Calipari’s leading ‘proactive’ coaches in planning for a 2020-21 season
In his spare time as Kentucky’s head coach, John Calipari inspired telethons to help with hurricane and earthquake relief. He raised money for school supplies, made Christmases merrier for families and assisted in combating the coronavirus through his “Coffee with Cal” show on Facebook.
More recently, he has been a driving force in launching the John McLendon Minority Leadership Initiative, which seeks to provide job opportunities in college athletics. He’s funding six such positions at UK.
So, it’s not surprising that he has been busy despite COVID-19 putting the “off” in this college basketball offseason.
Calipari has been part of daily coaches’ meetings via Zoom. Tom Izzo of Michigan State said the participants have been “a who’s who of basketball.”
The coaches’ objective? “Trying to get ahead of the virus,” ESPN analyst Fran Fraschilla said. “And trying to get a step ahead of where college football coaches and athletic directors were.
“These guys are talking every day. They’re very proactive. And John is kind of leading the way.”
How to play? When to play? Is copying the NBA approach of protective “bubbles” feasible? The hope is that the Zoom meetings create a unified voice in mapping out college basketball’s immediate future.
During an appearance on ESPN radio last week, Calipari stressed the importance of caution. Even with the advantage of what he called “the ultimate bubble” — meaning Kentucky players cloistered in a lodge/dorm about 30 yards from the practice facility — UK’s workouts are done in shifts. Potentially risky on-court actions like setting screens and playing defense probably won’t happen for another week or two, he said.
Player cooperation is seen as crucial.
“We can control their athletic bubble,” the Michigan State coach said of players. “We’ve all proven it over the summer. It’s their personal bubble that is the problem.”
When asked to observe well-established precautions such as avoiding crowded indoor settings, wearing a mask and observing social distancing, players must think of sacrifice, respect and accountability, said Izzo, before adding, “I think Webster removed those words from his dictionary and we’ve got to get them back in there.”
More broadly, Izzo advised a willingness to adjust as the pandemic evolves. “As they say in the military, you’ve got to adapt and overcome,” he said.
Izzo chuckled as he noted an adjustment he has made.
“Hell, I’ve become an expert on Zoom,” he said. “I couldn’t even turn on a computer six months ago. I’ve really upgraded myself. Hopefully, I can upgrade my program, and we can make college basketball a success.”
Izzo expressed confidence that there will be a 2020-21 season. “I’m 200-percent planning on it,” he said before adding the pertinent question hanging over basketball this winter. “What will it look like?”
‘Not just athletes’
Highlights from Keion Brooks appearing on the “NCAA Social Series” show on Friday:
▪ On dealing with life during COVID-19: “You want to be able to live life to the fullest when you finally enter college. Go out and enjoy yourself. But just the times that we’re in, I try to explain to them … if we want to have a season, follow the rules and protocols to make sure we’re staying safe.”
▪ On what he wants to stress as a member of the National Association of Basketball Coaches’ Player Development Coalition: “That we are not just athletes that go out and play our sport. We live normal lives just like everyone else. We use our voices to help others. I think that’s a great thing that we can do.”
▪ On how UK players dealt with the death of George Floyd while in police custody: “I want to give Coach Cal his credit. … We got a Zoom call with one of our head police officers, and (he) explained to us how we should act and react to other law enforcement. (George Floyd’s death) quite frankly, it could happen to any of us, especially us being a team full of minorities for the most part. It’s something that’s really scary.”
▪ On the challenge to stay mentally healthy during a pandemic: “Me being the only returner for the most part and having to be the leader of this team, I try to express my vulnerability to my teammates. That’s a great attribute of a leader. … I’m pretty sure you start to lose your mind when just looking at the same walls and the same thing every day. But with us being able to have a group chat thread, we can still communicate. … The important thing we need to focus on at this time (is) you’re not going through it alone.”
Next man up
More than once as UK’s associate head coach, Kenny Payne took over game management after referees ejected John Calipari. If memory serves, it happened at Arkansas last season and the second of Calipari’s two ejections at South Carolina (John Robic guided the Kentucky team in the first).
