a huge step up from Billy Clyde.
Have fun being on probation in 5 years. He is the shadiest coach in college basketball, so he should fit in well with UKs past.
Not only that, but I’ll bet they don’t even win a national championship. Will they be more forgiving with coach Cal than they were with Tubby Smith or Billy Clyde or will they run Cal out on a rail after five straight 30-win seasons and no national championships?
The Kentucky basketball fan base is the most delusional and self-entitled in all of sport. I feel bad for any coach who takes on that train wreck.
The Kentucky basketball fan base is the most delusional and self-entitled in all of sport. I feel bad for any coach who takes on that train wreck.
Have you hung out around Tuscaloosa?
At least Saban and Bama deserve one another.
And Kentucky has this going for them.
http://i43.tinypic.com/xlfa10.gif
Every fan base has it’s share of nutjobs. Fact is, there are many, many UK fans (like me) who are ashamed of the way Tubby was treated and were happy to call him our coach. But a very vocal minority made life miserable on him. Even I though will admit that he needed to make some changes on his coaching staff that he wasn’t willing to make.
Now, with Billy Clyde, I think what you saw was the Tubby people, who remained normal and relatively silent, finally saw their opportunity to say “I told you so!”. Also he didn’t endear himself to anyone, so when the going got tough, he had no allies. Not even the players.
As for the most delusional and self-entitled fans, you obviously haven’t spent much time around Notre Dame and Ohio State football fans. 
I think Kentucky BB may have more than its fair share of nutjobs, much like Bama’ football. I was browsing their Rivals massage board a while ago and there are some pretty delusional fans over there. Over 16000 fans online at that message board right now.
I grew up in the Midwest, specifically about 15 minutes north of South Bend. Not only did I hear I was going to hell because I wasn’t Catholic, but also because I didn’t root for Notre Dame which, after all, is God’s university. Still, Kentucky hoops has Notre Dame and Ohio State football beaten quite soundly. As a sports fan I hate very few teams, as I prefer to focus on cheering **for **my teams. However, in the case of Notre Dame I make an exception. Overdeveloped sense of superiority based on religious affiliation and financial standing? Notre Dame, peoples’ exhibit A; BYU, peoples’ exhibit B. Ohio State? They win their first national championship since Woody Hayes and they act like they invented the game. Easily ignored, though, since it seems to poop the bed on the biggest stage.
Yes, Bama football rivals Kentucky basketball in its delusions of grandeur. But even smart fans know the field has leveled and (GASP!!!) the best players and coaches don’t ALL want to be at Kentucky anymore. That’s what makes Wildcat fans so delusional – the majority (or at least a highly vocal minority) can’t accept that UK no longer is the pinnacle of the college sports universe. Billy Clyde wasn’t even their first choice last time around, and I can’t wait to see who all turns down the job before it falls to… someone.
I’ll ask again: when the next guy is 40-27 with an NIT and an NCAA after two years, will Wildcat fans be more forgiving of him than they were of Billy Clyde? Typical… Indiana didn’t care what an asshole Bob Knight was until he started losing (more than normal,. anyway), and Arkansas didn’t run Nolan Richardson out until the program no longer was a contender.
"I’ll ask again: when the next guy is 40-27 with an NIT and an NCAA after two years, will Wildcat fans be more forgiving of him than they were of Billy Clyde? Typical… Indiana didn’t care what an asshole Bob Knight was until he started losing (more than normal,. anyway), and Arkansas didn’t run Nolan Richardson out until the program no longer was a contender. "
No, they won’t I don’t suspect. But UK fans are no more crazy than many other schools. Why is it that UNC fans don’t get the same rep after 1. the way they treated Bill Gutheridge (one of their own) and 2. then the way they really treated Matt Doherty (another one of their own)? Also, Duke fans haven’t been starry eyed with Coach K recently either. No big program likes losing, period. And in every program, when the losing starts, the crazies come out of the woodwork. But UK, post-Rupp, had Joe B Hall as coach for 13 years, then Sutton for 4 (resigned because of scandal), Pitino for 8 (Celtics), and Tubby for 10. I think their track record for giving coaches a chance is pretty good. 4 coaches in 35 years. BCG was just not the right hire, and I blame that on an ineffective AD and President.
