This topic contains 24 replies, has 9 voices, and was last updated by 
Im Your Father 13 years, 3 months ago.
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- Posted on: Sat, 01/01/2011 - 9:54am #24503
McDunkinhttp://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/40847080/ns/sports-college_basketball/?ns=sports-college_basketball
Q: OK, Ken, if you had to choose between Rick Pitino and John Calipari to build a program, who do you choose? Tough choice, right?
— Ken P, Bowling Green, Ky.A: Actually the choice wouldn’t be so tough for me, Ken. There are character issues with both coaches that would make me hesitant to hire either one. I’m sure you know what I’m referring to, so I don’t need to go into details. But if you put me in the chair of athletic director at a major institution and told me those were my only two choices, I would hire Rick Pitino.
Honestly, I would never want to associate myself with Calipari. We simply have too many philosophical differences, and I would even go so far to say that I think Calipari is bad for college basketball. He belongs in the NBA. I was covering college basketball at The Hartford Courant when Calipari was at UMass. I was part of the reporting team when our newspaper broke the story of NCAA violations involving Marcus Camby. I’ve seen how easy it is for Calipari to lie. I’ve seen how easy it is for him to run from a situation and let others suffer the penalties. Agree or disagree, but I think that is Calipari’s track record. He did the same thing at Memphis. I do not like the culture Calipari created at Memphis and Kentucky, cultivating the players who are forced to play one season of college ball, then head to the NBA. He is playing within the rules, but I don’t think those rules are good for college basketball or the athletes. Call me old school, but that’s the way I view it and that’s my opinion.
I’ve frequently questioned the recruiting methods of Pitino, especially when he was younger. But there is no doubt Pitino is a better bench coach than Calipari. A few years ago in this same space I wrote that Pitino would be the coach I would want on my sideline if I needed to win one game. I’m not sure he is the clear choice today, but he is still one of the best when it comes to in-game adjustments, substitutions and preparation. Obviously, Pitino has made bad personal decisions and he has paid the price in public the past two summers. Many professionals would have lost their jobs, but Pitino works in a profession with different standards. Now that is an issue for him and his family to deal with. When it comes to coaching ability and running a program, I would select Pitino.
And one last thing, Pitino has won a national championship. Calipari hasn’t.
0 - Posted on: Sat, 01/01/2011 - 10:31am #468360
JNixonParticipantI agree with everything he was saying.
0 - Posted on: Sat, 01/01/2011 - 10:31am #468377
JNixonParticipantI agree with everything he was saying.
0 - Posted on: Sat, 01/01/2011 - 11:22am #468374
the lake showI’ll Take Coach Cal all day every day
0 - Posted on: Sat, 01/01/2011 - 11:22am #468391
the lake showI’ll Take Coach Cal all day every day
0 - Posted on: Sat, 01/01/2011 - 12:13pm #468396
Dubs30ParticipantI’d take Pitino, easily. Calipari is just a douche. He’s just a coward and a bandwagoner. Pitino had extramarital affairs, but how does that affect his ability as a basketball coach? Kobe got accused of rape, but does that stop him from being a capable basketball player? I read Pitino’s book, and he is an old-school motivator and can really reach out to younger players.
0 - Posted on: Sat, 01/01/2011 - 12:13pm #468413
Dubs30ParticipantI’d take Pitino, easily. Calipari is just a douche. He’s just a coward and a bandwagoner. Pitino had extramarital affairs, but how does that affect his ability as a basketball coach? Kobe got accused of rape, but does that stop him from being a capable basketball player? I read Pitino’s book, and he is an old-school motivator and can really reach out to younger players.
0 - Posted on: Sat, 01/01/2011 - 12:45pm #468428
Da1potParticipantI agree with the article, but Coach Cal has been getting all the top recruits lately. Pitino is a better coach and motivator and is a top ten coach whereas Calipari is not. I guarantee Pitino would have led Kentucky to a national title appearance last season- and this is coming from a die-hard Kentucky fan.
Waiting for an argument by Quincey lol…………
0 - Posted on: Sat, 01/01/2011 - 12:45pm #468445
Da1potParticipantI agree with the article, but Coach Cal has been getting all the top recruits lately. Pitino is a better coach and motivator and is a top ten coach whereas Calipari is not. I guarantee Pitino would have led Kentucky to a national title appearance last season- and this is coming from a die-hard Kentucky fan.
Waiting for an argument by Quincey lol…………
0 - Posted on: Sat, 01/01/2011 - 2:00pm #468495
Meditated StatesParticipantRecruiting genius. He gets them in, and Pitino does not seem to bring in a lot of the high quality NBA talent anymore.
