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Calipari: Pack's best non-hire ever
Submitted by kentysiac on 08/20/2009 - 15:36
N.C. State wasn’t able to pry coach John Calipari away from Memphis three years ago.
It might have been the most fortunate non-hire in the school’s history.
Calipari, who seemed incredibly close to being N.C. State’s basketball coach but accepted a raise to stay at Memphis, now has both his trips to the Final Four vacated.
The NCAA announced Thursday that Memphis will have to forfeit all of its 38 wins and its appearance in the NCAA championship game in 2007-08. Memphis was found to have given approximately $1,713.85 in impermissible travel benefits to the brother of a player.
On May 5, 2008, the SAT’s testing service canceled the test score of a player on the 2007-08 team, making him ineligible. The player in both violations has been identified in published reports as Derrick Rose.
Apologists for Memphis will say it’s not fair for the NCAA to hold the school to be held responsible for a test score that wasn’t invalidated until after the season was over. They will say the NCAA clearinghouse’s approval of Rose’s transcript should absolve Memphis of responsibility.
But NCAA rules are clear that schools, not the clearinghouse, are held responsible for correctly determining initial eligibility. School officials have long been aware of this fact.
Calipari’s supporters will correctly say that the NCAA didn’t consider any allegations against him and made no finding against him personally. Paul Dee, the former Miami athletics director who chairs the NCAA’s Committee on Infractions, said Calipari was helpful and responsive when he appeared before the committee.
The only effect this case will have on Calipari is to expunge the wins and Final Four appearance from his record that season. So now Calipari has Final Four trips vacated in 2008 with Memphis and 1996 with Massachusetts.
"Whenever you have a situation where you have a penalty that not only affects the team’s records but also the individual’s personal record, you do have an impact on that particular individual and their career, that is to be sure," Dee said.
Except for bad publicity, though, there doesn’t seem to be much of an impact on Calipari. He has escaped Memphis for Kentucky in time to put together one of the best recruiting classes of all time and build for what could be more trips to the Final Four.
He might have built N.C. State into a Final Four-caliber team, too, and the Wolfpack is a long way from that status under coach Sidney Lowe. But with the way Calipari leaves NCAA sanctions in his wake, N.C. State is better off without him.
About the blogger
Ken Tysiac has covered the ACC for The Charlotte Observer since 2003, and spent the previous eight years covering Clemson for the Anderson Independent-Mail and then The State in South Carolina. He grew up in Rochester, N.Y., and is a graduate of the University of Notre Dame.Want to post a comment?
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Comments
Chucky the Chest
Tue, 08/25/2009 - 14:00 — heelsno1NC State now wishes that Amato had been a "non-hire".
cow college
Tue, 08/25/2009 - 16:47 — bluecat101calipari would not even consider going to an acc bottom feeder like ncs , why would he , when he could go to ky. he is a college coach, not a high school coach, go duke!!!!!!!!!!!
Heels20, if the President
Sun, 08/23/2009 - 08:54 — mytwokingsHeels20, if the President was an idiot what does that make the person he beat??
I would rather have Lowe, than Calipari. Sorry but the only ones delusional are the people who want to act like this guy isn't dirty. If Lowe brings in the best recruiting class ever and then we find out their were violations......well you know how that would go among STATE fans and everyone else!!!!
MYTWOQUEENS
Sun, 08/23/2009 - 09:33 — bluecat101u stick with sidney, which means u will never be a winner, u will forever be a BOTTOM FEEDER, what has calipari ever been convicted of?? u tell me, u got him mixed up with ol ROY, ok go DUKE!!!!
Fandom
Fri, 08/21/2009 - 11:02 — papadiscYou generally have to look long and hard to find a fan that's more obnoxious than a Carolina fan, but then sometimes you don't.
Of course, it makes sense. UK has a masters program in Communication Disorders.
papadick
Sun, 08/23/2009 - 10:00 — bluecat101u are correct about unc---obnoxious as it gets , carolina has a phd program in communication disorders, and i think u graduated ,MAGGUM CUMM LADIUM from there ok, go duke!!!
State "didn't hire" Calipari the way...
Fri, 08/21/2009 - 07:40 — jhmd2000...I "passed over" the opportunity to be CEO of Microsoft after Gates left.
I mean, seriously. This is
Fri, 08/21/2009 - 10:23 — thebigjraI mean, seriously. This is such a ridiculous article in so many ways, I'm glad everyone seems to realize that fact.
