OT - Hammer Coming Down at Kentucky? Calipari Interested in Pelicans Job

Submitted by Moe on

Wouldn't be like him to leave just before violations happen at his school.

 

John Calipari has made it known to Pelicans officials that he's interested in the team's head-coaching job. (via http://t.co/ayXbvvBxjy)

— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) May 19, 2015

Edit: That was fast.

Even though Anthony and Tyreke are in NOLA, I have no interest in the Pelicans or any other job. I have a great job and I'm happy at UK.

— John Calipari (@UKCoachCalipari) May 19, 2015

umumum

May 19th, 2015 at 5:09 PM ^

Amaker was awful--arguably a worse game coach than Ellerbe.  We did not get better under Amaker--in fact, recruiting-wise, we got worse.  Let's not confuse his time with Harvard--where his recruiting is quetionable by Ivy Leage standards--with his time here (or at Seton Hall, where he was also terrible).

Ronnie Kaye

May 19th, 2015 at 5:23 PM ^

Recruiting was significantly better under Amaker than it was under Ellerbe, who was reliant on headcases like Dom Ingerson and rejects like Josh Moore. Amaker's recruiting tailed off at the end when it was clear he was struggling for results but the Horton-Abram and Harris-C. Sims classes were very solid. More than any coach worth his salt should need to go to the Big Dance at least once.

Ronnie Kaye

May 19th, 2015 at 5:25 PM ^

Nobody who gets six years at a Power 5 conference program and fails to make a single tournament deserves to be called "average." You can talk about the obstacles he faced but the recruiting was pretty decent and Michigan was extremely generous with time. Six years is quite a while.

Mgobowl

May 19th, 2015 at 9:14 PM ^

At least one of those years Michigan may have qualified for the tournament and was banned from the post season...



Call it what you will, but Amaker was handicapped from the beginning with Michigan. Sure they underperformed at times, but what would you expect for a team that had a post-season ban, scholarship limits, etc. Realistically, Amaker was a caretaker for the coach that would dig us out of the Webber mess. Amaker probably stayed on longer than he should have, but I'd say John Beilein has done a damn good job of resurrecting the program.

Ronnie Kaye

May 19th, 2015 at 9:40 PM ^

That is revisionist and kiddie glove treatment. You don't employ a guy for six years to be a "caretaker." He got a free pass his first two years and after that, it could have been smooth sailing. It wasn't because he was a poor coach who couldn't develop offensive chemistry with some pretty good players.

I also disagree we could have made the tourney in '03. The non-conference portion of that season was horrendous and we closed the season poorly after a great start to B1G play, which would have cost us the "hot" argument.

MainStreetMagic

May 19th, 2015 at 1:23 PM ^

Has he signed that extension they were rumored to be working on?  If not, this smells like a leverage move by Cal.  Just a reminder to the UK brass that he has options. 

Tate

May 19th, 2015 at 1:26 PM ^

Now he's saying this:

Gulo Gulo Luscus

May 19th, 2015 at 1:33 PM ^

Not like no one's ever lied on Twitter, but I'd think the $8 million he stands to earn at Kentucky versus the $5 million the Pels are looking to shell out might be a deal breaker (per the NOLA.com article you linked to).

ThWard

May 19th, 2015 at 1:41 PM ^

Is there anything to suggest the "hammer is coming down" other than a report that Cal might be interest in the Pelicans' job?

superstringer

May 19th, 2015 at 1:43 PM ^

What makes any pro team think Cal can get a bunch of pro players to play well as a team?  He's already proven at UK that he can't get pro-level players to play together.  I'm not trying to be sarcastic, I honestly don't think his work at UK the last few years is anything different from, "I recruit really talented players then put them on the court and see how they do."  The fact that his collection of NBA players had all of one guy able to score easily against Notre Dame seemed pretty telling.

All Day

May 19th, 2015 at 1:50 PM ^

You're kidding right? This year's UK team was universally revered for being a selfless, defensive first team. A group of kids that sacrificed major playing time elsewhere to play together.

 

And let's cherry pick one game out of almost 40 to prove our point.

All Day

May 19th, 2015 at 2:10 PM ^

I'm sure there is, but I like this one since I'm a Michigan fan. I just don't immediately jump into message board group think that everything that isn't UM/AA related is a lie/cheat/farce/blah blah blah. 

 

I think Cal is a scumbag too, but I'm not going to immediately jump to the assumption that NCAA sanctions (LOL) are coming because he may or may not be positioning himself for more money. Did they all go to class all the time? Maybe, maybe not... NOBODY ON THIS BOARD KNOWS. Regardless of whether or not they did does not change the fact that those 9 players on this year's UK team played rather remarkable team basketball on both ends.

umchicago

May 19th, 2015 at 4:02 PM ^

they had great size and athleticism which made them a great D.  7 footers have a way of erasing mistakes from teammates on D.

they underachieved on O.  calipari's biggest mistake was not giving booker way more minutes than the twins.  booker was easily the best shooter on that team; the one guy that could force the other team to spread the floor on D.

TheCool

May 19th, 2015 at 2:56 PM ^

You should've watched a Kentucky basketball game. You may have looked at one, but you clearly did not pay close attention. His teams play together offensively and defensively. They play very good, unselfish basketball at both ends.