Bobby Knight Takes Potshot at Calipari
When I originally saw this yesterday evening, I had no intention of giving it the time of day here on the Pinkie, but, lo and behold, it’s been spreading like wildfire, even making the front page of ESPN, so I figure it at least merits a mention.
Bobby Knight, at a fundraiser for the Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame, made a 90 minute speech in which he “recounted tales from his coaching days, stories from the recruiting trail, lessons he passed along to players and a critique of the NCAA”…sounds like rambling to me. Anyway, he snuck in a little dig at UK’s John Calipari:
“We’ve gotten into this situation where integrity is really lacking, and that’s why I’m glad I’m not coaching,” he said. “You see we’ve got a coach at Kentucky who put two schools on probation, and he’s still coaching. I really don’t understand that.”
We’ve all heard the critique, and we will surely hear it again, but the source in this case is a bit ironic. Maybe Knight didn’t flirt with recruiting rules, but he wouldn’t be my first choice as a pillar of integrity. I really refuse to devote too much space to the bitter rants of a nearly 70 year old coach who spent his career antagonizing and railing against the media…before joining them in his twilight years.
Although, if you do want to read some more on the topic, I encourage you to check out Larry Vaught’s thoughts.
Category: Kentucky
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Get rid of your Messenger Bias (or prejudice). Knight hated the media for how he was protrayed (whether it was an accurate protrayal or not), but I don’t blame him one bit for taking a big paycheck for sitting around and talking or “analyzing” the game he loves.
What Calipari has done is quite different. He has seriously hurt programs by his unethical actions and has gotten away each time free. And each time he showed good results on the court by breaking recruiting or other rules, and each time it has led to him getting bigger contracts. Give him a few years and he’ll be doing the same thing again at UK, unfortunately.
It will also lead to more and more coachs following his lead. Right now he’s at the top of his profession by cheating. It will probably be hard for other coaches to ignore that route.
I’m interested in hearing how reporting your star player for signing an agent is unethical behavior. Exactly what advantage could possibly be gained by encouraging one of the best players in the country to sign with an agent before the season is over?
What other recruiting violations are you insinuating? Calipari is certainly no Kelvin Sampson – or if we’re discussing integrity, Rick Pitino.
What coaches are you alleging to be following Calipari’s so called “example”.
I appreciate your sentiments, but callous accusations serve no one, least of all yourself.
Everyone should check out this article as a great response to Bobby Knight’s comments: http://rushthecourt.net/2009/12/18/knightscalipariremarkletitgo/#more-14177
Good stuff