John Calipari has landed himself on yet another radar. The Dominican Republic national basketball team has contacted John Calipari about possibly coaching their 2012 Summer Olympic team. The Dominican Basketball Federation has taken interest in John Calipari recently because they have seen the staff working with China in efforts to try and improve the coaching quality. The Dominican Republic is trying to get the same help.

If John Calipari decides to take the task on, he will inherit players such as ex-Louisville Cardinal standout Francisco Garcia and current Atlanta Hawks forward Al Horford. After that though the roster begins to look a little bleak.

Calipari has been doing great work internationally, trying to pull in international talent to the college ranks. Like most people know he had signed, sealed and delivered Enes Kanter from Turkey but was unable to play at the collegiate level. That could become a common problem with most international players.

Most basketball players in other countries do not have much of a choice rather then to play for club teams. Their club team is the equivalent to America’s AAU. Also, many families do not have to finances to support their child moving to the states to play in the necessary camps and leagues to prepare their child.

The question that many should be asking themselves is if John Calipari does decide to take this job how does it affect his obligations with Kentucky? Odds are that Calipari is not going to take a job that will hinder his goals at Kentucky.

You would think that coaching this national team may have an affect on recruiting. The 2012 Olympics take place in the summer when most recruiting is done by college coaches. So, in the end will Calipari be able to handle both responsibilities and continue the tear on the recruiting trail that he is allowing the Kentucky faithful to become accustomed to?  If the answer is yes then I would say without out a doubt take the job and then he will be getting the best of both worlds. Coaching in college and at the professional level all at the same time.

The kid out of St. Charles, Missouri had not really done much in his career as a Wildcat.  When he was first brought to Lexington as a junior college transfer by Billy Gillespie, no one had really heard of him (much like most of the recruits Billy G extended scholarships to during his tenure).

The first time you saw him step on the floor you noticed his decent mid-range game, but you also saw him shy away from going hard in the paint.  Harrellson wasn’t a force to be reckoned with during his first two seasons in the blue and white, but oh how the tides have turned.

At the start of the season, Harrellson displayed to big blue nation something that many people overlooked.  His ability to rebound.  In the Blue-White scrimmage, he was screaming to be recognized.  He pulled down 26 boards and didn’t even receive a “pat on the back” from his coach.  What John Calipari did have to say was, “Either we are the worst offensive rebounding team or he had gotten better”.

Josh Harrellson then had his twitter account reprimanded shortly after for tweeting that he was displeased with his coaches’ remarks. He then responded again, this time not on his smart phone, but on the court.

All he has done thus far is become the leading rebounder in the SEC and a human wrecking ball on the offensive glass.  He also seems to thrive in important games. Two of his best games of the season have come at Lousiville and just a few days ago against Tennessee.  In those two games he averaged 20 points and 10 boards.  Not too bad for a JUCO transfer that made everyone cringe when they saw him in opening day starting lineup.

This season, Harrellson is averaging nearly nine rebounds a game.  The more amazing stat line is that out of the 199 rebounds he has this season, 82 of them are offensive.  He is one of, if not the best offensive rebounder in the country. More often then not, his offensive rebounds turn into points.

John Calipari found his diamond in the rough this season and he didn’t even have to yell. All he had to do was respond to a question the media asked him after a scrimmage.

The lone senior on this Kentucky basketball team plays with the emotion and the desire that you want every player on your team to play with.  He has more hustle and determination than every player on the Kentucky team.

After Harrellson put in two of his sixteen points against Tennessee he was fouled hard and was still able to make the lay-up.  Normally big-men shouldn’t receive praise for absorbing contact and making the lay-up because that is what the job description entails. But, it was what happened after the lay-up that made the difference.  Big No. 55 got to his feet and with somewhat of an arrogant smile on his face, pounded his chest while his teammates came over to help him up.

This was before Kentucky pulled away from the Volunteers and it changed the atmosphere of the entire game.  It was the most I had seen the team smile all season.

I had not seen Doron Lamb smile once or even look like he was having fun on the floor.  Terrence Jones didn’t have a great offensive game, but he was a shot-blocking machine on the defensive end and you could tell he was having fun.  Brandon Knight clapped his hands in Melvin Goins’ face every time down the floor, while smiling right at him.  As if he was saying this is going to be a long night for you.