“Billy Clyde wasn’t even their first choice last time around”
Just for the record though, neither was Pitino when they hired him. They tried to get Lute Olsen first, then I am drawing a blank. Pitino was the third choice.
“Ineffective AD and president.” In other words, the same guys who are making this hire. That almost makes me feel bad for UK fans.
Trust me, I think they are going to screw this up too. Not including the one being conducted now, Barnhart’s previous 2 major job searches were both disasters, he just got lucky with Rich Brooks. Both times, he didn’t have a plan (or didn’t seem to), got turned down by multiple people, and ended up running to his old boss Bill Byrne (AD at Oregon with Brooks and current AD at A&M) to pull his butt out of the fire. From where I sit, it looks like Byrne dumped a troublesome B-ball coach on him. A&M turned out great, they hired Turgeon from Wichita State, great coach.
Fact of the matter is, for many reasons, Calipari is the wrong guy to bring in here. We’ll be on probation again in 5 years. I don’t like this win at all costs attitude I see coming from Lexington. Selling our souls to the devil.
Trust me, I think they are going to screw this up too. Not including the one being conducted now, Barnhart’s previous 2 major job searches were both disasters, he just got lucky with Rich Brooks. Both times, he didn’t have a plan (or didn’t seem to), got turned down by multiple people, and ended up running to his old boss Bill Byrne (AD at Oregon with Brooks and current AD at A&M) to pull his butt out of the fire. From where I sit, it looks like Byrne dumped a troublesome B-ball coach on him. A&M turned out great, they hired Turgeon from Wichita State, great coach.
Fact of the matter is, for many reasons, Calipari is the wrong guy to bring in here. We’ll be on probation again in 5 years. I don’t like this win at all costs attitude I see coming from Lexington. Selling our souls to the devil.
Finally a UK fan that sees this hire for what it is. It reminds me of IU hiring Sampson and we all know how that turned out. They went with a quick fix to a long term problem and that never works out good.
UK should have gone after a young up and coming coach, i.e. Sean Miller from Xavier, Jamie Dixon from Pitt, or Travis Ford from OSU in that order. I think Miller is the best young coach in the NCAA right now.
Ford? With all due respect, the last thing University of Kentucky basketball needs is a coach who vaguely fits the mold of BCG. It is well known that Travis Ford is just as much, if not more, of an introverted a-hole as Gillispie. What worries the boosters, fans, and athletic department more is Ford’s father, who is a longtime AAU coach in the state that is known to throw his hat into the ring regarding all matters involving his son. BCG firing was ultimately based upon his image i.e. smartmouthing Jeannine Edwards on ESPN, turning down the Lexington Rotary Club’s request for a public speaking engagement, making Darius Miller walk 7 miles home after denying him access to the team bus, showing up shithoused to Keeneland and various booster’s golf outings, etc. True, the thought of giving Ford the chance to lead his alma mater into a new era would be a heartwarming story…in 5 years if at all. Kentucky fans (myself included-lifelong Lexingtonian, UK alum, and member of UK’s “rabid fan base”) don’t want heartwarming, we want wins and more banners. Kentucky means basketball, it means tradition, it means BIG NAME coaches. Calipari is that guy. However tarnished his past may be, he has a chance to start over at Kentucky.
See, I think they should have waited until after the Final Four. Made at least an attempt at Izzo and Jay Wright. If they say no, so be it. But if one of them said yes, you are golden. Then go after the next tier. Frankly, even 2 years ago, I wanted them to take a chance on Anthony Grant, now he’s at Alabama. Dixon has issues, just like Calipari. My best friend lives in Pitt, and the players there have certainly seen their share of the police blotter. I think Fields had an issue with assaulting a cop, but that went away. They should have looked at Thad Matta as well. What Scott Drew has done at Baylor in the aftermath of the Dave Bliss scandal is nothing short of remarkable. There are plenty of great coaches out there.
