Calipari (Merged)

[Wayne Watson]

We're less than 6 hours from April Fool's Day.  He will pull an Altman.   

[Razorvet]

So it turns out if your willing to pay the coach what hes worth you can go out and get a big name coach who has no reason to leave thier current position. Maybe trying to get a coach on the cheap isnt the best policy.

[rljjr]

Yea! I can't wait for Kentucky to be good again!!! (SARCASM)
I'm also jazzed to hear that Mike Anderson is interested in Georgia!!! (MORE SARCASM)

[40MINSOFHELL]

great, i always wanted to beat that cheating calipari....now we can since he is going to kentucky, excellent

[jobiegohog]

great day for a west memphis boy who is a tiger hater and bleeds razorback red. maybe i can watch the local news again.

[moses_007]

great, i always wanted to beat that cheating calipari....now we can since he is going to kentucky, excellent

There's no proof he ever cheated at any program he coached.  Why do Hog fans so hate this man?

[bigdaddy220]

I keep reading that he and Rick Pitino hate each other.  Can someone enlighten me on this?

[tconey1]

Sully on 7 just said it was a done deal. Calapari to UK and UM after Anderson.

[bigdaddy220]

Kentucky board celebrating and saying it is a done deal.

[bigdaddy220]

calipari has made up his mind.  according to news sources and ky board he is the new coach and the celebrations have began.

[bigdaddy220]

excuse me.."have begun".

[jkcrunch]

Anderson according to ESPN News is getting offered 2 mil a year to go to UGA, I am guessing Memphis comes up with bigger offer

[jobiegohog]

funny how memphis is trying to lure the coach who just spanked their arse!!!!! lmao

[hoglady]

I would be really upset if I was a Memphis fan right now.
It's one thing to lose your coach, it's another thing to lose your recruits and existing players. If Kentucky let's that happen, they are a totally classless bunch. It's the Kentucky AD's responsibility to not just decimate another program like that. I've always hated Kentucky - I will really hate them now.
You know the city of Memphis and their corporate leaders did good by Calipari. I don't blame him for leaving, but don't destroy Memphis in the process.

[linze82]

i am praying mike a turns down memphis

[duckhuntark]

So it turns out if your willing to pay the coach what hes worth you can go out and get a big name coach who has no reason to leave thier current position. Maybe trying to get a coach on the cheap isnt the best policy.

I think Arkansas threw alot of money out to coaches if they wanted to come here before we hired Pel.  Arkansas is not a dream job for any coaches now but maybe Pel can bring us back to that level.  We tried to hire Bill Self, Calipari so we tried but no sucess.

[rzrbackrob]

If you live in Memphis, that shaking is not an earthquake, it is all the Tiger High fans jumping off the bandwagon.

[hawgsav1]

If you live in Memphis, that shaking is not an earthquake, it is all the Tiger High fans jumping off the bandwagon.

+1

[redbarn]

Calipari wasn't coming to Arkansas for any amount of money and he could have stayed at Memphis and received more than he will make at Kentucky.  There were only five teams he was ever interested in leaving Memphis for and Kentucky was one of them. 

[TomasPistola]

Yea! I can't wait for Kentucky to be good again!!! (SARCASM)
I'm also jazzed to hear that Mike Anderson is interested in Georgia!!! (MORE SARCASM)

Mike might be going to Memphis too.

[PearlHarbor]

I think Arkansas threw alot of money out to coaches if they wanted to come here before we hired Pel.  Arkansas is not a dream job for any coaches now but maybe Pel can bring us back to that level.  We tried to hire Bill Self, Calipari so we tried but no sucess.

You don't really think Frank Broyles ever offered anyone big money?

[TomasPistola]

You don't really think Frank Broyles ever offered anyone big money?

Seems like he was more interested in being at Augusta wasn't he?

[hoglady]

There's no proof he ever cheated at any program he coached.  Why do Hog fans so hate this man?

I'm a Hog fan and I love Calipari.
Let me rephrase that - I loved Calipari - I can't love someone while they're coaching a Kentucky basketball team.

[ironside]

This whole thing is sickening. One can not blame Calipari for leaving to go to UK. However, here are the points that make this sickening, yet not surprising. It mirror's our society today and why we are in the shape we are in.

Greed & Corporate mentality that thinks legal = moral.

