Wait, what's that? It's Calipari? I'll take one of those also please. And thank you very much.
So the failed Billy Gillespie experiment is over, but at least my beloved Wildcats have managed to make a tremendous splash during the NCAA tournament, despite not even being invited to participate. That is the absolute first step to becoming relevant again in the basketball world. I think that I will drink to that.
That's better. Now, let's go all the way back to two years ago, when Tubby Smith "resigned". I'll be honest with you, I was a big Tubby Smith fan. His teams always got progressively better throughout the season, which shows that the coaching staff is able to adjust to the talents of each team, and that the coaches learn as much throughout the season as the players. However, Tubby had become a bit stale. The talent seemed to be decreasing season-by-season, and the team always seemed to be missing that little bit extra that makes a team exciting. I always felt that Tubby got a bad wrap from his detractors despite winning a championship, since he did it with "Pitino's Players". Tubby coached that team, and he did it well, with the championship game against Utah never really in doubt (though Utah get trying to keep it close). Two years ago though, Tubby could have stayed or he could have left, I would have understood either way, and I wish Tubby nothing but the best in Minnesota.
Now, two years ago, everybody was on the Billy Donovan bandwagon. Not me. He doesn't seem to get a ton of talent, and none of his players seem to progress as they age. If Donovan hadn't been blessed with the Joakim Noah, Corey Brewer, Al Horford, Taurean Green and Lee Humphrey team, he wouldn't be as highly praised as a coach as people seem to give him credit for being. Out of that aforementioned class, only Brewer was a legitimate high recruit, with the others simply falling into Donovan's lap.
The coaches that I wanted were Jay Wright and John Calipari. Those guys can recruit, and they know how to coach talent. I wasn't upset with the Gillespie choice, having come off his big run at Texas A & M, but he wasn't Calipari or Wright.
That leads me to my biggest problem with Gillespie. I could care less about his relationship (or lack thereof) with the AD, the President or the boosters. I do care about his relationship with the players, but a lot of times the young, college age players are whiny, and self-absorbed, and they don't truly know what is best. My biggest complaint is that he doesn't know how to coach talent.
The Wildcats had Jodie Meeks, the sixth leading scorer in the NCAA this season, and Patrick Patterson, an absolute beast inside at the college level (although he will need to develop more of a mid-range game for the NBA). Yet, the offense struggled mightily during the season. The team would go for minutes upon minutes without Meeks even touching the ball. As prolific of a scorer as he is, teams could keep the ball out of his hands because Gillespie just couldn't run anything interesting or intricate enough to free his best outside weapon to even receive the ball, much less in a scoring position. Calipari does not have that problem.
Calipari had Memphis playing tough defense, that is for sure, but when it came to crunch time, Derrick Rose, Chris Douglas-Roberts, Tyreke Evens, or whomever, always seemed to be in a position to make a play. If Meeks and Patterson stay, and if Darius Miller continues to develop, and if DeAndre Liggins can finally get out of Gillespie's doghouse (and hold onto the ball), this Kentucky team can begin its retun to its rightful place of prominence. And this is even before Calipari begins recruiting.
Does Kentucky have a place for a couple of incoming Calipari recruits this season? Whatever the answer to that question is, this off season just became more interesting and optimistic.
Yes Wildcat fans, rejoice, rejoice. Good times seem to be near. And here's hoping that I don't have to repeat this column in 2 years, saluting Jay Wright, or whomever is next. Let's just hope that time is at least 8 years from now.
So here's a toast to John Calipari and Wildcat fans worldwide. A toast of your favorite bourbon for Kentucky fans, with a Campari for the lovely Jessica Alba.
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