LEXINGTON, Ky. — Hours before the NCAA stripped Memphis of its 2008 Final Four appearance, former coach John Calipari stepped to a microphone at the Kentucky State Fair and received a standing ovation.
With Calipari hired by Kentucky to revive college basketball’s all-time winningest program, both fans and administrators are hoping what happened in Memphis will stay in Memphis.
The NCAA ruled the Tigers used an ineligible player during their record-setting run in the 2007-08 season, when Memphis went 38-2 and lost to Kansas in the national championship game. The NCAA didn’t identify the player, but it is believed to be point guard Derrick Rose, who left Memphis after his freshman season and was drafted No. 1 overall by the Chicago Bulls in the 2008 NBA Draft.
The player was accused of having another person take his SAT exam so he would be eligible as a freshman. Memphis says it will appeal.
Calipari, who signed an eight-year $31.65-million deal to replace Billy Gillispie at Kentucky this spring, expressed dismay over the NCAA’s decision.
“I’m very disappointed and disheartened by the NCAA’s findings,” Calipari said in a statement. “I fully support the University of Memphis’ appeal and until that process is carried through to its completion, I will have no further comments on the matter. I am anxious to coach the team at the University of Kentucky beginning this fall.”
The penalty marked the second time a Calipari-led squad has been forced to vacate a Final Four berth. The NCAA took away Massachusetts’ Final Four appearance in 1996 after star center Marcus Camby accepted gifts from a sports agent.
Calipari was not implicated in either matter, though if Memphis loses its appeal it could hit him in the wallet. Memphis athletic director R.C. Johnson said if the appeal fails, the school will ask Calipari to repay $300,000 in bonus money from the ’07-08 season.
The NCAA’s report did not mention Calipari, good enough for members of one of the nation’s most ardent fan bases.
“I’m not worried about it because they have never said Coach Cal did anything wrong at all,” said Kentucky Gov. Steve Beshear, who chatted with Calipari for several minutes early Thursday. “I think he’s a very upstanding guy. I think that’s his reputation and I think that reputation will be with him here. I really don’t foresee any problems.”
University president Lee Todd and athletic director Mitch Barnhart — who put their public support behind Calipari after the Memphis allegations came to light only weeks after his hiring — declined comment on Thursday.
University spokesman Jimmy Stanton called the violations “a University of Memphis issue, not a UK issue.”
Despite the problems at Memphis and Massachusetts, Barnhart told The Associated Press in a recent interview he’s confident the tools are in place to successfully police and protect Calipari and the program.
“There’s a lot of things that we do because we have a pretty long history of understanding the different ways people try to attach themselves to Kentucky basketball,” Barnhart said. “The people that have been around here a while understand what some of the pitfalls can be. It doesn’t mean you’re going to be perfect.”
Barnhart stressed the school’s compliance office and Calipari’s mission to run an open and clean program will help keep the Wildcats out of NCAA trouble.
“There’s one thing John says, ’I want my banners to count for something and I want to put the rings on the fingers and let them stay there,’” Barnhart said. “That’s important to him and so he is embracing any help that we give him to make sure we’re able to, at the end of the day, not have to look over our shoulders and worry.”
Response on Calipari’s Facebook fan page was overwhelmingly supportive, with most posters eager to talk about the Kentucky’s 2009-10 schedule released Thursday.
Memphis? That was yesterday.
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Comments » 46
stayingorange writes:
“I think he’s a very upstanding guy. I think that’s his reputation and I think that reputation will be with him here. I really don’t foresee any problems.”
Absolutely hilarious.
Hoping it stays in Memphis - like it stayed in UMASS?
Greer_Vol_22 writes:
I hope its good support, cause when the roof caves in I wouldn't want to be in the kitchen!
volguy#211935 writes:
Calipari does two things and he does them very well: He wins and he gets teams in trouble, then moves on.
stevefrommemphis writes:
Yes, indeed. By the way, if memory serves me correctly, Sutton was never in trouble with the NCAA BEFORE or AFTER his time in Kentucky.
Kentucky basketball has probably been in trouble with the NCAA more than, or certainly as much as, any other program in NCAA history. Now they have the only coach to have had appearances in the Final Four vacated at two different schools. Looks like a perfect fit to me.
chrisw2967 writes:
cal is trouble and it seems to follow him every place he goes and ky is not special.just give it time and the hammer will come down on them.
CrankE writes:
isn't that three things?
CrankE writes:
"fans and administrators are hoping what happened in Memphis will stay in Memphis."
I'm sure Memphis hoped that what happened at UMass would stay at UMass too.