0 - Posted on: Sat, 01/01/2011 - 2:00pm #468478
Meditated StatesParticipantRecruiting genius. He gets them in, and Pitino does not seem to bring in a lot of the high quality NBA talent anymore.
0 - Posted on: Sat, 01/01/2011 - 2:40pm #468486
SteroidParticipantWho cares if Pitino could have led that Kentucky team to a championship? The fact is Pitino can’t recruit talent like Calipari for that to even be a could have, so he never would have been in that position in the first place… Can’t really hold how Calipari does things with his recruiting against him. He is the best at developing and getting young talent ready for the NBA even though they are only with him for one year. "Don’t hate the player, hate the game."
0 - Posted on: Sat, 01/01/2011 - 2:40pm #468503
SteroidParticipantWho cares if Pitino could have led that Kentucky team to a championship? The fact is Pitino can’t recruit talent like Calipari for that to even be a could have, so he never would have been in that position in the first place… Can’t really hold how Calipari does things with his recruiting against him. He is the best at developing and getting young talent ready for the NBA even though they are only with him for one year. "Don’t hate the player, hate the game."
0 - Posted on: Sat, 01/01/2011 - 2:45pm #468488
JNixonParticipantCalipari is a better recruiter (even though he seems to cheat even more so than the average coach), but he does nothing else better than Rick Pitino. ESPECIALLY in terms of in-game tactics. Coach Cal is an extremely mediocre in-game strategist, and it shows whenever he plays a team with as much length or athleticism as whatever team he’s coaching. I’d rather have Coach Pitino as well.
0 - Posted on: Sat, 01/01/2011 - 2:45pm #468505
JNixonParticipantCalipari is a better recruiter (even though he seems to cheat even more so than the average coach), but he does nothing else better than Rick Pitino. ESPECIALLY in terms of in-game tactics. Coach Cal is an extremely mediocre in-game strategist, and it shows whenever he plays a team with as much length or athleticism as whatever team he’s coaching. I’d rather have Coach Pitino as well.
0 - Posted on: Sat, 01/01/2011 - 3:20pm #468506
Da1potParticipant"He is the best at developing and getting young talent ready for the NBA even though they are only with him for one year"
He doesn’t develop young talent at all. All the recruits he gets are so highly rated and recruited out of high school and NBA ready anyway. Wall, Evans, Rose, Cousins and Dajuan Wagner would have all been lotto selections regardless of what school they went to. Besides, we are talking about building a successful college program- not necessarily sending players to/getting them ready for the NBA. Despite all of Calipari’s NBA talent and highly rated recruits, he has never won a national title and both his final four appearances have been vacated. Without Derrick Rose or Marcus Camby(both illegally recruited and provided improper benefits), neither of these teams would have even made the final four to begin with. Pitino may not be able to recruit talent like Calipari, but Calipari can’t win like Pitino. Pitino has LEGITIMATELY led three different schools(in three different conferences) to a final four appearance.
0 - Posted on: Sat, 01/01/2011 - 3:20pm #468523
Da1potParticipant"He is the best at developing and getting young talent ready for the NBA even though they are only with him for one year"
He doesn’t develop young talent at all. All the recruits he gets are so highly rated and recruited out of high school and NBA ready anyway. Wall, Evans, Rose, Cousins and Dajuan Wagner would have all been lotto selections regardless of what school they went to. Besides, we are talking about building a successful college program- not necessarily sending players to/getting them ready for the NBA. Despite all of Calipari’s NBA talent and highly rated recruits, he has never won a national title and both his final four appearances have been vacated. Without Derrick Rose or Marcus Camby(both illegally recruited and provided improper benefits), neither of these teams would have even made the final four to begin with. Pitino may not be able to recruit talent like Calipari, but Calipari can’t win like Pitino. Pitino has LEGITIMATELY led three different schools(in three different conferences) to a final four appearance.
0 - Posted on: Sat, 01/01/2011 - 7:52pm #468626
Demarcus OnealParticipant@scout4real
Recruiting genius. He gets them in, and Pitino does not seem to bring in a lot of the high quality NBA talent anymore.
How many championships has this led too exactly?
Pitno is a much better COACH though recently Calipari has been dominating him in the recruiting department but I guess its only a short matter of time he leaves Kentucky and their are recruiting violations and sanctions at Kentucky. Also Pitino Louiville team is overachieving this season and are bringing in pretty good recruiting classes for the next 2 years with Wayne Blackshear, Chane Behanen, Zach Price almost Michael Chandler, Rodney Purvis, Negus Webster Chan and could gain recruits such as Coleman, or Winston Shephard.
