Great read.

 

 

 

Here it comes. Can you hear it? Can you smell it? I can. Sounds unfair and smells bad, like the dried-vomit aroma that parts of New Orleans just can't get rid of. But here it comes, and I'm not talking about the vomit but something that offends my senses almost as much: The idea that Kentucky is bad for basketball.

You know what I'm talking about. You know the idea. It's not my idea, but it's out there. It's everywhere. Kentucky -- OK, Kentucky coach John Calipari -- recruits basketball players who come to college (gasp) just to play basketball. Calipari courts them, signs them, rolls the ball onto the court and watches them win 30 games a year while he's texting Worldwide Wes and lining up his next recruiting class of one-and-done Neanderthals.

That's the idea, and with Kentucky in the national title game, we have a 24-hour news cycle for it to waft into your nostrils. Not that we needed Kentucky to qualify for the title game Monday against Kansas. That idea is already out there. It's everywhere. A good friend of mine at the newspaper in Orlando used the occasion of Kentucky's victory at Florida's home finale this season to lament that "this, sadly, is what college basketball has become -- a temp agency for rogue UK coach John Calipari."

Calipari, my friend from Orlando wrote, "refuses to apologize for signing the best players in the country even when he must know his program is nothing more than a glorified AAU squad."

 

 

One-and-done? Wish that were the case with tiresome anti-Cal argument - NCAA Division I Mens Basketball - CBSSports.com News, Scores, Stats, Schedule and RPI Rankings

Doyle, is one of the best. He makes a great point about the hypocracy of others in particular Pitino.

Honesty is not hypocrisy. Pitino's comments were honest.

 

But this is the challenge for all the 'old school' coaches who have made careers out of developing players over time. Pitino, Krzyzewski, others are more known for developing players OVER TIME. Calipari also develops players but focuses on doing within much shorter time period - i.e. a single season. And this new landscape may be the future for large basketball powers unless the NBA sets a minimum age requirment like the NFL does. And that does not appear in the works.

 

The media rails against the 'one-and-done' phenomena more than coaches. Herd lambasted the issue last week and declared it was killing college basketball. Many fans do not like it - but it is the landscape now.

 

I think it was a travesty that Calipari was not in the running for coach of year honors - a media driven award. He HAS done an outstanding job this year in bringing this team along. It IS a much better team than in November. He did have outstanding young talent. But it was raw talent and needed coaching leadership to make it work and jell - especially at this stage. Yet, Calipari was basically snubbed by the media for this award.

Honesty is not hypocrisy. Pitino's comments were honest.

 

But this is the challenge for all the 'old school' coaches who have made careers out of developing players over time. Pitino, Krzyzewski, others are more known for developing players OVER TIME. Calipari also develops players but focuses on doing within much shorter time period - i.e. a single season. And this new landscape may be the future for large basketball powers unless the NBA sets a minimum age requirment like the NFL does. And that does not appear in the works.

 

The media rails against the 'one-and-done' phenomena more than coaches. Herd lambasted the issue last week and declared it was killing college basketball. Many fans do not like it - but it is the landscape now.

 

I think it was a travesty that Calipari was not in the running for coach of year honors - a media driven award. He HAS done an outstanding job this year in bringing this team along. It IS a much better team than in November. He did have outstanding young talent. But it was raw talent and needed coaching leadership to make it work and jell - especially at this stage. Yet, Calipari was basically snubbed by the media for this award.

 

Did you read the article? Pitino has recruited one and dones and they opted to go elsewhere. For him to say he could say good bye to them in 7 months is hypocracy.

 

I do agree with the rest of what you said.

Honesty is not hypocrisy. Pitino's comments were honest.

 

But this is the challenge for all the 'old school' coaches who have made careers out of developing players over time. Pitino, Krzyzewski, others are more known for developing players OVER TIME. Calipari also develops players but focuses on doing within much shorter time period - i.e. a single season. And this new landscape may be the future for large basketball powers unless the NBA sets a minimum age requirment like the NFL does. And that does not appear in the works.

 

The media rails against the 'one-and-done' phenomena more than coaches. Herd lambasted the issue last week and declared it was killing college basketball. Many fans do not like it - but it is the landscape now.

 

I think it was a travesty that Calipari was not in the running for coach of year honors - a media driven award. He HAS done an outstanding job this year in bringing this team along. It IS a much better team than in November. He did have outstanding young talent. But it was raw talent and needed coaching leadership to make it work and jell - especially at this stage. Yet, Calipari was basically snubbed by the media for this award.

 

Coach K has had one and done players each of the past two years....

Coach K has had one and done players each of the past two years....

 

That doesn't count. He's coach K.

Coach K has had one and done players each of the past two years....

 

Bill Self had 2 last year.

^Selby and ?

 

I know he had Xavier Henry the year before last as well.

Roy Williams has had a few also. Not all one and dones but several that have left early.

Good article. Always nice to see the non-thinking media idiots get called out by one of their own.

Did you read the article? Pitino has recruited one and dones and they opted to go elsewhere. For him to say he could say good bye to them in 7 months is hypocracy.

 

I do agree with the rest of what you said.

 

He was suppose to have Telfair, probably would have been one and done. He tried to get Teague, who I'm not convinced he would have left after this season if he was a Cardinal. Maybe that is my bias towards Coach Cal and his development of young players.

^Selby and ?

 

I know he had Xavier Henry the year before last as well.

 

I was thinking they were the same year.

He was suppose to have Telfair, probably would have been one and done. He tried to get Teague, who I'm not convinced he would have left after this season if he was a Cardinal. Maybe that is my bias towards Coach Cal and his development of young players.

 

GT says he was a lock for UC if he didn't go to UK.

Did you read the article? Pitino has recruited one and dones and they opted to go elsewhere. For him to say he could say good bye to them in 7 months is hypocracy.

 

I do agree with the rest of what you said.

 

You have read where the author inserts his own view.

 

Pitino noted that Calipari surely cares about his players, wants to see them develop and mature as people -- just not as much as Pitino, who puffed out his chest and said of Kentucky's annual roster upheaval: "I couldn't do it. I can't say hello and goodbye in seven months. It's just not me."

 

Pitino's quote by itself is not so hypocritical:

 

"I couldn't do it. I can't say hello and goodbye in seven months. It's just not me."

 

I remember Tubby taking heat for not getting enough MAAs. Then when he did land a great recruiting class it ended up as 'Team Turmoil'. Certainly a lot of that had to do with the egos of this level of talent. And that shows that it takes a certain skill to jell this type of talent to play together. Apparently, Tubby could not do it well, Pitino does not want to it but Calipari apparently does and the results this year have shown that.

 

I think this writer wanted to stir up something that was not there.

^It is when he's recruited one and done type players. They've simply choosen to go elsewhere.