Tuesday night was the moment that every Kentucky fan had been waiting for the entire season.  John Calipari’s favorite word from a season ago was “fun”. It should be the most important word for any sports team.

The minute a team with a plethora of talent starts to have fun they instantly go from being a skilled team to a contending team.  John Calipari has not emphasized “fun” as much this season.  The only thing you hear him say anymore is we just need to get better.

He’s right, there is always room for improvement, but you have to be enjoying yourself while getting better. Every player filled their role on Tuesday night and Deandre Liggins looked like the scoring guard that also plays lockdown defense.

Josh Harrellson is the heart of this team.  The players responded to both him and Liggins on Tuesday and sometimes all it takes is a rivalry game to wake some people up. If Kentucky plays like that the rest of the season then they could be better than even John Calipari thinks they can be.

Josh Harrellson, keep doing what your doing, because it works.  There is nothing better then watching your team have fun while they are playing and their is nothing worse for the opposing coach, to recognize that they are enjoying themselves.  Keep smiling Kentucky because that could be the trick to you figuring out your road woes.

The Wildcats started the game like have been starting all season long, slow with a big finish.  They welcomed the Boston Terriers to town Tuesday night and handed them a swift beating and sent them packing in a 91-57 win.

The ‘Cats started the game out a little slow and did not really slow the Terriers down much on the offensive side of the floor.  After struggling through the first four minutes or so, Brandon Knight regained his composure and began firing on all cylinders, showcasing his jump shot early.  He finished strong as well and ended up with 23 points and six assists.

Knight had a rough go in the final two games of the Maui Invitational and was looking for a way to get things rolling.  He did just that, shooting 8-12 from the field and knocking down four of Kentucky’s ten three point field goals. The freshman also did a fantastic job of taking care of the ball and distributing it.

His dribble-drive was also impressive and put Terrence Jones at many times in good position to score.  Jones finished the night with yet another double-double scoring 18 points and recording 10 boards.

As we have seen early on Jones doesn’t have a problem pulling down the boards when the opposing team struggles as well in the post. The thing is that Connecticut’s big man had a couple inches on Jones and was able to beat the Wildcats up in the paint.

Another man who played quite a game was Josh Harrellson.  Harrellson also recorded a double-double with 12 points and 11 rebounds.  He may have been the most impressive player on the court.

The Wildcats need a lot of help in the paint and Harrellson could have just made a point that he could be the man for the job.  Everyone has been waiting for him to develop and he played a very nice game overall on both ends of the floor.

Doron Lamb turned in another tremendous performance off the bench and is proving to really be a spark as the sixth man.  He comes in and provides John Calipari with another scoring option and it is like Kentucky doesn’t even miss a beat.

Lamb finished up the night with 13 bench points and five assists.  If he can continually do that in every game it will speak volumes for the ‘Cats when they get into big time games and conference play.

The Wildcats did not face stiff competition tonight but it is on its way this Saturday as they head to the Dean Dome to take on the Tar Heels.  They will undoubtedly be bitter after taking last years shellacking thanks in part to John Wall and DeMarcus Cousins.

The Tar Heels will not be an easy opponent.  It will be a tale of two sides as their post play is much better then the ‘Cats, but UNC is struggling mightily with their guard play.  Who will play better, Kentucky’s back-court or UNC’s front-court?

It will all be settled this Saturday.  I will leave you with this thought though.  Which freshman would you take, Terrence Jones or Harrison Barnes? We will find out the right answer in four days.

We have had just a few opportunities to see the make-up of this years Kentucky basketball team. That is this year’s team minus one BIG factor. That factor would be freshmen Turkish sensation Enes Kanter. At least we are assuming he is going to be a sensation.  There has been much speculation as to whether or not he will be able to lace ‘em up for the ‘Cats this season due to some league rules possibly being violated.

By this point in time any normal college basketball fan should have been acquainted with the situation Kentucky is in right now.  To sum it up, Kentucky is a final four contender with Kanter eligible and without him the Wildcats may be looking at only an Elite 8 appearance.  As John Calipari has point out many times over the past few weeks his team has a lot of work to do.

