Is John Calipari The Best Amateur-To-Pro Coach Of All Time?
But he is the best recruiting amateur coach of all time. He has had recent success, because he has gotten so many top 10 players recently. Rose, Evans, Cousins, Wall all would have been stars no matter where they went. You have to keep in mind that he had no real NBA successes besides Camby prior to signing Rose. He is a good coach and a great recruiter, but It's not like he was doing something miraculous with these players, they were just very talented.
^ That's not necessarily the case there Im Your Father. You see highly regarded prospects all the time who become a flop in college. I'm a UK fan and while not a flop by any means, Rajon Rondo certainly wasn't a major star in college. Yes, he was good, but in Tubby Smith's system, he wasn't allowed to really play his game. It was just a bad fit and now you are seeing him excel in the NBA. Cal's system, the dribble drive and the way he encourages his players to take risks and play with freedom (both things Tubby never did) would have allowed Rondo to be a Top 5 pick, had he played for Cal. There's no doubt in my mind on that.
In a word: NO. Cal is good at recruiting players that fit well in his system. Rose hasn't lived up to the hype this year and while Evans has done really well so far, I have a feeling his game won't grow much more due to his limited athleticism and predictable game. I'd say he's put more underachievers in the league than standouts. When you think about guys like Dean Smith, Roy Williams, John Wooden, etc... it's pretty obvious he's nowhere near the top of the list, much less the best.
whiteflash, good call on Roy Williams...he has probably coached close to 20 pro players in the league right or who have retired in the last 5 years now split between Kansas and UNC
Paul Pierce, Nick Collison, Drew Gooden, Kirk Hinrich, Jacques Vaughn, Sean May, Hansbrough, Ellington, Green, Wayne Simien, Raef LaFrentz, Rashad McCants, Greg Ostertag, Ty Lawson, Ray Felton, Brandon Wright, Scot Pollard, off the top of my head and he has at least 4 or 5 pro players on his roster right now, and not all of those guys were highly touted recruits.
Yeah man, I'm sick so my brain isn't running on all cylinders but there are at least a few other active or recently retired coaches who've been more successful in putting contributing [if not star] players in the league. You can put Lute Olsen and Mike Krzyzewski in there as well.
Ya'll missed the point of the post. The post is about Cal's ability to recruit and develop ROOKIE OF THE YEAR WINNERS or all-stars, not just pro players. Of course Cal isn't in the league of a Roy Williams or Coach K as far as turning out draftees. No one in my memory has ever turned out three straight ROY winners, but Coach Cal could very well be the first. Look I don't like Coach Cal as a person either, but you can't just ignore his acheivements. He's one of the best coaches out there, not just a "great recruiter". That's a cheap shot that could be leveled at any successful coach. You can't not be fair and say Cal isn't a great coach of talent he just recruits the best and act like Duke or Kansas or North Carolina is recruiting scrubs that aren't on the same level.
How can you say 3 ROY winners in a row when he hasn't even had two? This years award is not locked up. I still think the ROY should be given to the kid with the best stats and who made the biggest difference, not just on stats. The league always talks about how they reward winners, like when they gave Nash the MVP over Kobe. If they're gonna claim what they do then they need to be consistent. Jennings should win it. And, we did not miss the point of your post. You asked if Cal was the best and we answered. Pretty simple.
Has anyone realized that Calipari might have developed THREE STRAIGHT Rookie of the Year winners if Wall or Cousins get it next year (which is a REAL possibility)? Rose, Evans and now the top 2 prospects on his Kentucky squad this year? It's an astonishing feat for Cal that Wall or Cousins will even be in the running for ROY after Rose and Evans. Love him or hate him as a college coach, but you can't doubt Cal has developed these players perfectly. If Wall or Cousins win the award next year, I don't think there is a comparison in the last 50 years to what John Calipari has done. He will be the best developer of NBA talent ever in college.
Thoughts?