1. Calipari taking recruits( and current players at UM) with him instead of encouraging them to stay at the school he recruited them to attend.
2. University of Kentucky for making Calipari by far the highest paid basketball coach when all we hear is how bad the economy is.
3. Memphis boosters, namely Fred Smith for offering him even more than Kentucky offered. Sure it is Fred Smith's money but it is shameful he is doing this at a time Fedex is talking about layoffs.

I thank you.

[jobiegohog]

+1

If you live in Memphis, that shaking is not an earthquake, it is all the Tiger High fans jumping off the bandwagon.

that was classic!

[hawgsav1]

There's no proof he ever cheated at any program he coached.  Why do Hog fans so hate this man?

The NCAA wouldn't make UMass vacate every win they had with Marcus Camby if Calipari didn't know anything about Camby's dealings.  Camby was given nearly 100k in cash and TONS of other gifts.  Camby got one of the agents/boosters (Wesley Spears) to let him rent a car for 17 days.  You're telling me Calipari is so blind that he wouldn't have noticed Camby driving around in a shiny new rental car for a couple of days and sporting several thousand dollars worth of jewelry and bling?  Also, Camby had the boosters get him prostitutes as well.

Most of Memphis' roster from his first Final Four run had to qualify via prep school, so it's not exactly like they are the academic all star team.  Also, Tiger High's history of cheating (think the 1985 Memphis State Tigers) and the history of cheating boosters around that program doesn't lend itself to Calipari's credibility.  Also, the president of FedEx (who is a big Memphis booster), was known to be placing calls to Abdul Gaddy (a BIG no no).  The old adage of "where there's smoke, there is fire" tends to apply.

Oh yeah, I forgot to mention how Calipari insulted our program as well.

[Wild Bill Hog]

Mike might be going to Memphis too.

Wow, he really is something.  Might be coaching at Georgia and Memphis too.  Oh well, they're in different conferences.

[Wild Bill Hog]

You don't really think Frank Broyles ever offered anyone big money?

I believe he did to Bill Self and John Calipari unless John White nixed it.  We'll never know how much or little authority JFB had at that point.

[bigdaddy220]

One more try...why the animosity between Rick Pitino and John Calipari? Does anyone know or is everyone just guessing and writing about it with no basis???

[hawgsav1]

One more try...why the animosity between Rick Pitino and John Calipari? Does anyone know or is everyone just guessing and writing about it with no basis???

The only interaction I really know of is the fact that Calipari and UMass beat Kentucky during the 1996 season and then Kentucky returned the favor during the 1996 Final Four.

[hawgsav1]

I think it also had to do with the fact that when Louisville was in CUSA, him and Calipari used to verbally spar about the other teams' rough play.

[bigdaddy220]

I know the games between us and KY during Pitino's and Nolan's years were very tight, but they still got along well.  Seems it must be more than just the rivalry between the teams.

[hawgsav1]

I know the games between us and KY during Pitino's and Nolan's years were very tight, but they still got along well.  Seems it must be more than just the rivalry between the teams.

I think there is a difference.  Nolan and Pitino never resorted to name-calling.  Both Pitino and Calipari accused the opposing team of 'dirty' play.  Calipari first accused Pitino's Louisville teams of being 'excessively physical'.  Pitino fired back by saying that Calipari's UMass teams tried to take out members of the 1996 Kentucky team with dirty play, etc.  There may be other issues as well.

[hogball33]

Kentucky is gonna push that Hog streak from losses since 01 for a bit.

[TomasPistola]

Wow, he really is something.  Might be coaching at Georgia and Memphis too.  Oh well, they're in different conferences.

Dick!

[bigdaddy220]

Thanks, hawgsav1, that makes more sense.  I have always liked Pitino but never really had an opinion of Cal.

[3kgthog]

It appears as if SEC basketball is going to catch up with SEC football in terms of bloated salaries. Jeff Long needs to get on the ball with kissing some butts so we can get that semi-wasteful practice facility and Pelphrey just needs to do something. Anything. If they don't we are going to be light years behind everyone in the SEC within 3-4 years. We may already be halfway there.

[rzrbackrob]

This saga is a perfect time find out if Cal is a slimball or just a misunderstood guy.

