It's disgusting how good he is at his job.

First things first....his job is to recruit student athletes and win titles....while adhering to the rules. I'd say he's average, at best, at that. He's an amazing recruiter. That's all we know at this point.

First things first....his job is to recruit student athletes and win titles....while adhering to the rules. I'd say he's average, at best, at that. He's an amazing recruiter. That's all we know at this point.

 

I agree with the grand majority of your sentiment. I'd say he is above average, but agree with all of your other points. Kentucky fans are so DESPERATE, it is laughable.

 

Cal hasn't won the big one ever-despite having assembled some of the greatest talent of all time. I'd say his career at this moment resembles Dean Smith (without the titles) more than anybody else.

I agree with the grand majority of your sentiment. I'd say he is above average, but agree with all of your other points. Kentucky fans are so DESPERATE, it is laughable.

 

Cal hasn't won the big one ever-despite having assembled some of the greatest talent of all time. I'd say his career at this moment resembles Dean Smith (without the titles) more than anybody else.

 

Guess you could also say that this is a very difficult time for the "Haters". I'm sure they are all holding their breath waiting for Cal to slip up, sad.......sad people. As far as having assembled some of the greatest talent of all time, huge stretch at best.

First things first....his job is to recruit student athletes and win titles....while adhering to the rules. I'd say he's average, at best, at that. He's an amazing recruiter. That's all we know at this point.

 

I am not at all disputing that he needs to win a title to be considered great, but llet's not act like just becasue you win a title you are great. In your estimation, what current coaches are more than 'average'?

I agree with the grand majority of your sentiment. I'd say he is above average, but agree with all of your other points. Kentucky fans are so DESPERATE, it is laughable.

 

Cal hasn't won the big one ever-despite having assembled some of the greatest talent of all time. I'd say his career at this moment resembles Dean Smith (without the titles) more than anybody else.

 

Greatest talent of all time??? If a UK fan said that you would blast them...c'mon man? Greatest talent of all time is a ridiculous statement.

So when all those UK guys were drafted by the highest league in the world in the first round (NBA).....they aren't to be considered great???

 

C'mon if Louisville had 4 or 5 guys drafted in the first round and didn't make it to the final four, wouldn't you say that was a dissapointing season?? Sure you would. Basically John C. won 1 more game in the tourney that year than Tubby usually did, and the bluegrass nation wants to elect him as Governor, and honor him as awesome at his job. Geez I wonder what they think of Tom Izzo or Coach K.

^You are completely missing the point on why BBN wants to elect him governor. It has so much more to do with success on the hardwood. John Calipari embraces the job and gets it like few have. The job is so much bigger than wins and losses. His personality is a dove tail fit for the job. That is why he is so revered in the BBN.

I agree with the grand majority of your sentiment. I'd say he is above average, but agree with all of your other points. Kentucky fans are so DESPERATE, it is laughable.

 

Cal hasn't won the big one ever-despite having assembled some of the greatest talent of all time. I'd say his career at this moment resembles Dean Smith (without the titles) more than anybody else.

 

Cal has won plenty of titles. He just hasn't won the big one.

 

But that isn't a bad comparison ... Dean Smith that is. I am confident Cal will win a NATIONAL title at UK sooner than Smith did at UNC. It took him 21 years at UNC to finally win the NCAA title. In fact, it took Smith six years just to make the NCAA tourney so Cal is looking good right now in comparison to one of the greatest coaches of all time.

 

Oh, and here is another comparison for you. It took Coach K 4 years at Duke to get into the NCAA tourney and 11 years to win his first title.

 

Izzo was a little better. It only took him 3 years at Michigan St. to get into the NCAA and 6 years to win the NCAA title. So there is a good benchmark for Coach Cal to shoot for.

 

With an Elite 8 and a Final Four in his first two years at UK, I guess Coach Cal is doing just fine.

Edited July 4, 201115 yr by Voice of Reason

Cal has won plenty of titles. He just hasn't won the big one.

 

But that isn't a bad comparison ... Dean Smith that is. I am confident Cal will win a NATIONAL title at UK sooner than Smith did at UNC. It took him 21 years at UNC to finally win the NCAA title. In fact, it took Smith six years just to make the NCAA tourney so Cal is looking good right now in comparison to one of the greatest coaches of all time.

 

Oh, and here is another comparison for you. It took Coach K 4 years at Duke to get into the NCAA tourney and 11 years to win his first title.

 

Izzo was a little better. It only took him 3 years at Michigan St. to get into the NCAA and 6 years to win the NCAA title. So there is a good benchmark for Coach Cal to shoot for.

 

With an Elite 8 and a Final Four in his first two years at UK, I guess Coach Cal is doing just fine.