I usually pass that off as a normal Calipari quote at the beginning of the season whenever he is talking about his young teams but this year I kind of believe it.  Last year’s Kentucky team had plenty of pure talent including the most athletic player in college basketball.  Even with all of that talent Kentucky would not have been the team they were without DeMarcus Cousins.

This year it looks to be the same.  We have an incredibly talented point guard but we don’t have the height or the post play it will take to win the big games.  Eloy Vargas looked decent in the scrimmage but isn’t a big scoring threat and at multiple times looked unable to hit the necessary ten foot jump shot from the corner. Josh Harrelson looked good on the boards but isn’t athletic enough to make plays against superior big men.

This leaves the only possible solution. Kentucky needs Kanter.  With him they gain height, athletic ability and a jump shot.  If what we saw from Kanter in the U.S.A vs. World game is a sign of things to come he could easily be the best big man in the country.  He provides a mid-range game that very few forwards and centers provide and with his 6’11″ frame he gets just about every rebound that comes his way.

He will create mismatches on the court because of his versatility and make life much easier for Terrance Jones.  With Kanter, Jones and Darius Miller will either be guarded by someone taller and much slower than them or will be guarded by someone smaller and can utilize the paint.

It’s fair to say that Kanter makes the Wildcats a much larger threat in the SEC.  He will most likely miss some time no matter what but Big Blue Nation will gladly give up the six or seven games he would miss if it meant a final four birth.  One thing is for sure. If basketball doesn’t work out for him, he will make one hell of a professional wrestler.

The annual Blue and White scrimmage kicked off tonight at Rupp Arena.  It wasn’t a packed house, as a matter of fact the entire upper bowl looked pretty bleak but the atmosphere was still there with only 11,391 people in attendance.  This was the first good look that John Calipari got at his team since the Canada trip this summer. After a slow start for both teams the Blue squad eventually jumped out to a big lead and never looked back, running away with a 101-74 victory.

There were only ten players who suited up for the ‘Cats because of the current Enes Kanter situation. The Blue team (a.k.a. the expected starters) consisted of Eloy Vargas, Darius Miller, Terrence Jones, Brandon Knight and DeAndre Liggins. The White team consisted of Josh Harrelson, Stacey Poole, Jon Hood, Jarrod Polson and Doron Lamb. Lamb, Harrelson and Hood all spent time playing with both teams.

After a slow start for both teams the Blue squad eventually jumped out to a big lead and never looked back.  When the ball was tipped, the most active Wildcat was Jon Hood as he was less than hesitant to get his shot off. However, the shots weren’t falling for the sophomore as he finished the first half with just three points while shooting 1-for-11 from the field. He looked a little tense in front of the crowd missing three easy layups early in the first half.  That being said he was maybe the most improved player in the second half.

It looked as though he calmed down after the intermission and started to play within himself.  Last year Hood didn’t get much playing time because he was competing against John Wall, Eric Bledsoe and Darius Miller for a job he didn’t have the skill set coming into college that Calipari demands of his players. I don’t know if Hood has the qualities even now but he flashed a little athleticism going up for a few dunks.  In the second half he was 5 of 9 from the field and finished with 14 points.

There is no denying that the show belonged to Brandon Knight as he was nothing short of amazing in the scrimmage. He caught everyone’s attention including his own teammates. Darius Miller was asked after the game what he though of Knight’s performance and had this to say, “He is a really explosive player, he can do a few things better but he is going to do great things.” Similar comments resonated from other teammates.  Running for the full forty minutes, Miller was asked if Knight ever gets tired, “I have never seen it, it’s like he is a robot out there.” Knight finished the game shooting 14 of 20 and scored the game high 37 points.

Usually you don’t grab negative things from a player who scored 37 points but Knight only finished with four assists. This is a number Calipari will want his point guard to increase as the season progresses. Knight got to the rack very well but the court vision was not completely there.

