The college basketball world’s nightmare is on the verge of coming true: John Calipari becoming a national champion (again).
That’s right folks, the poster child of the “one and done”scenario that has fans, the NCAA, and college basketball seething is one the verge of winning another national championship. Calipari’s 2011-2012 title team at Kentucky was led by “one and dones” Anthony Davis and Michael Kidd-Gilchrist. And while this 2013-2014 freshman-led team is not as good as the one that won it all in 2012, the stars are aligning for Calipari to take home another national title.
Haters gonna hate, and college basketball purists are going to lose their ever-loving minds.
While Calipari is perceived as a slimy individual who could coach an all-star Mafia squad, the man can coach – and he is only taking advantage of a stupid-ass rule that was collectively bargained between the NBA and its players’ union. Let’s not kid ourselves into thinking that Calipari is getting away with murder by recruiting these “one and done” team. Last I checked, prominent coaches such as Syracuse’s Jim Boehiem, UNC’s Roy Williams, and (gasp!) Duke’s Mike Krzyzewski have/are recruited/recruiting “one and done” players and have had success with those players.
The bottom line is this: coaching is a bottom-line business, and the bottom-line is winning games and championships. If these “one and done” players give coaches the best chance to win a championship, so be it.
Plus y’all have to give it up for Calipari’s coaching in this tournament. He has taken a mentally fragile squad whose toughness was questioned throughout the season (remember that bad loss to South Carolina on ESPN way back when?) and has it on a potentially historic roll since the SEC conference tournament. Calipari’s Wildcats when toe-to-toe with Florida in the SEC tournament final, upset top-seeded Wichita State (though I called that one), beat defending champion/hated rival Louisville, beat last year’s runner-up Michigan, and slipped by 2-seed Wisconsin in the Final Four. Calipari is pushing the right buttons in getting his freshman-laden team to buy in and accept their roles when it matters the most.
It’s hard to believe that this year’s Wildcats are on the verge on winning its second national championship in four years. That is due to Calipari’s outstanding coaching, whether we like it or not.
Categories: college basketball, college sports
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