Guests mingled. DaRae & Friends catered. Valets parked cars. The Lexus Store of Lexington sparkled.
As trays of beef tenderloin potato crostini and chocolate-covered strawberries floated by, one of the co-owners of last weekend's private grand opening stood resplendent in a gray pin-striped suit. The scene took this man, former Kentucky All-American Jamal Mashburn, to his childhood attending Catholic schools in Manhattan.
On that daily commute from Harlem, Mashburn took notice of the hustle and bustle. The briefcases he saw carried by people on purposeful walks to work made a lasting impression.
"For me, it signified success and hard work," Mashburn said of the briefcase. "It also signified intelligence, as well. As the years have come, I've figured out, a lot of people who carry briefcases aren't very intelligent."
With that, Mashburn laughed heartily. Then, after a pause, he returned to his child's-eyed view of the briefcase. "It signified a sense of power," he said.
By the time then-Kentucky coach Rick Pitino came to recruit him two decades ago, Mashburn knew he, too, wanted to signify leather-bound success, hard work and power someday.
"All that's fine and good," he said in response to Pitino's play-for-Kentucky pitch. "I don't want to dribble a basketball the rest of my life. Nor will I be able to."
For this wise-beyond-his-years sensibility, Mashburn credits the example of his father, Robert. The elder Mashburn was a boxer in the sense of the movies' most famous club fighter, Rocky Balboa. Dingy gyms. Fighting under different names. Taking fights on short notice. A big payday being $500.
"I remember seeing my father get beat up, getting knocked down," Mashburn said. "I started to cry. I knew it was a sport, but it was still my dad. I remember him laying on the canvas and he winked at me."
Rather than bedazzled by the glitz, Mashburn appreciated the sporting world's heartless realities.
His mother, Helen, advised him to have something to fall back on after basketball. Mashburn corrected her. He'd have something to fall forward to.
"I never wanted to be the guy at the end of the bench who used to be a great player," he said. "That's good for some people. For me, I wanted to get in business."
Mashburn noted how he hired a business manager, Rick Avare, rather than an agent when he left UK for the NBA. He invested in Outback restaurants.
In addition to the Lexus Store of Lexington (Avare and Pitino are partners), Mashburn has a business interest in a realty company, the Lexington Tennis Center, 34 Papa John's pizza stores and a few Dunkin' Donuts outlets.
"I didn't want to be the guy who made a bunch of money and didn't know what to do with it," he said.
The contrast with other former pro athletes can be striking. Enough ex-players make headlines for going broke that Mashburn is considering a consulting business. The current economic slump and bad investments can lead to financial messes. Divorce is often a factor, Mashburn said.
So is the pride that comes from being a celebrity. "You don't know the questions to ask, and you're fearful of people finding out you don't know," Mashburn said.
Mashburn has tried, but been unsuccessful, in reaching out to former UK player Antoine Walker, who's been saddled with gambling, financial and legal troubles.
Meanwhile, the Lexus Store hummed with good cheer. His wife, daughter and son sat nearby as Mashburn greeted his guests. The former UK player hoped for a briefcase moment.
"I brought the kids so they could see daddy in a different perspective," he said, "and start to plant those seeds. Let them figure out at an early age what they want to do in life."
Cal likes turmoil?
New Auburn Coach Tony Barbee, who played for John Calipari at Massachusetts and served on his staff at Memphis, said the UK coach thrives on chaotic situations.
"I've always said to coach, he has to have it swirling around him," Barbee said at the Southeastern Conference Media Day Thursday. "That's the type of person he is. He needs the waters real muddy and rough."
Barbee said he preferred a calm atmosphere. But not Calipari.
"If the water is calm, he stirs it up," Barbee said.
When told of Barbee's comments, Calipari mildly protested.
"Let me just say, I'd rather have everything running smoothly," the UK coach said. "But if stuff is thrown at me, I'm not one that goes (into hiding). I stand up."
Calipari said he welcomed turmoil as a means to test those around him.
"I tell my guys, I want to know, when adversity swirls, how are you?" he said. "I want them to know, when it swirls, I'm not going to get off course."
By that standard, things could hardly be better for Kentucky basketball with eligibility questions surrounding John Wall last season and Enes Kanter this season, Eric Bledsoe's transcript review, multiple one-and-done players, and NCAA penalties tied to the Calipari era at Memphis.
Fast is better?
Speaking of muddy water, John Calipari counseled patience as the NCAA reviews the amateur status of Enes Kanter.
More than one UK fan at Big Blue Madness wished aloud for a decision already. Be careful what you wish for. What if a quick decision would have the NCAA declare Kanter a pro and, therefore, permanently ineligible?
Perhaps the delay is part of a process in which UK exhausts its appeals to make sure the NCAA considers all possibilities before rendering a decision.
During SEC Media Day, Calipari suggested the NCAA knew it was setting a precedent for future would-be college players who had played for professional teams overseas.
Calipari accentuated the positive.
A UK front line without Kanter? "We're good," he said. "We're fine."
Calipari said he played six players on the UMass Final Four team in 1995-96. The backup to center Marcus Camby was 6-6, he said.
With UK's size (Eloy Vargas, Terrence Jones, Josh Harrellson), "We're big enough," Calipari said.