Terrence Jones also showed off his amazing athletic ability tonight going off for 29 points.  The thing that was most impressive about Jones was his ability to run the floor.  To have a player making blocks and really just being a pain for the offensive player he is guarding helps the ‘Cats in so many ways.  There was one thing that his head coach saw that he didn’t like too much.  Calipari was a little critical of his small forwards work ethic rebounding the ball. Calipari said after the game, “He was only offensive rebounding 20-30% of the time. He needs to offensive rebound 80% of the time.”

With Jones’ athletic ability and the ‘Cats lack of height it is hard to disagree with Cal.  He will have to be a force on the boards if the Wildcats plan on competing in tough games.  Overall you have to be impressed with the two freshmen though.  They combined for more than half of the Blue teams points and even teamed up for a few highlight reel ally-oops.

After the game Calipari wasn’t shy about pointing out that the team still has a lot of work to do.  He was asked if he thought the scrimmage was a wasted practice or if it helps out and he responded saying, “It helps. I want to see how they play when you have 10,000 people in front of you and how you respond.”  This is nothing new for John Calipari though. Year after year he comes out knowing he has a team full of freshmen and that it is going to be an uphill climb from start to finish.  At times it seems as though he is just trying to get the media to forget about his teams until tournament time.

When Calipari was asked about what aspect they needed to work on it took him all of one second to tell everyone, “We are a good shooting team. We shouldn’t be 20 of 34 from the free throw line. We should be 27 for 34.  He was excited about the about the tempo that they played at.  Why shouldn’t he be? The team didn’t really seem to be tired after each player played 40 minutes a piece.

One sidenote was Josh Harrelson who pulled down 26 rebounds.  He had 16 at the end of the first half and was able to go out and pull down ten more.  Now these stats may be a little skewed seeing as how small UK is as a team but none the less he did work on the boards.

The second edition of Rick Pitino vs. John Calipari Dream Game will take place on New Year’s Eve 2010. The date was announced as part of Kentucky releasing it’s full basketball schedule. The game is slated to begin at noon on December 31, which is a Friday. I must say, I’m not thrilled with the date and time of this game, but I don’t have a say, so there’s nothing to be done about it. For all the Cards and Cats fans, if you go out to celebrate the beginning of 2011 that night, please don’t be morons and start fights regarding the game. Do what you’re supposed to do, get you a smokin’ hot chick, or guy, and work on that.

In his session with the media today ahead of tomorrow’s game against Austin Peay, John Calipari addressed the quote from Bobby Knight that has been swirling around the collective sports consciousness since last night.

No surprise here, but Calipari addressed the remarks quickly without trying to pick a fight, then requested that the subject of conversation return to basketball:

“I’m a big fan, I respect (Bob Knight) as a basketball coach, always have … don’t agree with what he said but it doesn’t change how I feel about him.”

Calipari also commented that he had visited Lubbock, Texas to watch Knight practice with his team while he was still active, and Knight even helped him improve the Dribble-Drive.

I can’t imagine that this will be the last time Cal is about Bobby Knight’s comment, but I also can’t imagine that he’s going to say much more than this, so I consider this closed.

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.

My off the wall theory about John Calipari taking over the John Wall/LeBron James-led New Jersey Nets has gotten a fair amount of attention in the last day. It was talked about all day on the Cats Pause and a few other message boards, including the Memphis Roar, where it was met with hysterical laughter by Tiger fans.

Let me talk about it a bit more before I get into what I really set out to discuss. First of all, here’s the way I thought of it in the first place. I was thinking about what the ideal NBA destination for John Wall next year and the possibility of LeBron and Wall playing together crossed my mind. I was intrigued to say the least.

I then tried to conceive of every possible way the two could end up playing together. The two most likely ways I could come up with were for the Clippers and for the Nets. Both teams could easily come up with the cap room to sign LeBron and both figure to be in the lottery.

However, the Clippers are such a shoddily ran organization that I decided that there is no way they could pull of such a thing, so I crossed the Clips off the list. I focused on the Nets. Eventually, drooling over the possibility, I thought about Calipari’s relationship with LeBron, and my inkling that Cal could be thinking about coaching LeBron down the road returned. Then, my ridiculous scenario came together.