You know what they say, Fool me 247 times, shame on me. Keep hoping, guys. It's just a matter of time before Kentucky is in the same boat.
pdhuff#552644 writes:
Ky will soon discover where that smell is coming from.
HighlandVol writes:
Ky hasn't had the best history with the NCAA. They were the first program to receive the "death penalty" back in the 50s and flirted with a repeat performance as recently as the 80s. I don't think NCAA will hesitate to punish any wrond-doing. Add to that history the record of Coach Cal and the solution is not terribly inviting. I truly hope for Kentucky's sake that Cal doesn't continue his pattern, but I am not going to hold my breath.
HighlandVol writes:
I am not saying that the NCAA will go that far if Calipari does repeat history. Just wanted to clarify.
IdahoVol writes:
Gotta love it when Calipari says "I want my banners to count for something and I want to put the rings on the fingers and let them stay there." Amazing. You know what they say - wish in one hand...
buzz29 writes:
Of course Kentucky is going to support Calipari. He may be a crook, but he's their crook.
smokyredbone writes:
" I think he's an upstanding guy." Blue Mist you deserve Coach " Johnny the Squid "! That #1 recruiting class had zero academic quailifiers as of a month ago. How many have qualified now? Not sure, but he better not use the Derrick Rose method to gain admittance for these Superstars. But he is an upstanding guy isn't he, surely he knows better. I think it's completely laughable to justify this upstanding mantra, by stating "The Squid" was not named in either NCAA investigation. He was at the head of both programs and thats enough for me!!!! He has been CBP's Biatch since Pearl's arrival and I don't see that changing. Squid had the best talent at Memphis and couldn't beat us, so why think it will change now! hahahahahahahaha! It's football time and thats what Blue mist should be worrying about now! WOHICA, 26 IN A ROW!!!! GO VOLS!!
smokyredbone writes:
Your not on top yet Chumpzilla!!!! Any qualifiers yet??????????????? Your recruiting class might be like the Memphis dream season, " A FREAKING DREAM" LMFAO!!! WOHICA! IT'S FOOTBALL TIME AND YOU KNOW WHAT THAT MEANS SCRATCHY!!!
richvol writes:
Two things...where there's smoke there's fire and if it looks like a duck
BigOrangeJeff writes:
With the possible exception of Bammer football.
BigOrangeJeff writes:
Kentucky's already on top??? I wasn't aware that the NCAA basketball season had started already.
gbeejr#1354500 writes:
Fever, I agree with you but you did not address the one big thing, cal's successes rest on his ability to attract ballers/thugs, not student athletes. Many of these recruits will have a different mindset than the student athlete, and some will expect "comps" to come to ky or stay there, and we all know what that can mean. Oh sure, cal is smart enough to sprinkle a few real student athletes here and there to give the roster some respectability, but it will only be a matter of time when ky gets busted....again.
GerryOP writes:
Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.
murrayvol writes:
"There's one thing John says, 'I want my banners to count for something and I want to put the rings on the fingers and let them stay there,'" Barnhart said. "That's important to him so........not have to look over our shoulders and worry." Whew!
Mitch, Cal's gonna need another shoulder cause he's already looking over the two he has at UMass and Memphis.
dv8ing writes:
Sounds to me like a bunch of UT basketball fans are very nervous. It has never been proven that he's done anything wrong at any institution. Guess we'll have to see, will it be Calipari or Kiffen that is found guilty of breaking the rules first.
dv8ing writes:
And I have tons of respect for coach Pearl! Whis KY could have snagged him!
jasonn1970 writes:
Don't buy a dog if you can't handle the fleas.
GerryOP writes:
No, nothing has ever been "proven" about Calipari at either UMass or UM. Do you suppose that the incidents were just a coincidence? As a check case, how many other schools in the last 15 years have had their seasons Xed out and their NCCA Tourney appearances blown off their records?
Does the name Kelvin Sampson ring a bell? There are two kinds of NCAA rules violators ... those that have been caught and those that heven't been caught yet!
Colliervol writes:
Wouldn't bother even commenting if this wasn't so laughable. What other choice do they have but support the smarmy one? Say that they made a huge error in judgement and fire him now? The Cat fans are going to whistle pass the graveyard for the next few years and hope the NCAA doesn't jump out from behind a tombstone and grab them. And remember, even if the Cats win a few titles, they are going to have to worry for several more years that they are going to have to take the banners down just like Memphis is going to have to do.