This article is asinine
Fri, 08/21/2009 - 00:19 — thebigjraI've read a lot of dumb articles in the News and Observer but this is one of the worst. KWCorona hit the nail on the head. Would State rather have Cal or Lowe? Seriously? Ooohhkay, I'm gonna go ahead and say that 99% of people with half a brain are going to want the guy who brought in (perhaps) the top recruiting class of all time this year, vs State's cartoon of a coach on the sideline. Ken, you need to read some of your peers' work re: this matter before you try to write another article about something outside of the Triangle, because they are beasting you in the cogent argument department.Here, Gregg Doyel points out the real story with the Triangle tie-in: the NCAA's hypocrisy. http://www.cbssports.com/mcc/blogs/entry/5881996/16724605 Andy Katz blamed Rose's Illinois High School, saying "anyone who puts the blame on Calipari or Memphis knows nothing about collegiate athletics" ouch, Ken. Finally, in an ESPN article, Dookie Jay Bilas blames the NCAA who approved Rose twice to go to Memphis and now says his scores were invalid? Bilas writes, "The NCAA is investigator, prosecutor, judge, jury and executioner. The NCAA is allowed to believe or disbelieve anyone involved in the process, and is allowed to consider or disregard whatever evidence it likes, no matter how unreliable it might be. It is a stacked and unfair process; there are legitimate ethical questions at every step." Bilas and Doyel are right, the problem lies with the horrible way the NCAA picks and chooses who to prosecute and then acts as judge and jury. And, Ken, this article was awful and not even State fans agree with you; furthermore, people like Pat Forde and Skip Bayless with personal agendas and ties to rival coaches (Pitino and Forde, where was Forde last week, hmmm?) need to stop attacking Calipari.
Whoa there
Thu, 08/20/2009 - 22:20 — Heels20I know it's not the point of the article, but Calipari never "seemed incredibly close" to being NC State's next coach. He straight up used State to get a contract extension from Memphis. Why would a coach leave a team with Final Four potential for a school 25 miles away from two other schools that dominate the area in recruiting and basketball itself. In Sendek's ten years at State, he won a combined 8 games against Carolina and Dook. 4 of those wins were against Tar Heel teams that didn't make the tournament. Calipari wasn't about to get involved with that.
That being said, I'm glad Calipari isn't at State. Sidney Lowe has proven to be a pretty bad coach, but at least his players are going to class and graduating.
gloss over the implication
Thu, 08/20/2009 - 22:10 — carbonLibgloss over the implication all you want.....but state was ready, willing and able to hop in the sack with the scumbag....
carbonlib
Sun, 08/23/2009 - 09:03 — bluecat101wh!!!!!!!!y would u call calipari a scumbag, when u dont even know him, he makes 32 million as a coach, do u make that much?he has never left a team on probation or ever been implicated in any scandal, like ol roy has, do u think ol roy is a scumbag, even as a DUKE fan , i dont, think he is, he seems to be a good man, and an excellent coach, go ol roy, good man but not a scumbag, maybe carbonlisbo u need to look in the mirror to see a true SCUMBAG, goDUKE!!!!!!!!
Sad...
Fri, 08/21/2009 - 08:37 — JPDOhiobut true. Such was the panic mode that State was operating under at the time.
I am sorry...but this article is a joke.
Thu, 08/20/2009 - 17:58 — KWCoronaWho would you rather have coaching your basketball team? John Calipari or Sidney Lowe. ANYONE who says Sidney Lowe is delusional.
SIDNEY, I WILL NEVER win LOWE
Sun, 08/23/2009 - 09:08 — bluecat101CALIPARI VS. LOWE, WHAT A JOKE, calipari would never consider ncs, why would he want to go back to coaching in high school, there are good high school teams that would beat ncs, ok, go DUKE!!!!!!!!!
Call me delusional.
Fri, 08/21/2009 - 08:41 — JPDOhioIf I were an athletic director, I would not want college basketball's answer to the Teflon Don anywhere near my program. It is bad enough that he condones bending and breaking the rules everywhere he goes, but he always insulates himself so someone else takes the fall. A real stand up guy.
JDP
Fri, 08/21/2009 - 15:21 — bluecat101DONT U MEAN OL ROY, THE IDENTIFIED ,CERTIFIED, BONAFIED, BY THE NCAA,AS THE COACH THAT LEFT KANSAS ON 3 YEARS PROBATION, CALIPARI HAS NEVER BEEN ACCUSED OF SUCH DIRTY TRICKS. U NEED TO TRY AND STAY CURRENT ON YOUR INFO, OK, GO DUKE!!!!!!!!!!!!
There he goes again
Tue, 08/25/2009 - 14:04 — heelsno1KU's recruiting violations occurred under Larry Brown, not Roy Williams.
This fact has been pointed out to you on repeated occassions, but that does not slow down your constant babbling of misinformation and distortions. No wonder you are a Dookie.
Then you would make a good
Fri, 08/21/2009 - 10:29 — thebigjraThen you would make a good AD at any school who does not want (perhaps) the best recruiting class in history this year. If you were an athletic director at NC State, or for that matter, any ACC school besides D**E, UNC, or (maybe) Maryland, you are saying that Calipari<their current coach? Like the guy said above--ANYONE who says that is delusional. I'm sorry that you would sacrifice success for some pietistic attitude over a man who has zero NCAA violations. I wouldn't want somebody like that as my AD.
