John Clay's Sidelines

Paul Daugherty

For my money, Cincinnati Enqurier columnist Paul Daugherty is one of the best writers in the country, and he slams the nail on the proverbial head this morning with his take on Billy Gillispie.

An excerpt:

The University of Kentucky didn’t fire Gillispie on Friday for not winning games. It fired him for not winning hearts. By Friday, whatever allies Gillispie had among the heavy hitters in Lexington all had pulled big, blue pillowcases over their heads. It was that bad. His social skills were that indefensible. And here is the lesson, for any coach, even on the professional level:

It’s not about the question.

It’s about the answer.

Just checked the Memphis Commercial-Appeal poll about whether John Calipari will stay at Memphis or come to the SEC.

As it stands at 9:29 a.m.:

Do you think John Calipari will leave the Memphis Tigers to be the next coach at Kentucky?

• Yes, he’s headed to the SEC. 63% 4101 votes

• No, he’ll stay at Memphis. 36% 2402 votes

Big Blue Links for Monday:

• The Herald-Leader’s Jerry Tipton posts that John Calipari is open to talking to UK about job.
• My column about 10 things to look for in next coach.
• H-L’s Mark Maloney reports on UK baseball wasting no-out rally in ninth.
• Dan Wolken of the Memphis Commercial-Appeal reports that Calipari may meet with UK officials.
• Commercial-Appeal columnist Geoff Calkins writes that no one should be surprised Calipari would talk to UK.
• The ESPN report that Calipari is on the Kentucky radar.
• Jeff Goodman of Fox Sports writes that Calipari and UK are on the verge of a meeting.
• CBS Sportsline’s Gary Parrish contends that Calipari and UK could meet today.
• USA Today gives its five suggestions for new UK basketball coach.

Continue reading ‘BBL: Calipari rises to top of the buzz list’

SEC links for Monday:

• Mike Griffith of the Knoxville News-Sentinel reports that UT gets commitment from juco point guard.
• Birmingham News columnist Kevin Scarbinsky on new Bama basketball coach Anthony Grant.
• Ian Rapoport of the News reports that Grant says Bama was his first choice.
• Mark McCarter of the Huntsville Times writes that Grant made quite an entrance.
• Tommy Hicks of the Mobile Press-Register writes that opportunity knocks for Gant, Tide.
• Tommy Deas of the Tuscaloosa News writes that Grant is eager to take Tide to next level.

Continue reading ‘SEC links: UT gets point guard, Bama gets Grant’

Update: Memphis Commercial-Appeal reports that a source close to Calipari admits the Memphis coach is open to meeting with UK. And here’s Jerry Tipton’s post about the Commercial-Appeal report.

CBS Sportsline’s Gary Parrish is reporting that UK and John Calipari could meet on Monday. He has no on-the-record sources, so this could be just the same sort of speculation, picked up from other media outlets. One thing is for sure, the Calipari-UK job interest is heating the internet.

Parrish writes:

One possible problem with jumping to Kentucky, some have claimed, is that Calipari has the nation’s top recruiting class lined up, and he would not want to leave that behind. But those close to Calipari believe it’s possible to take parts of that recruiting class to Kentucky — specifically unsigned prospects DeMarcus Cousins and John Wall — and that if Calipari could pair it with Patrick Patterson and Jodie Meeks the Wildcats might threaten for a Final Four next season.

ESPN just posted a story saying that sources have told the network that John Calipari is indeed interested in the UK job and that Kentucky does have an interest in the Memphis coach.

An excerpt:

On Friday, a source told O’Neil that Calipari ‘likely would not be interested’ in the job but on Sunday, multiple sources said Calipari is indeed interested. A source also said Kentucky was gathering information on Calipari over the weekend.

According to Memphis sports information director Lamar Chance, Kentucky officials have not contacted Memphis for permission to speak to Calipari.

On the Bleacher Report blog, “scribe” John Martin writes that UK is dreaming if it thinks Memphis’ John Calipari will come to Kentucky.

An excerpt:

My advice to the Kentucky administration: Keep dreaming.

No, seriously. R.C. Johnson and the Memphis front office are diligently working to extend his contract and up his salary. On top of that, Calipari doesn’t want anything to do with the SEC. That’s football country; Cal is top dog here in C-USA and the city.

Why would he leave? Memphis will match and one-up whatever Lexington throws Calipari’s way. Memphis plays in an NBA facility. Calipari has the love and utmost support from his fan base whether he wins or whether he loses.

In Lexington, your every single, solitary, voluntary or involuntary movement is microscopically scrutinized with a fine tooth comb. If you have a bad season, it’s off with your head. Cal doesn’t have to worry about that in the Bluff City.

You may have heard that all the UK basketball players joined a Facebook group page entitled “Bring John Calipari to UK.”

Don’t believe it.

On his blog, Brett Dawson of the Courier-Journal wrote that he was listed as a member, and he did not join. He said that people who were sent invitations are listed as members, whether they joined or not.

So I just checked and, yes, I am listed as a member.

I, too, never signed up.

Les Smith of the Fox Television station in Memphis has posted 10 reasons why he doesn’t believe John Calipari will leave Memphis for Kentucky.

Here’s one:

Number 9: Championships Trump All

As rich as basketball tradition is at Kentucky, the Wildcats would require some rebuilding. Kentucky missed out on this year’s NCAA Tournament and hasn’t been to the Final Four since 1998.

Quite honestly, it’s easier to win at Memphis. Coach Cal has designed a blueprint for success for the Memphis Tigers that includes scheduling whoever he wants in non-conference play, beating up on C-USA and then sailing into the NCAA Tournament as a one or a two seed every year.

There was a post on an Arizona message board that John Calipari would resign on Monday to become coach at either Kentucky or Arizona. Dan Wolken, the Memphis Commercial-Appeal reporter who is mentioned in the report, wrote that it’s not true.

Wolken writes:

A rumor has made its way to message boards in both Arizona and Kentucky that I was on a radio show predicting that Calipari would leave Memphis on Monday for one of those two schools. Let me be VERY, VERY clear. I was on no such radio show. I have not said or written any such thing. What I reported yesterday in the CA is where things stand as of now.