What the general impression of John Calipari around the country?

Kelvin Sampson wishes he could recruit like John Calipari, both in methods and success.

 

I've never covered him as a beat writer, but I've run into him a few times while covering college basketball and loved him. Great, great quote, entertaining as hell and really loose around us.

When you combine 1) His ability to sell sand to a camel; and 2) His willingness to ignore the rules; and you get Final Four-caliber teams in below average conferences.

He reminds me of a dirtier Bill Self--smooth talker, good coach, great with the media. But Self has been able to keep a clean reputation for the most part (for now, anyway. That won't last).

 

He doesn't like mexican reporters.

 

cougargirl alluded to this earlier. Back in the day, when JC was an assistant at Pittsburgh, he went up and down the east coast telling recruits that Lou Carnesecca had stomach cancer and wouldn't survive the season. (In a great aside, at the time, St. John's great SID, Katha Quinn, was dying of liver cancer.) This tactic went over so well that they had to separate Dr. Roy Chipman, Cal's boss, and Rollie Massimino at the next Big East league meetings.
In a profession full of grifters, John Calipari belongs in a cage.

 

He might be running the dirtiest program in college hoops, but he's a great coach and great to deal with.

 

Calipari is a great guy. I could listen to his stories for hours. My favorite is about when he moved out to Hollywood to try to be an actor. He says that he was up for the role of Lieutenant Starbuck in the original Battlestar Galactica but the role finally went to Dirk Benedict. Can you imagine how different college basketball would have been if Calipari had won the role?

I think he would have been great on the A-Team too.

 

Calipari as Starbuck. That would have been hilarious! Maybe even Faceman on the A-Team, that would've been classic.

I think he's a great recruiter who's mega-dirty and he's an average X's and O's coach who knows enough to get out of the way of great talent (witness Memphis's pickup ball-style offense). I've heard that 'Bama might be interested in him. That'd be interesting, Nick Saban and Calipari on one campus.

 

Covered him for a few years in Conference USA before my beat left for the Big East. Good interview, very quotable, and yes, I did feel like I needed to wash my hands after I spoke to him... and I dealt with Huggins on a daily basis. With Huggs, at least, you had the feeling that the recruiting moves were on the up-and-up. Heard many stories of Cal spreading rumors about other coaches, making some shady deals for recruits, though.

 

It bears repeating that Calipari was not found guilty of any violations at UMass and, to my knowledge, was not charged with any.
UMass lost its banner because a rogue agent allegedly paid Camby.

 

He's had running feuds with the C-A over coverage.
For a time, he said the highlight of his day was backing his car over the paper on the driveway.
I think peace has returned to the Memphis valley though.
I have had some dealings with with Cal over the years, I like him well enough, but my personal endorsement means little. The impression I've gotten is that he likes being worshipped and Memphis is the ideal fit for him.
At some point though, he'll have to deliver a national championship.

 

I don't know the details at all can someone explain?