Also, I constantly remind myself of how unlikely such a scenario really is. Coaching LeBron and Wall is really the only way I can see Cal leaving UK so abruptly, so I think the Nets thing has to happen for Cal to even think about it. If the Nets finish with worst record in the NBA, they will still only have a one in four shot of winning the lottery. Then the hard part of luring Calipari and LeBron simultaneously begins. It’s tough to put a number on that, but it’s no small task.

In other words, that scenario, no matter how worrisome, is a big time long shot, so let’s get to my thoughts on the obsession of UK fans (with me at the forefront) with John Wall.

-First up, let’s talk about the John Wall dance and how absurd and hilarious it is that it’s become so big. It started as some little move that John Wall probably put about five minutes of thought into before he was introduced at Big Blue Madness. We as UK fans are so fascinated by Wall that we have given the dance a life of its own. I find this amazing.

Also, doesn’t Dorrough’s “Ice Cream Paint Job” have to shattering hip hop record sales records in the state of Kentucky among middle aged people?

-I’d like to introduce an ailment that I am currently suffering from, and I think it probably applies to a lot of you. It’s called John Wall Tourette’s.

I have to give credit where credit is due on this one, a coworker who is a big sports fan, but not a big UK or UofL fan, has suffered over the past few months because all I ever want to talk about is John Wall. It’s gotten to the point where I really can’t help it. It’s gotten to the point where I would almost call it a tic. There are times where I stop a conversation or an email thread dead in its tracks and just say “JOHN WALL”. It’s involuntary. I think I need help.

-Last, is it just me, or does it feel like this season has turned into a ten game long feeling of deja vu? Mind you, it’s the best feeling of deja vu I’ve ever had.

I’ll explain. Games go one of two ways: (1) John Wall dominates, controls the action throughout, and the ‘Cats win big (2) the game comes down to the stretch, but John Wall swoops in and wins the game for the ‘Cats. Then, UK fans post YouTube videos of John Wall highlights within 12 hours of the buzzer.

Also, Patrick Patterson does his thing in the same way every game, hitting high percentage looks in the post and off of offensive rebounds, mixing in a long distance shot every once in a while.

Outside of the games, we hear the exact same speech from John Calipari no matter what question he is asked, in which he says some variation of the following things: “We should be 5-5″, “This team has a will to win”, “We do dumb things”, “I love my team”. Cal really could be a politician with how he knows his talking points and hits every single one during his stump speeches.

As UK fans, we are going to have to get accustomed to dealing with players making decisions about entering the NBA Draft early, there’s just no choice in the matter. We had a sampling of it this spring with Jodie Meeks and Patrick Patterson, but since the mid-90′s, that’s been a bit of a rarity compared with some of the other high profile college programs.

I think we’ve always been a bit reluctant about going after kids that won’t be on campus for longer than two years, but John Calipari and John Wall are showing us together that we had no reason to be. We’ll still have the Patrick Patterson’s and Darius Miller’s and their three and four year careers sprinkled in, but UK’s big time players are going to be more along the lines of DeMarcus Cousins and John Wall (OK, not John Wall, he doesn’t come along every year).

John Calipari embraces the fact that the guys he recruits have the ultimate goal of playing at the highest level in the NBA as quickly as possible. In fact, he recruits based on that fact. His track record is one of getting guys into the League successfully.

With that in mind, I thought I would take a look at the NBA prospects of each player on the Kentucky roster (with one surprise mixed in), what their ceilings and floors are with respect to position in the NBA Draft, and when they could make the jump. It may not be that much fun to think about, but it’s better to embrace it sooner rather than later. I am making this evaluations based on the assumption that nothing absolutely crazy (good or bad) happens like Josh Harrelson suddenly growing a couple inches and being inhabited by the ghost of George Mikan.

JOHN WALL

At this point, I’m not sure there’s any reasonable UK fan left who has deceived themselves into thinking he will wear the UK uniform past April 2010. The kid is unlike anything we have ever seen in a Kentucky uniform and has wowed basically anyone who watches him for longer than two minutes.

