I Got You Babe or The Beat Goes On

Its been hinted that the NCAA will rule this week on the cozy unnoticed affairs that USC had with Reggie Bush and O. J. Mayo. It’s only been four short years since the NCAA started the investigation which sounds like a lot till you think that Cher put up with Sonny a lot longer than that.

USC had their chance to defend the school in February and we could have seen a ruling before now but Bush was ordered to testify in a lawsuit by Lloyd Lake, one of the wanta-be agents who allegedly gave cash and other perks to Bush and his family in 2005. We all know how that went, bought off like Cher did with Sonny. Oh and the next time your in LA try the fried wanta-be at Chen’s mobile Sushi and Taco bar frequented by agents, players, coaches and those who love the Shrimp and Cash plate.

Some writers are predicting up to a three year bowl ban, loss of as many scholarships as Alabama did at the start of the century and forfeiting of games and a National Championship. No one I’ve read so far expects a death penalty although the whole affair from Bush to Mayo certainly shows a total lack of institutional control and a culture of denial at USC similar to the famed UCLA approach used in the late 60′s early 70′s in basketball.

Other writers are predicting a slap on the wrist with the NCAA using the feared vacating wins penalty to severely punish the USC program.

One thing for sure is that Pete Carroll wont be considered a cheater like John Calipari is in the national media. Its going to be interesting to watch how the spin goes.

So whats it going to be folks, I Got You Babe or The Beat Goes On?

Coach Calapari and UK

Recruiting at UK isn’t necessarily finished for the 2010/11 class just yet, but I think it is time we took a look at what has transpired in the last year and perhaps a little before that.

Coach accepted the position at UK just over a year ago now with much fanfare and “hoopla” if you will allow that word. Every time a new coach is hired there is a measure of all that along with great expectation at the #1 school for basketball in America or I should say the world. No don’t give me an argument about that statement because it is true. It is going to be that way for some time too so get used to it, but the post isn’t about that. I just inserted that to set the stage for the expectations that surround the next god at UK until they take themselves down from the throne. They do take themselves down from the throne in various ways and it is never pretty. It may happen to coach Cal as well, but so far he hasn’t. He is the only coach that has kept the momentum going at a pace that has far exceeded expectations.

He has just sent 5 guys to the NBA. I know that none have been picked yet, but it is going to happen if they all stay healthy and out of trouble. The amazing part is that only two of them were expected to make the jump this year and one of them only came back because of the love for the university and the possibility of going deep into the tourney. That, of course, wouldn’t have been possible without with coach Cal. Let us just call him Super Cal, because he has been just that. It took kyrptonite to bring him/team down from title #8 this past season. Everything he touched seemingly turned to gold and none of it fools gold either.

A quick re-cap looks something like this: He inherited a team practically devoid of talent at the level to which the fans have been accustomed and were about to lose Patrick Patterson to the pros. Within only a few weeks coach together the #1 recruiting class in the land and not only that, but they were/are super talented. Fans were ecstatic and amazed at the same time. He never wavered in his beliefs or delivery of the expectations that were thrust upon the team even though they were such a young team.

The end result at the years end was a climb back into the elite status of college basketball and with it more expectations. He delivered again with a great recruiting class that may not be finished as I stated at the beginning of the post.

What gives with the man? What makes it all possible? How could someone deliver so much to such hungry fans as we without flinching or wavering?

He is a maestro and it is that simple! He is just the best at managing time and people. Just think he took 5 freshmen and kept them happy for the most part. Not only that, but they enjoyed playing together and kept getting better all year which made not only possible, but probable 4 of them would jump to the NBA.

Super talented John Wall was expected to make the move, but even he with all the speed, moves and magic became a much better player. Demarcus Cousins came to campus a man-child, but needing a lot of work mentally as well as honing his outrageous talents and he was made into something formidable and unstoppable at the college level. Eric Bledsoe was expected to be here for at least two but most likely three years, but he too advanced far beyond expectations. Eric was one of my favorite players because of his outward passion, but I never thought he would be going to the NBA as a 1st round pick and he may not yet, but I think he will. Good for him and that brings us to Daniel Orton. Daniel was one that needed a lot of work and it was very obvious from the start of the season. Daniel is a very serious and proud person and I could tell that he wasn’t happy being 2nd to Cousins, but he was there because of what he needed to learn early on and bring his offensive game up to par with Cousins. It was great to see him develop his game and now even though he wasn’t a starter is projected to be a high 1st round pick and good for him.

