Calipari’s job: Keeping UK basketball on top as game changes drastically
On his final radio show for this season, Kentucky Coach John Calipari spoke of college basketball about to “change drastically in the next three or four years.” He added that his job was to maintain one constant — Kentucky’s preeminence — in a changing environment.
The significant changes include players being allowed to transfer without the requirement of sitting out a season, players possibly (probably?) being paid for commercial endorsements (aka name, image and likeness) and the NBA G League competing more vigorously (i.e. paying high salaries) for the services of the high-profile high school prospects.
Calipari described his task as “whatever’s next, how are we first at it?”
UCLA experienced the new landscape for college basketball when heralded point guard recruit Daishen Nix signed a letter of intent with the Bruins in November 2019. His list of schools also included Kentucky, Kansas, Alabama and Maryland.
Then in April of 2020, Nix changed his mind and accepted a reported offer of $300,000 to play in the G League.
“It was a family thing and a myself thing,” Nix said in explaining the change of plans to Jeff Borzello of ESPN.
On an NCAA teleconference previewing his team’s Sweet 16 game against Alabama on Sunday night, UCLA Coach Mick Cronin was asked about the evolving relationship between college basketball and the NBA.
“All I would say is, let’s not act like we’re all on the same team,” Cronin said. “College basketball has been a free farm system for 40 years for the NBA. And it is and will always be the best place for a young player to develop.
“The experience is second to none, and I believe it’s the best basketball development that somebody’s going to get. That’s just my belief. It doesn’t mean that I’m right. Everybody’s entitled to their opinion. … I’m well aware that in midtown Manhattan (in the NBA office), they’re not real concerned with my opinion, and that’s OK. … I don’t think NBA Commissioner Adam Silver is concerned. He works for 30 owners, and they’re all capitalists, as they should be.”
Meanwhile, a debate about the NBA being friend or foe seems to be underway.
“Look, this is America, man,” Cronin said. “It’s capitalism. So, I’ve got nothing but love for Daishen. I wish him nothing but the best. But as far as the NBA, they’re worried about the NBA.”
As for transfers, the website VerbalCommits.com tracks the comings and goings. As of Friday afternoon, it listed 913 players looking to transfer. Of those players, 31 either played for Southeastern Conference teams last season or will be newcomers in the SEC next season.
The list included Cam’Ron Fletcher leaving Kentucky and Oscar Tshiebwe joining the UK team. There’s also Kentuckian Justin Powell, a contributing freshman for Auburn before an injury cut short his 2020-21 season.
Players on the transfer list can’t be simply categorized as unhappy because of a lack of playing time. The list includes such prominent SEC players as Florida’s Noah Locke (29.0 minutes per game this season), Ole Miss forward K.J. Buffen (22.7), Missouri’s Xavier Pinson (25.5) and Texas A&M’s Savion Flagg (26.6).
Calipari wondered aloud about the player of yesteryear who needed time to develop and then blossomed as, say, a junior. Will that scenario still play out in the future?
“Will he bide his time? Will he wait his turn?” the UK coach asked. “Which is the old way of doing it. Well, maybe not.”
Then and now
If former UK player Johnny Juzang scores 16 or more points in UCLA’s Sweet 16 game against Alabama on Sunday night, he will have scored more points in this year’s NCAA Tournament than he did his entire freshman season for Kentucky.
Juzang, who is UCLA’s leading scorer (15.1 points per game), scored a total of 67 points in the Bruins’ NCAA Tournament victories over Michigan State (23), BYU (27) and Abilene Christian (17).
For Kentucky last season, Juzang scored a total of 82 points.
Fresh air
Alabama’s preparation for Sunday’s Sweet 16 game against UCLA included a trip to a Topgolf arcade.
In saying video of the team members hitting golf balls appeared on social media, Coach Nate Oats added that the Tide had “some bad golfers, including the head coach.”
Alabama also visited the Indianapolis Zoo.
“The biggest thing is getting out of the hotel,” Oats said on an NCAA teleconference. “Getting some fresh air.”
Class time
CBS broadcaster Jim Nantz sparked a lively discussion on a recent teleconference when he suggested that it might be wise to stage future NCAA Tournaments in one general location as it is being played in this year of COVID-19. He likened such an arrangement to the Olympics.
One of the other broadcasters on the teleconference, Wally Szczerbiak, offered a cautionary note. He said that players on teams that advanced several rounds in such a tournament format would miss two or three weeks of in-person class time.
To which commentator Candace Parker scoffed at the suggestion of missed class time as a factor. “C’mon, Wally,” she said. “Please.” Clark Kellogg saluted Parker’s retort.
Szczerbiak did not back down. “I went to class during the NCAA Tournament,” he said.
That prompted Kellogg to say, “I did, too, actually.”
Another commentator, Kenny Smith, capped the friendly exchange by saying, “That’s the time, Candace, I never missed class because when we won a game, everybody patted me on the back.”
Cinderella runs
Presumably to motivate his players in the final weeks of the challenging 2020-21 season, John Calipari spoke of how thrilling and memorable a startling turnaround would be.
Of course, it didn’t happen.
But college basketball has had its Cinderella stories. Past examples include:
▪ An at-large bid for VCU in 2011 was roundly criticized. VCU had a 23-11 record going into the First Four game. Shaka Smart led VCU to the Final Four.
▪ Going into this year’s event, nine of the last 11 teams to play in an NCAA Tournament despite a losing record won at least one game.
▪ In 1955, Bradley got a bid despite a 7-19 record that included a 14-game losing streak. Bradley won two NCAA Tournament games before losing in the region finals.
▪ Virginia played in the 1984 NCAA Tournament despite a 6-8 record in the ACC. The Cavaliers advanced to the Final Four.
Congrats
To Asbury University, which announced Thursday that it had gained provisional status as a member of NCAA Division III. Asbury has been competing on the NAIA level.
The provisional status for Division III begins on Sept. 1.
“We can begin playing D-III competition,” said Mark Whitworth, whose duties at Asbury include heading the school’s athletics and strategic communications departments. “We can begin considering ourselves and branding ourselves an NCAA institution.”
The provisional status lasts three years.
Asbury has been working with the NCAA for seven or eight months on the move to Division III, said Whitworth, who added that Transylvania Director of Athletics Holly Sheilley had been “extremely helpful” in the process. She happens to be an Asbury graduate.
“It’s about athletics, but actually it’s even bigger than athletics because it aligns us with some of these benchmark institutions that we’ve got a lot in common with academically,” Whitworth said.
Asbury’s new athletics peers will be D-III schools Transylvania and Centre.
Happy birthday
To Todd Bearup. He turned 54 on Thursday. … To Kerry Benson. He turned 32 on Thursday. … To Georgia Coach Tom Crean. He turned 55 on Thursday. … To former Alabama coach Avery Johnson. He turned 56 on Thursday. … To Hall of Famer Sheryl Swoopes. She turned 50 on Thursday. … To Wenyen Gabriel. He turned 24 on Friday. … To former Mason County and Tennessee star Chris Lofton. He turned 35 on Saturday. … To Saul Smith. He turns 42 on Sunday (today). … To Hall of Famer Rick Barry. He turns 77 on Sunday (today). … To Sean Woods. He turns 51 on Monday. … To former UK assistant coach Ralph Willard. He turns 75 on Monday. … To former UK football coach Hal Mumme. He turns 69 on Monday. … To Johnathon Davis. He turns 52 on Tuesday. … To former LSU coach Johnny Jones. He turns 60 on Tuesday. … To DeAndre Liggins. He turns 33 on Wednesday.