I consider myself lucky to be a fan of the school that got him, not only because I get to watch him dominate for a season at UK, but also because I’m going to get to watch him in the NBA for the next 15 years. I’m going to go ahead and declare it right now: whatever team drafts him will immediately become my favorite team in the Association. I’m just hoping he lands in one of those Tim Duncan situations where you know he’s going to win multiple titles, a situation not unlike the one I’m about to postulate…

Draft Ceiling: #1 overall
Draft Floor: #2 overall
Earliest he could leave: 2010
Latest he could leave: 2010
Prediction: #1 overall in 2010

JOHN CALIPARI

Here’s the surprise I’m talking about, and yes, I know he’s not a player.

Calipari has previously said he would not rule out a return to the NBA, but has said there are only a few situations that could entice him away from the NBA. Conventional thought would say that he’s talking about one of those historically successful, big market teams like the Lakers, Celtics, Knicks, or Bulls.

However, I think that John Calipari’s previously failed foray into the NBA from a few years back has taught him that your chance at success in the NBA is more determined by whether you have a true superstar in the realm of a Kobe Bryant, Dwyane Wade, or Duncan. Sam Cassell, Kerry Kittles, and Jayson Williams, some of the high profile Nets of his tenure, do not fit the bill.

Did he really have a chance with that Mr. Rogers tie?

LeBron James does.

Today, Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo confirmed for me something I had wondered about ever since I heard about Cal and LeBron’s “budding relationship”, as he calls it: that Cal may just be positioning himself to coach LeBron James down the road.

Wojnarowski mentions two or three years as a possible timeframe for a potential LeBron-Cal marriage. Yikes, that’s an awful short tenure for Cal at UK. I don’t think Cal has any intention of staying at UK for that short of a time.

However, is there a situation that could pull him away that quickly, maybe even sooner? Unfortunately, I would say yes.

Picture this. Leading up the 2010 NBA Draft Lottery, the New Jersey Nets have the best chance of winning the John Wall sweepstakes. They are still without a coach. The Nets win the lottery and the Nets do the obvious and take John Wall. They are still without a coach.

Realizing that they have some cap space and a franchise cornerstone, they trade Devin Harris, whose value is very high, getting value in return and dumping more salary. Then, one of two things happens:

1) Realizing that they have that cap space, they Nets decide to go all in for LeBron James, arguably the most valuable free agent in the history of the sport. Recognizing the intertwined relationship between LeBron, Worldwide Wes, and Cal, they make a play for John Calipari in an effort to woo LeBron. Cal signs, LeBron signs, and the Nets win at least five titles in the next ten years.

2) Still without a coach, the Nets make a power play for LeBron. LeBron, in his negotiations, makes a power play and has Cal installed as coach. LeBron signs, Cal signs, and the Nets win at least five titles in the next ten years.

Picture either of the above two situations playing out or something comparable…as difficult as this may be to admit as a UK fan, could you really blame John Calipari for leaving to coach that team? It would be an absolute dream of a situation for any coach with professional aspirations.

Cornerstone franchise player…check and double check.
A motivated owner that wants to win…check.
Proximity to a big market…check (plus the rumors of a move to Brooklyn)

John Calipari is a guy who LOVES the big stage. He’s embraced the biggest college basketball stage out there and capitalized on it. The Nets with LeBron and John Wall would be the biggest story in the Association, instantly leaping to the forefront past the Lakers and Celtics. I thought that the seven month turnaround that Cal has pulled off at UK was one of a kind, but the sudden shift in the Nets’ future might just one up it.

The one saving grace is that Cal already failed once in the NBA, once with the Nets as a matter of fact. It’s hard to imagine a team rehiring a fired coach, but if LeBron wills it, do think anyone would stand in the way?

I just had to take a quick break just to decide if I actually want to publish this. Let me say that this little theory of mine is just that, based on nothing more than a tiny bit of fact, some intuition, my natural pessimism, and disbelief that this whole Calipari dream is real. I think the ‘Cats would end up being alright. I think they would hire another good coach (as long as they don’t rehire a fired Billy G), but I don’t think he’ll be the perfect fit that Cal is.

The crazy thing is that I really don’t think I would be mad at Coach Cal. I would be too excited about watching the Nets to blame him.

CHECK BACK TOMORROW FOR PART 2