Calipari....Why

[Fishin is life]

I know that the question wasn't directed to me, but as a UK fan, I can honestly say I didn't like him...I was always a bit envious of the talent he recruited and wished he could bring it to UK, and now that's the case....I'm not sure if I didn't like him as a person, or because of the fact that he landed all of the 5 star recruits he wanted

Let me flip this around to U of L fans....How many of you all liked Rick when he was at UK, and now he has MOST (Mark) U of L fans by the hoo hoo's

[Tim_T]

I am going to chime in on this one. I have not understood for the last three years why Cal doesn't play his bench to develop them any. Last year, he went six deep and this year seven. There is a ton of opportunity to play other guys because they are usually blowing people out, particularly in the non-conference throw away games. It makes zero sense to me, and the only reason I can come up with is because he promises that he will get these superstars plenty of playing time to get them ready for the next level.

As for Cal his self, I never liked him when he was at UMass and Louisville played them. He didn't help himself any by comments he made while coaching the Nets. It went completely overboard for me when I was covering a U of L/Memphis game in 2003. After the game he tried to defend the actions of some Memphis player antics and actually called Billy Richmond a "good kid." Except everybody not named John Calipari and Billy Richmond's mom, already knew Billy Richmond was not a good kid, but I thug of the highest order, who was kicked out of Vanderbilt and then was benched by Cal once for beating up a teammate. Now before you say "Cal was just defending his player" keep in mind that, nobody mentioned his player, Cal brought it up.

As for Pitino, I have always liked his ability to coach basketball and I still do. I am not a fan of him as a person, but for pete's sake why would I be? He is from New York City!

[Netboy Extraordinaire]

Did I like Cal before he came to UK, I was indifferent to him. I could take him or leave him. Kentucky did not play Cal's team very much so I don't have the insight that Louisville fans would have. After the Drunken Billy era, I will say I was happy to see anyone come in that had shown recent success, from a Major university and could lead Kentucky back to the top.

I loved Rick Pitino when he was at Kentucky. I thought he did an excellent job in rebuilding the program after the Drunken Eddie era. When Pitino left UK, I felt he did it the wrong way. The way he handled Michael Bradley was a huge reason that I changed the way I felt about him. Then he could have went to UCLA, UNLV, Michigan and numerous other schools but chose Louisville. Pitino knows first hand about the fan support of the Big Blue Nation. He knows first hand about the passionate fans of Kentucky. Why go to a school in the same state? If he had built it up and started making it to Final Fours and Championships year after year, it would have been a slap in the face of Kentucky. Then Karen Sypher comes along. 100000% disagree with that whole situation for Pitino could not have handled it any worse. As a Coach, he is a good coach, used to be a great recruiter but now I think he is average, as a person he is a slimeball.

[psprowler]

The fans around me were questioning why he left Davis specifically in the game towards the end. No mention of the other players though. I wondered why he didn't take them out after the last media timeout. The game was clearly decided even though Western ran off some points at the end to the displeasure of a lot of wagering folks I'm sure..........

And UK fans really hate Duke. A chorus of boos everytime a Duke player came up on one of the trivia questions. Made me chuckle. If only "tournament memories" on the big screen could've had the Laettner shot instead of the Tyus Edney end to end - would've loved to hear the crowd reaction to that.

[artcarney_agr]

Let me flip this around to U of L fans....How many of you all liked Rick when he was at UK, and now he has MOST (Mark) U of L fans by the hoo hoo's

I liked Rick when he was at UK and I still like him to this day. He's an amazing coach, and a great motivator.

I'll also add this, what he does on his own time is his business...when you're a millionaire, certain problems come with it, he's not the first married coach to hook up with another chick, and he certainly won't be the last. More money, more problems.

[Tim_T]

I liked Rick when he was at UK and I still like him to this day. He's an amazing coach, and a great motivator.

I'll also add this, what he does on his own time is his business...when you're a millionaire, certain problems come with it, he's not the first married coach to hook up with another chick, and he certainly won't be the last. More money, more problems.

LOL You may be the first person ever on this board to quote Biggie! Well done sir!