 

Quite a few more teams make the NCAA tourney now than before wouldn't you say?

 

Don't think Tom Izzo had any other head coaching job in college previous to leading the Spartans, and never was a head coach in the NBA.

With this line of thinking the Butler Bulldogs coach should be Governor of Indiana, and be preparing his Hall of Fame speech. (and yeah he advanced further than Coach Cal both years with far less talent.)

Quite a few more teams make the NCAA tourney now than before wouldn't you say?

 

Don't think Tom Izzo had any other head coaching job in college previous to leading the Spartans, and never was a head coach in the NBA.

With this line of thinking the Butler Bulldogs coach should be Governor of Indiana, and be preparing his Hall of Fame speech. (and yeah he advanced further than Coach Cal both years with far less talent.)

 

Not true on Brad Stevens. Year one made first round of NCAA and year two made second round. Cal did better.

 

You are correct that Izzo had not been a head coach before.

 

I am making the comparisons because you compared Cal to Dean Smith. I am just using your comparison and adding in some other similar examples.

 

Bottom line, I think everyone in Kentucky is ecstatic with Cal's performance so far and optimistic that he will win a title eventually. Knocking Cal as a coach is truly what is laughable. He has one of the highest winning percentages of any coach in NCAA history.

Quite a few more teams make the NCAA tourney now than before wouldn't you say?

 

Don't think Tom Izzo had any other head coaching job in college previous to leading the Spartans, and never was a head coach in the NBA.

With this line of thinking the Butler Bulldogs coach should be Governor of Indiana, and be preparing his Hall of Fame speech. (and yeah he advanced further than Coach Cal both years with far less talent.)

 

Brad Stevens is one of the hottest commodities in college basketball right now. VOR's logic makes perfectly good sense.

 

Do you honestly think there is another coach in the country who could have taken UK from NIT team to Elite 8 in one season? Do you think there is another coach who could lose five players to the NBA draft's first round & come back the very next season with an appearance in the Final Four?

 

From an overall body of work standpoint, there are several current coaches who are much better than Cal. Izzo, K, Roy, Pitino, Donovan, Calhoun, & probably even more. But understand that average coaches don't take three different schools--two of them non-BCS schools, mind you--to the Final Four. What he has done in two years at UK, considering where we were when he arrived, has been very impressive.

I agree with the grand majority of your sentiment. I'd say he is above average, but agree with all of your other points. Kentucky fans are so DESPERATE, it is laughable.Cal hasn't won the big one ever-despite having assembled some of the greatest talent of all time. I'd say his career at this moment resembles Dean Smith (without the titles) more than anybody else.

That is a terrible comparison. Do not equate 18-19 year old freshman draft picks with experienced laden 21-22 year old teams comprised of draft picks.

That is a terrible comparison. Do not equate 18-19 year old freshman draft picks with experienced laden 21-22 year old teams comprised of draft picks.

 

Good point. It will be interesting to see what happens if the NBA pushes back their draft eligibility and Cal gets to keep his talent for more than one year. Did Dean Smith ever have a player leave after their freshman year? I am sure there had to be at least a couple, especially later in his career.

Not true on Brad Stevens. Year one made first round of NCAA and year two made second round. Cal did better.

 

You are correct that Izzo had not been a head coach before.

 

I am making the comparisons because you compared Cal to Dean Smith. I am just using your comparison and adding in some other similar examples.

 

Bottom line, I think everyone in Kentucky is ecstatic with Cal's performance so far and optimistic that he will win a title eventually. Knocking Cal as a coach is truly what is laughable. He has one of the highest winning percentages of any coach in NCAA history.

 

What did Cal do his first year at UMass if we are now comparing his record to Stevens??

 

As to the bolded...That is the equivalent of saying Bernie Madoff had a great record as an investment advisor. The whole story has not been written, but to ignore the negatives of Cal is to be blinded by his charm and recruits...

Brad Stevens is one of the hottest commodities in college basketball right now. VOR's logic makes perfectly good sense.

 

Do you honestly think there is another coach in the country who could have taken UK from NIT team to Elite 8 in one season? Do you think there is another coach who could lose five players to the NBA draft's first round & come back the very next season with an appearance in the Final Four?From an overall body of work standpoint, there are several current coaches who are much better than Cal. Izzo, K, Roy, Pitino, Donovan, Calhoun, & probably even more. But understand that average coaches don't take three different schools--two of them non-BCS schools, mind you--to the Final Four. What he has done in two years at UK, considering where we were when he arrived, has been very impressive.

 

As to the bolded Randy....that was the point I was making before...last year impressive after losing 5 first round draft picks to the NBA. The previous season with Wall, Cousins, etc then has to be NOT so impressive as they didn't even advance to the Final Four....