Zero NCAA violations
Fri, 08/21/2009 - 13:00 — JPDOhioLike I said-Teflon Don.
After the first set of violations that Cal "didn't know anything about", he should have set procedures in place to ensure total compliance and make sure they didn't happen again. Any guy with an ounce of integrity would do that. Instead, we get a better looking Sgt. Schultz, "I know nothing, NOTHING!".
It is not about sacrificing success because of some "pietistic attitude", whatever that is. It is about winning with integrity and proper oversight. Cal's approach-win at all costs, bale before it hits the fan, feign ignorance. A winning strategy, but not one I am interested in.
jpdoohioo
Sun, 08/23/2009 - 09:16 — bluecat101it means upper crust, which u are not, if u were a duke grad, u would know what it means, ok goDUKE!!! u are SLINK.
I understand and respect
Fri, 08/21/2009 - 13:06 — thebigjraI understand and respect your opinion. I guess the difference here is that, as long as he doesn't cheat (as most sportswriters aside from angry Memphis writers and Pat Forde believe) I am interested in a coach with a winning strategy.
Give me a break
Fri, 08/21/2009 - 11:12 — Heels20Calipari is worthless. The Rich Rodriguez of NCAA basketball, except worse. UK is the most historically prestigious basketball program in all of NCAA basketball. Calipari has proven to be a disease. If you sleep with him, you get the STD, even if it takes a couple years to show up. I guarantee that UK will not win a national championship this year. Mark my words. Seeing him tear down such a traditional program is a pretty awful thing to see.
tarhole-20
Sun, 08/23/2009 - 10:16 — bluecat101why would u say calipari is worthless? he has never left a team on 3 yrs. probation, like u know who, and i am marking your words. ok, go DUKE, !!!!!!!!!!
tarhole-20
Sun, 08/23/2009 - 10:16 — bluecat101why would u say calipari is worthless? he has never left a team on 3 yrs. probation, like u know who, and i am marking your words. ok, go DUKE, !!!!!!!!!!
tarhole-20
Sun, 08/23/2009 - 09:23 — bluecat101that is a very harumscarum statement, as well as slinky, u just need to stick with ol ROY and maybe he will give u some money and clothes, of which calipari has never stooped so low to do. ok, go DUKE!
TARHOLE-20
Fri, 08/21/2009 - 15:27 — bluecat101WHICH COACH GOT A PROGRAM PUT ON 3 YRS PROBATION CALIPARI OR OL ROY, A SIMPLE ANSWER WILL DO. AND IF U PASS THAT TEST, WHICH COACH HAS NEVER PUT A TEAM ON 3 YRS PROBATION ,CALIPARI OR OL ROY, I HOPE U CAN REMEMBER, GO DUKE!!!!!!!!!!!
Correction
Fri, 08/21/2009 - 12:48 — JPDOhioUK may win a national championship this year. But it will taken away later.
Haha
Fri, 08/21/2009 - 12:53 — Heels20I like the humor involved. Even though it would get taken away later, John Wall will not lead a team to a national title. He's your typical score-30-points-a-game-and-still-lose PG. His team went 0-10 at the NC Pro AM (though he didn't show up for every game). He couldn't win a State Title this past season, even with CJ Leslie. That's like putting Derrick Rose and Hasheem Thabeet on the same high school team and having them lose in the championship. I can't wait to see the disappointment of delusional UK fans when Calipari fails.
TARHOLE-20
Sun, 08/23/2009 - 10:20 — bluecat101JERRY STACKHOUSE SAID JOHN WALLS WAS BETTER THAN MOST GUARDS IN THE NBA NOW, I GUESS HE DONT KNOW WHAT HE IS TALKING ABOUT, BUT THEN WE ALL KNOW WHERE HE WENT TO SCHOOL, WISH HE COULD HAVE GOTTEN INTO DUKE, GO DUKE!!!!!!!!!!
TARHOLE-20
Fri, 08/21/2009 - 15:31 — bluecat101DO U MEAN FAIL, AS GETTING A TEAM PUT ON 3 YEARS PROBATION, THATS OL ROY AGAIN, U NEED TO BE MORE WELL READ,OK, GO DUKE!!!!!!!!!!
Well, since you brought up
Fri, 08/21/2009 - 13:09 — thebigjraWell, since you brought up the Pro-Am, I, for one, enjoyed watching him abuse Reggie Bullock once and Jerry Stackhouse twice in this video.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V6AR1LUxhZo
Oh I've seen the videos
Fri, 08/21/2009 - 13:12 — Heels20I know all about his talent. However, I, for one, enjoyed the look on his face when he got kicked off of Broughton High School's basketball team, the SECOND high school team that got rid of him. But hey, I'm sure he'll be great for Kentucky.
