan, but that’s how I see it.)
One way or another, Kentucky AD Mitch Barnhart knows that he has to make a big splash with this hire, and no one would make a bigger splash and restore optimism quicker than John Calipari. It would be a perfect marriage of a program with a gigantic ego and a coach with a gigantic ego, and with those two mutual interests intertwined, it just might be a perfect recipe for success on the court.
This post will analyze the Memphis-Missouri game using a statistical analysis provided by the Game Predictor at ESPN.com, which is powered by TeamRankings.com. For an analysis of how this program works, hop over to the first individual game Sweet 16 preview I put out for UConn-Purdue. The methodology is all explained there.
If John Calipari were to have read MSF over the past couple of weeks, he would know that I was not among those who thought Memphis should have received a #1 seed and that I picked the Tigers to lose in the second round. (And I predicted that loss to come against Cal, who lost in the first round to Maryland. Shows you how much I know.)
Of course, John Calipari has plenty of more important things to do than read our little blog here. On the off chance he did, he would probably just chalk our site up as another one of the haters and naysayers and not give it a second thought. Calipari is a pretty cool customer who does not seem to get rattled or frustrated in the face of people constantly doubting his team, or disparaging its conference and schedule.
Now, if John Chaney read MSF and I had been down on Temple, he might not be such a cool customer…
Video: John Chaney v John Calipari
Forgive me, I had to get that in there. It’s been years since I’ve seen that video, but it never gets old. If only we could have seen how the fight ended up…
But I digress.
Mike Anderson, the coach of Missouri, would probably not think much of this site either. I picked the Tigers to lose in the Big 12 tournament and I predicted a second round loss for them against Marquette. Obviously, neither happened.
So it is with great shame, humility, and surprise that I type this Memphis-Missouri Sweet 16 preview. I did not expect either team to make it this far, yet here they are: my own personal bracket busters duking it out to ensure that I cannot have a perfect Elite 8 this year.
But you know what? I can’t wait for this game. These two teams play an entertaining style of basketball that should make this one of the more exciting Sweet 16 games this year. Here are the particulars for the Mizzou-Memphis matchup later this week:
And based on these numbers, plus the strength of schedule factor that is automatically used to calculate the results, the Game Predictor sees the outcome as follows:
So, the Game Predictor sees this as being a closer matchup than UConn-Purdue and Pitt-Xavier, which one would expect. I am still a little bit surprised that Memphis’ odds are above 60%, and I completely agree that Missouri has a great chance to beat the spread in this one — if not win it outright.
Here is what I did not like about the Game Predictor analysis of this one: the historical comparisons (not shown in the images above). The majority of the teams Missouri was compared to were double-digit seeds. I don’t know exactly how these historical comparisons are generated, but the typical seed differentials of the ten comparisons provided was 6 or 7 seed slots. This game is a #2 seed versus a #3 seed, and two teams that I think are very, very comparable. Luckily, the final projection anticipates a close game that I project to be even closer.
Missouri plays a fast style of basketball, attacking on both ends of the court. I was shocked to see that their Assist/TO ratio is as good as it is. Obviously that number is driven by their great ability to pressure teams into turnovers; but it shows a strong ability on their part to protect the ball as well. Their high offensive rating shows that they are able to turn the majority of those turnovers into points.
Memphis, on the other hand, is not quite as strong in either category but still in the top 15% or so in the nation in both. And their defensive numbers are outstanding, with the best defensive efficiency and defensive field goal % ratings in the nation. My apologies to Coach Cal and the Memphis Tigers: I underestimated your ability on defense, otherwise I just might have had you advancing this far, if not further.
At the end of the day, I look at this game as a toss-up. Tyreke Evans has really improved Memphis as he has become more comfortable controlling the basketball as the season has gone on. He leads the team in points at 16.6 per game and also grabs 5.4 rebounds per. However, he also turns it over 3.6 times per game, only generating an Assist/TO ratio of 1.1/1. Antonio Anderson has been much more steady, with an Assist/TO of 2/1. Against the Missouri press, Evans will have to take better care of the basketball.
For Missouri, DeMarre Carroll and Leo Lyons must continue to lead with excellent all-around play from the forward slots. If the Tigers can get a performance out of Matt Lawrence like they got against Marquette (16 points) it will make them that much more difficult to overcome.
My gut is still telling me that Missouri is going to win, but obviously the Game Predictor, using the stats I fed it, has a 3 Star confidence level on Memphis. Either way, one of these teams is going to surprise me by making it to the Elite 8, only to have me (most likely) pick against them on Saturday. Luckily for Memphis and Missouri, the opinions of some idiot blogger mean nothing and they have been able to prove their worth on the court.
When these two skilled, athletic, well-coached teams meet up on Thursday, it could very well provide the most exciting game of the weekend.
Unless you picked neither to be here and your bracket is toast.
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