‘Coffee with Cal’: Could the Kentucky-Indiana series resume in … Dallas?
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Coffee with Cal
University of Kentucky men’s basketball coach John Calipari is hosting a weekly show on Facebook Live called “Coffee with Cal” in which he interviews influential individuals from the worlds of sports, media, politics and beyond. The shows are designed to benefit COVID-19 relief and draw attention to the Black Lives Matter movement. Click below to read the Herald-Leader’s stories recapping previous shows.
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With Mark Cuban as his guest on the first “Coffee with Cal” show, Kentucky Coach John Calipari lamented the us-versus-them divide in this country during the coronavirus pandemic.
Cuban agreed.
“I hope this partisanship goes away,” the owner of the Dallas Mavericks said on the Facebook Live show. “And the only thing we’re partisan about is Indiana and Kentucky.”
Cuban, who graduated from IU in 1981 with a Bachelor of Science degree in management, and Calipari came to a chuckle-filled agreement: the Kentucky-Indiana basketball series should resume.
“How about we play in your building?” Calipari said.
“Done,” Cuban replied.
But, Cuban then offered an option to the Mavericks’ home arena in Dallas.
“With all this going on, close proximity is going to be important,” he said. “So, we don’t have to get on a plane to fly somewhere. We just drive. I say we just flip a coin.”
To the heads-it’s-Lexington, tails-it’s-Bloomington suggestion, Calipari proposed playing for charity. That prompted Cuban to suggest a competition to see which school’s alumni donate the most to a designated charity. The school with the alumni group donating the most money plays host to the game.
Or, Calipari said, he had no objections to playing without fans. But the UK coach threw in a condition.
“If Kentucky got beat because you got me to play, I get floor seats in Dallas,” he said.
To which, Cuban replied, “Done. …
“No fans. Put it on national TV. Have the whole country go nuts because college basketball is back. Unbelievable.”
Kill the NCAA?
Cuban and Calipari saw a bright side to how the coronavirus pandemic has unsettled society. They said change equals opportunity.
Among the experimental possibilities they mentioned included an end to summer recruiting (Calipari), expanding the NBA Draft to four rounds in order to fill out G League rosters (Cuban), the NBA finishing the 2019-20 season in August (Cuban), and allowing underclassmen to return for another college season if not drafted (Calipari).
Said Cuban: “If the NCAA can’t get it right, maybe it’s time to say goodbye to the NCAA. But, we can save that for later.”
This provoked laughter from Calipari.
President Cuban?
Calipari asked about speculation that Cuban has interest in running for president of the United States.
“I’m the type of guy who always keeps the door open,” Cuban said. “And I never want to say never. Who would have thunk (the pandemic) would happen? … I’d probably say the probability is low.”
A moment later, Cuban called for an end to the two-party system.
“The two-party system has let us down,” he said. “If it were up to me, there would be no parties. Being a Democrat (or) being a Republican isn’t getting the job done. We’re not getting the best candidates.”
Investment ideas
Calipari asked Cuban to recommend ideas for investors.
The Mavericks owner mentioned artificial intelligence. “AI is going to dominate going forward,” he said.
Cuban also suggested robotics.
Don’t shake on it
Because of the coronavirus pandemic, Calipari suggested that the NCAA should end a traditional postgame ritual.
“Never shake hands again,” said the UK coach, who added that college basketball should follow the NBA’s example. “I point to the other coach,” he said, then “we both walk off.”
This story was originally published April 13, 2020 at 1:29 PM.