With Calipari, we’ll get an endless stream of one and done players, who (like at Memphis) never truly play or gel as a team, can’t do the fundamentals (like hit free throws) and have more than their share of off the court problems. I hear all these other UK fans say “Let Sandy Bell do her job” (she is UK’s compliance officer), but let’s face it, they won’t have a chance against Calipari and the power he is going to wield.
How about Anderson at Mizzou turning down the Georgia job at (a reported) $2.1 mil/yr to stay at Missouri for an extention at (reportedly) $1.6 mil/yr? He didn’t even entertain the idea of the Memphis job, which probably would have been a better offer than even Georgia. This appears on its face to be a coach who is either incredibly stupid, or is a RARE guy who has a lot of class and integrity.
I’d go for class and integrity. A friend is a prof in the journalism school at Columbia and said Anderson is awesome to deal with, opens practices and has time for everybody. Plus, would you become a basketball coach at a football school like Georgia? Be the red-headed stepchild in all matters of the department? Yes, Mizzou has had some success in football recently but basketball has a much richer tradition there, and as such Anderson is a BMOC with Gary Pinkel a close second. By all accounts the two are OK with that dynamic, too; each has been seen at the other’s games. Good on Anderson for recognizing when he’s got a good thing going, regardless of the paycheck.
Georgia is not a great b-ball job. Or hasn’t been in a while. I am surprised he didn’t listen to Memphis, especially with his style of play, that would have been real attractive to the Calipari recruits. He might have kept a bunch of them. I wish UK had considered him as well.
Ford? With all due respect, the last thing University of Kentucky basketball needs is a coach who vaguely fits the mold of BCG. It is well known that Travis Ford is just as much, if not more, of an introverted a-hole as Gillispie. What worries the boosters, fans, and athletic department more is Ford’s father, who is a longtime AAU coach in the state that is known to throw his hat into the ring regarding all matters involving his son. BCG firing was ultimately based upon his image i.e. smartmouthing Jeannine Edwards on ESPN, turning down the Lexington Rotary Club’s request for a public speaking engagement, making Darius Miller walk 7 miles home after denying him access to the team bus, showing up shithoused to Keeneland and various booster’s golf outings, etc. True, the thought of giving Ford the chance to lead his alma mater into a new era would be a heartwarming story…in 5 years if at all. Kentucky fans (myself included-lifelong Lexingtonian, UK alum, and member of UK’s “rabid fan base”) don’t want heartwarming, we want wins and more banners. Kentucky means basketball, it means tradition, it means BIG NAME coaches. Calipari is that guy. However tarnished his past may be, he has a chance to start over at Kentucky.
You sound exactly like IU fans did after they hired Sampson. He cheated at OK but he will change his strips here. It didn’t happen then and won’t happen now. And add to that the win at all costs attitude of UKs fanbase I smell shady things happening in Lexington soon.
With Calipari, we’ll get an endless stream of one and done players, who (like at Memphis) never truly play or gel as a team, can’t do the fundamentals (like hit free throws) and have more than their share of off the court problems. I hear all these other UK fans say “Let Sandy Bell do her job” (she is UK’s compliance officer), but let’s face it, they won’t have a chance against Calipari and the power he is going to wield.
You mean the same Sandy Bell that “found” the Morris fax. She is just as shady as Calipari
Yep. It’s a mess. But hey, you must be a UL fan, I wouldn’t throw stones with all the nutjobs Petrino let in. And UL fans still want him back. At least we got rid of our Kragthorpe.
The day Kragthorpe is fired will be one of the best days of my life. He is the worst coach in major college football. My mom with my dog as her assistant could coach better than him.
Me thinking this hire will blow up in UKs face has nothing to do with me being a UofL fan when you look at the past of both the coach and the school you know putting them both together is going to lead to bad things for UK. I used to cheer for UK when they had Tubby because he was a great coach and even better person. Now you have a good coach and an even worse person at the helm. Let me put it this way if Calipari would become the coach at UofL or Illinois, my alma mater, I would stop cheering for them right then and do everything in power to get him fired. That is how much I dislike Calipari. He brings nothing good to the table outside of winning, but that seems to be the only thing that most UK fans care about.