What then is the secret with Calapari? How could all that happen where others have failed and miserably so for the last coach. First of all he is a great recruiter, but the reason he is that is because he tells the players what he will do and then he does just that. He is hard on them and can be snippy and tough, but they like him because he tells them the truth rather than what they want to hear. He isn’t afraid to tell a #1 lottery pick what he needs to hear, but when it is over he lets them know he loves them. He isn’t just talk either, because he proves he loves and appreciates them. He is the epitome of the phrase, “he is just like a father to me”.

However, there is something more to his madness! His style is fun to play. That in itself may say more than all the other things to a player, because he promises them they can shoot if they will play defense and if they don’t play defense they can’t play.

Imagine what Rajon Rondo would have been able to do under coach Cal or imagine what Randolph Morris would have turned into under Cal’s tutelage. He would have either picked up his game and been a lottery pick or he would have been a bench warmer, but I think he would have been a super star. True he became a very good player, but the sky was the limit for him and he never reached it.

That is why the players want to play for Cal. They develop and develop well and now they have even more reason to play for Cal. Why is that, well it is because he is coaching at the #1 school for basketball! He has the facilities, money and fan base to make it all happen.

Sounds like a recipe for success to me and not to mention the fun and pleasure to fans and players. Now if we can just get rid of the kryptonite!

Recruiting Violation?????

Kate Martin had a good article on KSR that I disagree with part of it.

Somehow I doubt Terrence has considered any of these factors….

Seven years ago I was in Terrence Jones’ shoes. I was a teenage high school senior trying to make the first really important decision of her life: where to go to college. I won’t pretend that anyone outside of my family and close friends gave a crap about what I chose, but I still felt a lot of pressure. Do I stay in-state? Go private or public? Do I try to go to the best school I can or settle for a lesser one with better options for my MRS degree? (look it up) My parents’ only guidance was that I had to move out. I think by that point they had given up on me and had realized that my sister, who wanted my room, gave them a better chance at being financially set for their retirement.

I won’t pretend to know exactly what Jones is going through. I didn’t have grown men begging me to come to their school. Occasionally one of those volunteer students would call and cheerfully tell me why their school was the best. Other than that, my “recruitment” went something like: “Hey I want to not spend a boatload of money but still go to a nice school. I’ve already visited Purdue and I’m too lazy to deal with visiting other schools, so I think I’ll go there.” That was it. No press conference, no message board wars. And thousands of teenagers do it every day.

I tell you all this to tell you this: Let’s let the guy do his own thing. It kills me when I hear people say “If he can’t make up his mind, I don’t want such a flaky guy playing for UK.” Ever think he might not be flaky, but just really doesn’t want to disappoint people? Calipari was right when he said that no matter what, he’s going to disappoint a large group of people. Picking a college is hard, but picking one when thousands of 40 year old men are on suicide watch waiting for you to choose is no doubt infinitely harder. I think we all want Jones in a Kentucky jersey next year, but personally I also want him to fully consider his options and make the best decision he can for himself. It’s obvious to me that that decision is UK, but I’m also the one who picked my college based on laziness and the large ratio of men to women. Probably wouldn’t make the best school guidance counselor.

I really like the way Kate Martin writes. I’d taker her as a writer here in a heartbeat but the honeymoon is over and I have to disagree with her about one thing. Most of the people who visit here are older and what we remember is do we join or are we going to get drafted, not do I go to a public or private school.

I do agree with her when she says It kills me when I hear people say “If he can’t make up his mind, I don’t want such a flaky guy playing for UK. Sounds like the honeymoon is back on. I said that just the other day but just because I grew up in a time when decisions meant more than where you go to school or who do you play for. My friend Bootie McDonald was kicking 60 plus yard field goals in high school and was lucky to get a offer to a MAC school because he was black. It was a different time and it was more like who you were born to and what color were you and did your parents have the money for you to go to school or were you going on a trip when you graduated.

Different ages and different time but one thing remains the same. We all want to see Terrance Jones as a Wildcat. The difference is that some of us have a older approach to what we see in a person. We expect a person to make a decision and stick to it and also believe oral sex is sex not an experiment. Well not much of an experiment just kind of like dropping salt into water in a test tube and expecting to hear the ocean roar. That was a 8th grade science project if I remember right.

Terrance we will take you, understand you and love you when you leave Kentucky. If you don’t come to Kentucky we still wish you the best of luck unless your experimenting with our daughters. Ok I take that back because it might be a recruiting violation.