When asked whether the NCAA might rule Kanter ineligible for the entire season, Calipari said, "I don't know. I don't think that will be the case. But I'll say again, it's not an easy decision because it affects other kids."
Summer a bummer
During SEC Media Day, coaches offered their thoughts on summer recruiting. What prompted the comments was news of a 31-0 vote in September by the Conference Commissioners Association to recommend eliminating July recruiting beginning in 2012.
UK Coach John Calipari again voiced his dislike of July recruiting. He suggested the NCAA permit off-campus recruiting/evaluation in three or four weekends in April and September. While some suggested a coach in Kentucky's position didn't need much time to identify elite players, Calipari said he'd held that view for 20 years.
Florida Coach Billy Donovan suggested that the NCAA limit summer recruiting to four weekends (or 12 days) in July.
But Vanderbilt Coach Kevin Stallings said such tweaking falls far short of solving the real problem: the need for an industrial-strength cleanup of the recruiting subculture.
"To regain control of the culture of the sport, in my opinion, it's going to take something drastic," Stallings said. "There's less integrity than there's ever been."
The Vandy coach said a total ban on summer recruiting would begin, not end, the needed solution. He suggested a ban on recruiting anywhere but the high school. With that, "We might put some sanity back in the process," he said.
To fill the time, the coaches asked for more time to work with their players in the summer rather than see them go elsewhere to work with trainers with ties to agents.
SEC Commissioner Mike Slive said legislation will pass allowing coaches time to work with players in the summer.
The gold standard
At the SEC Media Day, Vanderbilt Coach Kevin Stallings predicted a wide-open race. "It's probably as open as it's ever been," he said.
Stallings saw no team being as dominant as Kentucky was last season.
When asked whether the Kentucky team of 2009-10 set the SEC gold standard for talent, Stallings cited two other teams earlier in the decade for that distinction. "It wasn't as good as the Florida championship teams," he said. "That's why they won two championships."
After a pause, Stallings suggested the UK team might have been as talented as those Florida teams. But he took off points for youth.
"Those Florida teams were the best teams I faced in 11 years in the league," the Vandy coach said.
Divine presence
Jack Brammer, a political reporter for the Herald-Leader, attended a rally for Democratic U.S. Senate nominee Jack Conway on Tuesday. The featured speaker was former Georgia Sen. Max Cleland.
During the event at an American Legion hall in Lexington, Cleland noted the reverence he had for Kentucky basketball as a boy growing up in Georgia in the 1950s. "University of Kentucky basketball was God," he said.
Then, pointing to former UK coach Joe B. Hall, Cleland added, "And now we have God with us."
Kudos for Gillispie
When he committed to Western Kentucky last week, former UK recruit Vinny Zollo thanked Billy Gillispie for being a "huge supporter."
Gillispie got a commitment from Zollo after the player's freshman year of high school. After UK fired Gillispie, Zollo became a basketball free agent.
Zollo sought advice from Gillispie. "He 100 percent had my back," the player said. "I owe Coach Gillispie a lot."
Maui tickets
Jim Dieringer, a certified public accountant in Fairbanks, Alaska, called last week. He'd like to sell two "VIP" tickets to the EA Sports Maui Invitational.
Dieringer planned to surprise his wife with the trip to Maui as part of their 50th wedding anniversary. Then he was surprised when another couple bought four tickets to use in Maui.
So now Dieringer wants to sell his two "VIP" tickets, which are good for all games and include entrance to other tournament festivities. He's asking for $1,500 per ticket.
If you're interested, send me an e-mail, and I'll forward it to Dieringer.
When asked why he called Lexington, Dieringer said, "I always heard the people of Kentucky are very, very supportive of their team."
One man, one vote
Here's my pre-season top-25 ballot and All-America team: 1. Michigan State; 2. Duke; 3. Ohio State; 4. Pittsburgh; 5. North Carolina; 6. Kansas State; 7. Villanova; 8. Kansas; 9. Syracuse; 10. Memphis; 11. Missouri; 12. Georgia; 13. Gonzaga; 14. Florida; 15. Illinois; 16. Kentucky; 17. Purdue; 18. Washington; 19. Wichita State; 20. Butler; 21. Virginia Tech; 22. Tennessee; 23. N.C. State; 24. Florida State; and 25. Mississippi State.
All-America team: Trey Thompkins, F, Georgia; Kyle Singler, F, Duke; JuJuan Johnson, C, Purdue; Malcolm Delaney, G, Virginia Tech; and Jimmer Fredette, G, BYU
Cal guest speaker
UK Coach John Calipari will be the featured speaker at the Salvation Army's sixth annual Christmas Breakfast Nov. 1 at Lexington's Hyatt Regency Hotel.
The Christmas Breakfast marks the official launch of the Salvation Army's annual Red Kettle Campaign. Proceeds benefit homeless women and children, hungry families and those who struggle with poverty.
In a news release, Major Debra Ashcraft of the Salvation Army expressed her hope that motivational words from Calipari can ignite a successful campaign.
Tickets can be reserved by calling Lindsey D'Lugos at (859) 252-7706, ext. 113, or e-mailing lindsey.d'lugos@use.salvationarmy.org
Individual tickets are $50, and the fee to sponsor a table for 10 is $500.
Happy birthday
To Stacey Poole. The UK freshman turns 19 today.
