Today, as I watched Kentucky struggle with another un-ranked SEC opponent, Mississippi State, I thought back to an ESPN interview I saw a few weeks ago with John Calipari in which he was crooning about his young and talented team-"There's a charisma about these kids" to a video overlay of John Wall dancing like a gay professional wrestler before thousands of fans, and I thought, Bob Knight was right, why do they let this go on? True, there are a great deal of immoral practices around college sports, whether with players, coaches or administrators, but what Calipari has done as a recruiter has changed basketball, and should really outrage a great deal of people. Now, I don't mean to get all Bill Cosby on you, because to tell you the truth, I like to see players having fun, I liked Deion Sanders, I liked the Jimmy Johnson Miami Hurricanes and the UNLV Runnin' Rebels basketball teams from twenty years ago. I like dancing and trash talking and intimidation. I like cockiness from the best players. I do not like John Wall. I'm neither a fan of the player nor the persona. I'm equally as displeased with Derrick Rose. The difference is, this obvious revolving door of point guards for John Calipari at Memphis and now Kentucky is encouraged to dance, to talk, to show out, to melt into fits of immaturity in a way that exceeds Johnson's 'Canes. But the Kentucky Wildcats don't ruffle the same elitist feathers because they're a traditional powerhouse. Honestly, the Kentucky basketball nation, and the internet nation have taken a great liking to John Wall and his dance exploits. The "John Wall dance" is now quite familiar to sports fans. Sports analysts have taken an even greater liking to Wall's game, hypothetically placing him in the NBA right away, but aside from talent that might not look too special amongst professionals, he's not ready to play point guard in the NBA. Not because he dances and smiles too much, and not because he makes terrible decisions, but because he already thinks he's a star, and Calipari's at fault.
I'd hate to think that eight years ago, a player like John Wall might have gone from High School to the NBA, but maybe having Larry Brown in his life would have spooked him into going to college all four years. Calipari, is the CEO of Calipari Inc. the leading company in the the sleazy business of recruiting top players, making them show out in a sort of minstrel show freshman season of college fame, and sending them to the NBA with the idea that they should blindly attack basketball and expect their skill to dominate the professional game. Those who argue the prior statement may say that the strengths in those Calipari point guards' games in the NBA is just that, using athleticism to reach the rim. Rose, Tyreek Evans of the Sacramento Kings, and Wall all are encouraged to use their abilities in that way, but the weaknesses in their games are in what they don't do. All can kill their teams with silly turnovers, poor shot selection, and poor leadership. Sound familiar? Those are the things that hurt Calipari's Memphis team in 2008 when they lost the National Championship game to Kansas. Tyreek Evans used all of his ability to try beat Michigan State on his own for Memphis last year, but Tom Izzo is a little better at the "basketball" thing than Calipari, he helps young men understand the game, far before they are made to understand that they are stars. Calipari is much better than Izzo at the "be tall, look good, I'm going to make your little negro child a millionaire" thing. He is in fact, the king.
Whether it's Derrick Rose losing his head after a missed free throw in the National Championship game, or Demarcus Cousins dealing with the Vanderbilt fans, Calipari's players show a firm immaturity that makes them seem even less mature for the NBA after one year of college. Looking back through the years, the Calipari player is selfish and misguided (I write this with my vision of Marcus Camby being too demonstrative for television after that ejection so vivid and clear). Explanations? Maybe Calipari is a selfish and misguided coach. Being stripped of two final fours might be an indication of such traits. When you jump ship at one University and "Kiffin" all your recruits to your next school, right after you conveniently forget if you know who exactly took Derrick Rose's SAT test, or you call A Sportscenter anchor a "Jackoff" on live television for bringing up something that happened in the past, those might be some more indications. As a matter of fact, Calipari is right, no one should bring up the National Championship failure, because according to the NCAA, that Final Four Appearance never happened.
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