Somebody on ESPN said it better yesterday than I could ever say it. Calipari is akin to the guy that breaks wind in an elevator just before getting out. (In other words, he leaves everybody else to deal with the backwash of his suspicious activities while he avoids the stench.) If you Cat fans want to deny it, then you aren't paying attention. Just ask the Memphis fans who can tell you better than me. They are paying big time for their lapse in judgement of hiring him. You will too.
iowavol writes:
Wow, you totally missed it on your first point. "Not to mention that the eyes of the world will be on Calipari. It would be pretty stupid to try and slide something by the prying eyes..." Because the eyes of the world wil be on Calipari is exactly why he will try to cheat. His ego is so big, he will think he can get away with it. And so far, he has.
And your second point is a total shambles. Forget the pinnacle statement unless you think pinnacle is a golf ball. He will indeed risk everything. He's a gambler and that's what gambler's do. Better get to know your boy as well as the rest of the free world knows him.
pdhuff#552644 writes:
That's what the film showed.
feathersax writes:
So now it's official: Tiger High's record for that year is 0-2...with Kansas & TENNESSEE being their only losses. Giggleboxes are a-twitter. As for the Blue Misters: Coach Squid is a red herring, so hold onto your cookies.
tnboystuckinkentucky writes:
To respond to your first post: Sandy Bell can't be with Cal on all his recruiting trips and on the road in general. So, her so called 'oversight' only extends so far. Secondly, TN has finished ahead of KY at the END of the past 4 seasons in the SEC. So, I think what you meant to say in this post is that 'once KY wins the SEC again, everyone despises you'. Until then, UT will keep UK in their rearview mirror!
smokyredbone writes:
What he said!!!!
huntined#565710 writes:
CAT got to hand it to you for sticking by your team and your coach..We have a new FB coach and some say we made a big mistake and we may have but he is our coach and the VOLS are our team so we too will have to wait and see and as you said things are not the same now as kids move on after their first year.
GerryOP writes:
Clap... clap... clap...
Hounddog writes:
Trust me fellow VOLS, I live among the PussyCats of Memphis, and for years defended this thug... as the now delusional Kentucky fans are doing. My home office is in Peabody MA. My UMASS friends have been telling me for years,"this guy is a THUG!" Now some of the PussyCat fans here in Memphis are saying the very same thing. After years of denial they know what the rest of us (except those wearing KY t-shirts) know!
Hounddog is forecasting this Memphis thing will esculate to the AD's resignation.
Let's play basketball. Hounddog
murrayvol writes:
You need to understand how these things work.
It's called layers of separation. Just as a Mafia Don would never give instructions directly to a "soldier", a head coach must avoid the appearance of impropriety. That's why you have guys like World Wide Wes.
johnlg00#206211 writes:
You're right about the nature of big-time college basketball these days, and it IS sad. Short of a change in NBA Collective Bargaining Agreement, the only thing that might slow the trend down is the great increase in foreign players in the NBA, who are taking draft spots our domestic "one-and-dones" used to count on. Even then, it will take a few years for some of the more deluded high-school players to realize that the landscape has changed. Of course, more of them may try going overseas to play instead of completing a "normal" college career.
doh writes:
its the calm before the storm, kittycat fans. you might as well throw your support behind him. it will cost a ton to get rid of him.
murrayvol writes:
How long has it been since a truly great player stuck around to hear My Old Kentucky Home on Senior Night?
That's one pleasure you may never enjoy again Cat.
BillsBrother writes:
So now Memphis' 2008 record is officially 0 and 1. And that 1 is colored ORANGE!
kyvol98 writes:
Believe me, nothing our idiot Governor says is hillarious. It is usually just stupid, sad and followed by some tax increase.
But I understand your point.... and I agree
WytheVol writes:
3rd times the charm... He dodged the first two bullets. I seriously doubt he can dodge a third.
volboy81 writes:
we'll see how many standing ovations he gets when he lands Ky in jail...this man should be banned from coaching!
volboy81 writes:
Calipari has been "pretty stupid" twice before, 3rd comes after 2nd...and as for his legacy, its already made....cheater, cheater and then, oh yeah, the cheating.
thebadsamaritan writes:
...in defense of the Memphis program under Coach "X", 18 of his 21 players who stayed four years, earned a degree.
Even Penny Hardaway and Keith Lee came back to complete their degrees.
thebadsamaritan writes:
If want to count it like that - it was 0-2. The other loss was to Kansas in the championship game.
Care to discuss last year's game in Knoxville? I seem to recall it was a UofMemphis win. Didn't even need Derrick Rose.
volball7222 writes:
Don't worry about it coach Cal........the Vol Nation has your back!
dvols writes:
it aint over...memphis wont let him get away with it....
im just sayin
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