Slimeball:
Takes the recruits he had lined up at Tiger High and signs them at Kentucky. In essence, he used Tiger High's resources to recruit players at Kentucky. Accepts at Kentucky the kids currently at Memphis that want to transfer, leaving a school that worshiped him with hardly enough players to field a team.

Honorable guy:
Stops recruiting anybody he had lined up for this year at Memphis. Refuses this year to accept any transfers from Memphis. Memphis may lose some players and not get any of Cal's recruits, but that will be on them and their new coach. Cal has the right to leave and coach somewhere else.

[TomasPistola]

This saga is a perfect time find out if Cal is a slimball or just a misunderstood guy.

Slimeball:
Takes the recruits he had lined up at Tiger High and signs them at Kentucky. In essence, he used Tiger High's resources to recruit players at Kentucky. Accepts at Kentucky the kids currently at Memphis that want to transfer, leaving a school that worshiped him with hardly enough players to field a team.

Honorable guy:
Stops recruiting anybody he had lined up for this year at Memphis. Refuses this year to accept any transfers from Memphis. Memphis may lose some players and not get any of Cal's recruits, but that will be on them and their new coach. Cal has the right to leave and coach somewhere else.

Put your Money on "Slimeball".

[danielpark05]

if the land john wall and demarco cousins switches to UK then the SEC well have a real power house next year it well be good because we just signed the espn deal for more games. this could bring the sec out of its slump

[East Clintwood]

Put your Money on "Slimeball".

Yes

[hoglady]

That's not just Calipari's decision on the Memphis recruits and possible transfers. The AD of Kentucky should step in now and say how it's going to be. Kentucky and Calipari have the ability to basically destroy Memphis basketball. Why would you destroy something you spent 9 years of your life building? The whole thing is sickening.

[Pork Twain]

That's not just Calipari's decision on the Memphis recruits and possible transfers. The AD of Kentucky should step in now and say how it's going to be. Kentucky and Calipari have the ability to basically destroy Memphis basketball. Why would you destroy something you spent 9 years of your life building? The whole thing is sickening.

They are players he recruited and if they want to follow him then it should not be an issue.  Sure was not an issue when BG and RM wanted to come back to Arkansas.  Lets be honest, they were going to play for him, not Memphis.

[clutch]

They are players he recruited and if they want to follow him then it should not be an issue.  Sure was not an issue when BG and RM wanted to come back to Arkansas.  Lets be honest, they were going to play for him, not Memphis.

You make a good point. They were going to Memphis for his style of basketball that the top high school talents want to play. They weren't going to Memphis because they loved the city or the school. They wanted to play for Memphis because of Calapari. If it wasn't for him they wouldn't of even opened a letter from Memphis.

[Pork Twain]

You make a good point. They were going to Memphis for his style of basketball that the top high school talents want to play. They weren't going to Memphis because they loved the city or the school. They wanted to play for Memphis because of Calapari. If it wasn't for him they wouldn't of even opened a letter from Memphis.

I bet these same people would be all for it if Cal was coming to Arkansas and bringing these players along.

[hawgsav1]

Thanks, hawgsav1, that makes more sense.  I have always liked Pitino but never really had an opinion of Cal.

http://sports.espn.go.com/ncb/news/story?id=4031804

More info on the relationship between the two.

[moses_007]

Here's the contract John Calipari signed with Kentucky yesterday:

http://media.kentucky.com/smedia/2009/04/01/15/Calipari_contract.source.prod_affiliate.79.pdf

[bigdaddy220]

Thanks hawgsav1, great find!

[LRMedHawg]

I bet these same people would be all for it if Cal was coming to Arkansas and bringing these players along.

No joke.  The fact remains that the players Cal could bring in are absolutely top notch.  With Meeks and Patterson and those 3 guys they could be competing for alot more than a SEC championship.  Look at what Derrick Rose did for Memphis and even Tyreke Evans this year.  He has at least 2 guys who are close to that same talent level in his pocket.  Why on earth would any school or coach turn them away.

[jbcarol]

If the reports are true he will be the highest paid coach in college athletics.

$31.65 million over 8 years.

University pays base salary of $400,000/yr.

The majority comes from media contracts, sponsorships, and SEC Revenue sharing.

Their AD made a point of saying that paying the right coach is an investment that benefits the entire university and the so-called "Olympic sports".