Coincidentally, James “Bruiser” Flint filled that next-man-up role more than once as a UMass assistant coach when referees tossed Calipari.
It’s widely expected that Calipari will hire Flint as Payne’s replacement at Kentucky. ESPN analyst Fran Fraschilla would not be surprised if Flint will again guide a team after an ejection of Calipari.
“Oh yeah,” Fraschilla said. “It’ll happen a couple more times. ‘Bru’ will be back in the main chair once or twice more in the next few years.”
Peevy to DePaul?
UK’s deputy director of athletics, DeWayne Peevy, will be introduced Monday as DePaul’s new athletics director, the Chicago Tribune reported.
The other finalist for the job was Mike Polisky, the deputy director of athletics at Northwestern. Polisky has longtime ties to Chicago, having been past president of the Chicago Rush of the Arena Football League and the Chicago Wolves of the American Hockey League before going to Northwestern in 2010.
Reader question
A reader asked why the NBA did not include all 30 teams in the resumption of the 2019-20 season in the “bubble” in Orlando.
The NBA limited play to the 16 teams in playoff positions at the time, plus the six teams that were six or fewer games behind an eighth-seeded team in either conference.
Teams that were more than six games behind the final playoff spot were Golden State, Minnesota, Cleveland, Atlanta, Detroit, New York, Chicago and Charlotte.
Perhaps an underlying reason was that the fewer teams in the bubble, the less chance it would burst.
The beginning of the 2020-21 season is “likely” to start Dec. 1, the NBA said. But during Thursday’s announcement of the order of lottery picks, Commissioner Adam Silver hedged on that.
COVID update
Florida Athletics Director Scott Stricklin, who formerly headed UK’s media relations for men’s basketball, contracted the coronavirus in June. He said he had “very mild symptoms” that reduced his energy level for about a week.
Sticklin said he had followed medical advice: wearing a mask and observing social distancing. He continues to do so.
“Fortunately, I’ve had no lingering effects,” he said, “and I feel as healthy as ever.”
Condolences
Condolences to the family of Kentucky native Lee Stewart (aka “@NotJerryTipton” on Twitter).
His death last weekend stunned family and friends. Stewart, who turned 52 on Aug. 8, jogged regularly, often covering 6 miles.
“We went through all the stereotypical is-this-real?” said Neal Moore, a Birmingham, Ala., attorney who attended Samford University’s Cumberland School of Law with Stewart. “Every stage of grief we’ve gone through.”
Rad Gaines, a founding partner of the Birmingham law firm where Stewart worked, said he enjoyed going into Stewart’s office. “Just to look at the Kentucky basketball shrine,” Gaines said.
Scholarship idea
Birmingham attorney Rad Gaines has expressed an interest in helping UK establish an athletics scholarship in Lee Stewart’s name. The law firm where Stewart worked — Gaines Gault Hendrix — would like to make an initial contribution.
“We thought if there was some type of fund or scholarship set up, then his local friends could make a donation,” Gaines wrote in an email. “And when the Twitter followers learned about his death, there would probably be a significant number of people to contribute to it. … We would want it to be associated with the basketball program, if possible.”
The firm has contacted UK athletics to see how a scholarship could be set up, Gaines said.
Happy birthday
To former Indiana guard Quinn Buckner. He turned 66 on Thursday. … To Jodie Meeks. He turned 33 on Friday. … To Sister Jean Dolores Schmidt. The nun who gained a bit of basketball fame by cheering on Loyola (Ill.) in the 2018 NCAA Tournament turned 101 on Friday. … To Todd Tackett. He turned 41 on Saturday. … To UK president Eli Capilouto. He turned 71 on Saturday. … To former Mississippi State Coach Richard Williams. He turned 75 on Saturday. …. To PJ Washington. He turns 22 on Sunday (today). … To Kent Hollenbeck. He turns 70 on Monday. … To Richie Farmer. He turns 51 on Tuesday.