I would pick Pitino because eventually uou will not be able to get the best recruits every year the way Calipari has been but Pitino will always be a better coach
0 - Posted on: Sat, 01/01/2011 - 7:52pm #468643
Demarcus OnealParticipant@scout4real
Recruiting genius. He gets them in, and Pitino does not seem to bring in a lot of the high quality NBA talent anymore.
How many championships has this led too exactly?
Pitno is a much better COACH though recently Calipari has been dominating him in the recruiting department but I guess its only a short matter of time he leaves Kentucky and their are recruiting violations and sanctions at Kentucky. Also Pitino Louiville team is overachieving this season and are bringing in pretty good recruiting classes for the next 2 years with Wayne Blackshear, Chane Behanen, Zach Price almost Michael Chandler, Rodney Purvis, Negus Webster Chan and could gain recruits such as Coleman, or Winston Shephard.
I would pick Pitino because eventually uou will not be able to get the best recruits every year the way Calipari has been but Pitino will always be a better coach
0 - Posted on: Sat, 01/01/2011 - 8:00pm #468634
armanbut with all those players that he gets,he cant lead his team to a championships,hes a good recruiter but average as a coach…my pick pitino all day
0 - Posted on: Sat, 01/01/2011 - 8:00pm #468651
armanbut with all those players that he gets,he cant lead his team to a championships,hes a good recruiter but average as a coach…my pick pitino all day
0 - Posted on: Sun, 01/02/2011 - 3:22am #468740
doubledribblerParticipantIt has to be Pitino. Everyone talks about Cals recruiting, but in my opinion nothing has upped his recruiting more than being at Kentucky. Sure he was getting these dominate players at Memphis, but it was basically like a one and done guy every year in one of the weaker conferences in the country. Plus he had no issues pulling in guys that probably couldn’t have gotten in to other schools (i.e., grades, behavior). Everyone must be forgetting what kind of talent Pitino was putting together when he was at Kentucky. Tubby was pulling in major recruits at Kentucky and then by his own decision scaled it back because he started ending up with a bunch of problem guys that one year. If you are a basketball powerhouse this it what happens.
When it comes to coaching, Pitino blows Cal out of the water. I think Pitino has taken a lot of so so talent the last few years at Louisville and made them play way above themselves. He really coaches his guys up. Since he’s been there I think he has made it to a couple of final 4s and his best player in the time he has been there has probably been Francisco Garcia. If there has been better correct me. I mean Cal has had Camby, Rose, Evans, Wagner (excellent college player), etc. Last year Cal had the best PG and Center in the country. He had the biggest and most athletic team in the country and he ended up having 5 first round picks come out of his program, including his backup center. Despite all of this he loses to a West Virginia team partially because their backup point guard destroys them by having his career night. When they guy is off the floor taking a rest they have no decent ball handlers, yet he doesn’t even think to pressure the ball.
0 - Posted on: Sun, 01/02/2011 - 3:22am #468757
doubledribblerParticipantIt has to be Pitino. Everyone talks about Cals recruiting, but in my opinion nothing has upped his recruiting more than being at Kentucky. Sure he was getting these dominate players at Memphis, but it was basically like a one and done guy every year in one of the weaker conferences in the country. Plus he had no issues pulling in guys that probably couldn’t have gotten in to other schools (i.e., grades, behavior). Everyone must be forgetting what kind of talent Pitino was putting together when he was at Kentucky. Tubby was pulling in major recruits at Kentucky and then by his own decision scaled it back because he started ending up with a bunch of problem guys that one year. If you are a basketball powerhouse this it what happens.
When it comes to coaching, Pitino blows Cal out of the water. I think Pitino has taken a lot of so so talent the last few years at Louisville and made them play way above themselves. He really coaches his guys up. Since he’s been there I think he has made it to a couple of final 4s and his best player in the time he has been there has probably been Francisco Garcia. If there has been better correct me. I mean Cal has had Camby, Rose, Evans, Wagner (excellent college player), etc. Last year Cal had the best PG and Center in the country. He had the biggest and most athletic team in the country and he ended up having 5 first round picks come out of his program, including his backup center. Despite all of this he loses to a West Virginia team partially because their backup point guard destroys them by having his career night. When they guy is off the floor taking a rest they have no decent ball handlers, yet he doesn’t even think to pressure the ball.
0 - Posted on: Sun, 01/02/2011 - 7:55am #468786
Im Your FatherParticipantI too would take Pitino and I really, really don’t like Calipari. But, Cal won a lot of games at Memphis and built some elite teams, most of which were not filled with 5-star talent like the ones he has now.
0 - Posted on: Sun, 01/02/2011 - 7:55am #468803
Im Your FatherParticipantI too would take Pitino and I really, really don’t like Calipari. But, Cal won a lot of games at Memphis and built some elite teams, most of which were not filled with 5-star talent like the ones he has now.
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