You knew that Connecticut coach Jim Calhoun would not take well to Rick Pitino’s comment that Connecticut’s attempt to join the ACC was “the dumbest thing I’ve ever heard.”
“The coach who said that has been talking to every conference in America.”
Calhoun later said the remark was just a joke.
But he did say that Connecticut was attempting to do the best thing for the school, which he was sure is Louisville’s intent, as well. He said that Pittsburgh and Syracuse’s decision to move to the ACC was done in their best interests, as well.
When Kentucky plays UConn on Saturday in the Final Four it will bring up one more time the rivalry between UK coach John Calipari and UConn coach Jim Calhoun. The two played last season in the SEC/Big East Challenge in New York. They played this year in the finals of the Maui Invitational. Kentucky won last season. UConn won this season.
Here’s my column on the Calipari-Calhoun non-relationship that I wrote before last season’s game:
No love lost between Calipari, Calhoun
By John Clay / Herald-Leader Sports Columnist
They have no relationship.
“None,” said Jim Calhoun. “I don’t have a relationship with John (Calipari).”
A relationship, no.
A history, yes.
When Kentucky plays Connecticut on Wednesday night at Madison Square Garden, it’s not only the showcase of the SEC/Big East Invitational, it also marks the renewal of a heated rivalry – Coach Cal vs. Coach Cal – that stretches back 20 years to the rocky coast of old New England.
Jim Calhoun was the coach at Connecticut.
John Calipari was the coach at Massachusetts.
“You’re fighting really for the same property,” Calhoun said.
Posted on Wed, Dec. 09, 2009
No love lost between Calipari, Calhoun
By John Clay
Herald-Leader Sports Columnist
They have no relationship.
“None,” said Jim Calhoun. “I don’t have a relationship with John (Calipari).”
A relationship, no.
A history, yes.
When Kentucky plays Connecticut on Wednesday night at Madison Square Garden, it’s not only the showcase of the SEC/Big East Invitational, it also marks the renewal of a heated rivalry – Coach Cal vs. Coach Cal – that stretches back 20 years to the rocky coast of old New England.
Jim Calhoun was the coach at Connecticut.
John Calipari was the coach at Massachusetts.
“You’re fighting really for the same property,” Calhoun said.
“Obviously, Michigan State should win going away,” Calhoun said as a smiling (and wincing) Spartans Coach Tom Izzo sat nearby. “Tommy has one of the best teams I’ve seen in 20 or 30 years.” Calhoun did not mention experience – nor a favorite’s role – in a needling salute to Kentucky.
“John (Calipari) has got more talent than the Celtics,” the UConn coach said. “The rest of us scrap for the pieces.” (Jerry Tipton, Herald-Leader)
Kentucky to face Oklahoma today in Maui Invitational
The sky and the water are the brightest blue here in basketball paradise. The teams and coaches assembled for the Maui Invitational are first-rate, as usual. And yet University of Kentucky coach John Calipari sounded uncertain on Sunday whether his No. 12 Wildcats are in the right place at the right time. “If I’ve got a veteran team … this is a great tournament to go in,” Calipari said. “If you have a young team, it’s hard. I don’t know what we’ll look like. The hardest thing in this tournament is you’re going to learn, and does it knock you for a loop? We could be knocked for a loop.” (Brett Dawson, Courier-Journal)
Experience critical in challenging event
Kentucky comes in as arguably the youngest team (Oklahoma could give the Cats a run for their money in that area), which means Calipari is bound and determined to see what his inexperienced club can do under unique conditions. The Cats already survived a dangerous opener to the road trip, blowing out capable mid-major Portland on its home turf before jetting to the island. (Matt May, Cats Pause)
Maybe Kentucky just caught lightning in a bottle last season. Maybe it was all just a fluke. There were all sorts of conspiracy theories out there for how lowly Kentucky managed to advance to the NCAA Tournament’s Elite Eight for the first time ever. The players for ninth-ranked UK heard all of the pre-season questions and went a long way toward answering them Sunday with an 81-76 win over No. 12 Notre Dame at Memorial Coliseum. (Jennifer Smith, Lexington Herald-Leader)
This Saturday morning, Mike DeCourcy of the Sporting News is taking up for Jim Calhoun, saying the UConn coach does not deserve the beating he has been taking since the school released its response to the NCAA’s findings of violations in the basketball program.
The early reactions have not been kind to Jim Calhoun after UConn’s announced response to NCAA findings that school’s basketball program committed several violations.
The school announced that it was putting itself on two years’ probation, and taking away a scholarship each of the next two seasons.
Jeff Jacobs of the Hartford Courant asked if Calhoun was really in charge of his program? Dana O’Neil of espn.com compared the UConn coach to Sgt. Schultz of the old Hogan’s Heroes show.