TARHOLE-20
Fri, 08/21/2009 - 15:35 — bluecat101I AM SURE THE REASON WALL DID NOT WANT TO PLAY FOR OL ROY WAS BECAUSE OF THE 3 YR. PROBATION DEAL OF WHICH COACH CAL HAS NEVER BEEN ACCUSED OF, OH WELL U CANT WIN THEM ALL, GO DUKE!!!!!!!!!!!
Since your recruit Bullock
Fri, 08/21/2009 - 13:24 — thebigjraSince your recruit Bullock and former NBA All-Star Stackhouse couldn't handle him in the scrimmage, we'll see if anyone in Carolina's esteemed backcourt this year can do the job defensively December 5, then. Talk about "not being able to wait" for something, Heels20...
He can score 40 points on us...
Fri, 08/21/2009 - 14:51 — Heels20...but it won't matter if he doesn't win.
I don't think that's going
Fri, 08/21/2009 - 12:09 — thebigjraI don't think that's going to happen Heels20, since 1) Cal will be under the microscope like never before because the NCAA obviously has a problem with him but can't find anything and 2) he's coaching at Kentucky now, not Memphis or UMASS. Calipari's legacy will be defined by his experience at UK...nobody remembers what happened at any coach's former schools once they go someplace like Kentucky.
"Ol Roy"
Thu, 08/20/2009 - 17:14 — Guitarman51Roy's violations at KU were secondary and resulted in no penalties to the program. When Ol' Roy first went to KU he inherited a program on probation(thanks to Larry Brown) but won anyway.
bottom feeders--ncs
Thu, 08/20/2009 - 15:58 — bluecat101did ol roy leave kansas on 3 yrs. probation or not, seems like i read that some where, coach cal. has never left any of his teams on 3 yrs. probation like ol roy did. if u want to talk about a cheater , look no further than ol roy. ncs is so bad that they dont even figure into the equation, they will always be a bottom feeder with ol sid as the coach. coach cal would not even consider coaching at a bottom feeder school. go duke!!!!!!!!!!
Roy Williams never had any
Thu, 08/20/2009 - 19:08 — psh0117Roy Williams never had any of his Final Fours or any wins vacated because of scandals. John Calipari is now the only coach to have not just 2 final fours vacated at different schools, but the only 2 times he went to a final four. And the fact that it’s happened twice, means it wasn’t just a coincidence.
No. "Ol Roy" did not leave
Thu, 08/20/2009 - 16:39 — ballshouseNo. "Ol Roy" did not leave Kansas on any kind of probation. You might be referring to small gifts that were given to players that had already graduated and were cleared by the Kansas basketball office:
http://www2.ljworld.com/news/2005/jul/16/ku_reveals_ncaa_violations/?mens_basketball
Calipari might not have gotten one of his schools on probation yet, but that doesn't mean what he's doing isn't dirty. The NCAA probably just wants to wait until he's at Kentucky to nail them both at the same time.
NCAA Violations: Roy:
Fri, 08/21/2009 - 10:35 — thebigjraNCAA Violations:
Roy: 1
Cal: 0
Oh, so it's okay if the basketball office of the school clears the gift? Haha. The NCAA cleared Rose's SAT twice, and then came back and took away Memphis' wins. You wanna talk about unfair? I know you'll like this as a UNC fan--what about Maggette? Is the NCAA ever going to do something about him? A lot of hypocrisy flying around.
Actually...
Fri, 08/21/2009 - 15:26 — bradleyb123Roy violated NCAA rules with that practice that Obama attended.
The NCAA doesn't go after the top schools, like USC in football and UNC in basketball. They would never bite the hand that feeds them. They go after schools like Memphis (and, yes, NC State).
Re: Actually...
Fri, 08/21/2009 - 15:30 — Heels20I'm not sure what kind of a point you were trying to make by the Obama example, but if no program (not even Chowan University) would get put on probation for having an idiot presidential candidate attend a basketball practice.
Re: Re: Actually
Fri, 08/21/2009 - 15:39 — bradleyb123That Obama was in attendance was not the violation.
This URL explains it. It also explains why UNC was not sanctioned (the unique opportunity of meeting a presidential candidate).
http://projects.newsobserver.com/under_the_dome/no_sanctions_for_unc_on_obama_game
No, you're right
Fri, 08/21/2009 - 15:44 — Heels20I actually don't have to click on the URL. It's something about how coaches aren't allowed to watch their players practice at this time of year. My point was just that under the circumstances, no program would have been disciplined for something like that.
Agreed on both points
Fri, 08/21/2009 - 15:57 — JPDOhio1. "no program would have been disciplined for something like that.
2. Idiot presidential candidate.