John Calipari is finalizing the deal to become the head coach at Arkansas. He is set to be Arkansas head coach. That’s a sure thing.
I have some questions about that. The guy has recruited stellar five-star talent to Lexington every year he’s been there, no doubt. But it’s what he does with the talent once it gets there that I question. The results have not been there. Five star after five star, you look at the NBA and it might as well be called the Kentucky Invitational with Anthony Davis at the LA Lakers, Karl-Anthony Towns at the Minnesota T-Wolves, Jamal Murray at Denver, Devin Booker at Phoenix, Tyler Herro and Bam Adabayo at the Heat. The list goes on and on. Yet, there is only one national championship banner at Rupp in the 15 seasons Calipari has been there. And talk about underachieving with this talent lately. In 2020-21, the Wildcats went 9-16 and 8-9 in the SEC. In ‘21-’22, they were 26-8, but lost in the first round to Saint Peter’s? Saint Peter’s? You gotta be kidding me. In ‘22-’23, they went 22-12 and lost in the round of 32 to Kansas State. Then this past season, they finished 23-10, 13-5 in the SEC, but lost in the first round to Oakland? Oakland? Again, are you kiddin’ me? So the guy is overrated for sure. Arkansas is a better fit for him because the pressure isn’t as intense as the rabid intensity at Kentucky. But he’ll be expected to win and Arkansas does take basketball seriously and has had a lot of success through the years. Eric Mussleman, their most recent coach, took the USC job after having a pretty weak season this year (16-17, 6-12 SEC), but had taken the Razorbacks to two Elite Eights prior to this season. The guy is out of control though in my opinion, so I bet Arkansas said good riddance to Musselman. We’ll see how Calipari fares at a place you can win big at. Nolan Richardson won a national championship in 1994 there, and they’ve had a lot of good teams through the years. There is good tradition, so there will be high expectations for Calipari. We’ll see if he can deliver. He can recruit, but his development of his talent and his on floor coaching is highly suspect.
And there are “rumors” that Bruce Pearl is a candidate for the Kentucky job. Another coach that can recruit, but is too out of control on the court and gets his players flustered. Pearl is coming off a first round loss to Yale? in the NCAA Tournament. Yale? I know that a lot of Auburn fans are not happy with that, and not happy with him. He’s a recruiter, so maybe it would work at Kentucky. He’s obnoxious, and they like that too in Lexington. The guy whom I think should get the job is Danny Hurley, if he wants it. He’s in line to repeat as a national championship coach at Connecticut. He’s what Kentucky likes. He’s brash, cocky and arrogant, all the qualities Kentucky fans like. And he’s a heckuva coach to boot.
He “checks the boxes.” The question is, does Hurley want the job? He’s got a great situation at UConn, but he may want to try it somewhere else. He’s quite a coach and would work well for the rabid, obnoxious Kentucky fan base. I’ve been to several Kentucky-Vanderbilt basketball games and it’s not a safe place to be even in Nashville. I’ve come close to blows with a couple of their fans. Not my favorite group of people.
So it’ll be interesting to see what transpires at Kentucky. The pressure will be ratcheted up for whomever the coach is. I like them to go after Dan Hurley, if he wants it.
National Championship Game Prediction
No.1 Purdue (Midwest, 34-4) vs. No.1 UConn (East, 36-3)
State Farm Stadium, Phoenix, 70,000
8:20 PM CT
TBS
Ian, Bill, Grant, Tracy (will need a step ladder to talk to Edey or Clingan), Gene (Rules)
Huskies by 6 1/2
How do you deny 7’2”, 280 pound Donovan Clingan, Stephon Castle, Tristen Newton, Cam Spencer and the Huskies? Zach Edey is a load for Purdue at 7’4”, 300 pounds and the Boilers can stroke if from trifecta, But UConn has the 9th ranked scoring defense in the country allowing 63.3 points per game. Purdue is 81st at 68.8.
The Crimson Tide gave the Huskies their toughest game of the tournament and were in it for a long time until the Huskies did what they always do: they completely went off for a minute and a half. They’re explosive as Derrick Henry through the middle of a defensive line. . I like Clingan as much as Edey. In fact, I think he’s better. Give me the Huskies to go back to back for the first time since Billy Donovan’s Florida Gators did it in 2006 and 2007.