No matter what happens in the next week we all need to take a step back and realize what we’ve witnessed this season. What is that exactly?
Just the greatest single-season coaching job of all time. No, I’m not talking about Tom Izzo, even though people will point at the run to the Final Four. I’m talking about John Calipari, arguably the most hated man in college basketball.
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Even though the USBWA members voted for Tony Bennett, as laughable as that sounds especially when they gave Bennett the award a day after Virginia was upset in the round of 32, what Calipari has done this year is nothing short of amazing. He was awarded this week with the NABC Coach of the Year, an award he’s won two other times in his career.
The Wildcats are 38-0, the first team since UNLV in 1991 to enter the Final Four undefeated and the 38 wins tie them for the most in a season, coincidentally enough with two others teams coached by Calipari. With the chance to go undefeated for the first time since Indiana did in 1975-76, it’s a testament to how well Calipari has his team prepared no matter who they are playing.
Sure, people can make the stereotypical hot take and say it’s not tough to coach a team loaded with McDonald’s All-Americans and a team labeled the preseason No. 1 in the country. But, if coaching a team with a ton of talent is easy why did Rick Barnes get fired? Why hasn’t Roy Williams coached in a Final Four since 2009?
Yes, Calipari did go out and get a bunch of McDonald’s All-Americans and Willie Cauley-Stein on his team over the last couple of years. But, let’s not forget recruiting is part of coaching. When professional teams have good offseasons we talk about how smart and great the front office is.
Wildcat Blue Nation
Hate to break it to the old-timers who think college basketball coaches are something else, but their job is to win games and improve the lives of their players. That’s it. That’s what John Calipari does.
Let’s also not forget that Kentucky lost a starting player early in the season when junior forward Alex Poythress went down with a torn ACL. This gets lost in the shuffle as the Wildcats have embraced the next man up culture and obviously Calipari hasn’t received praise for continuing to win in spite of this.
What’s arguably the most impressive part of Calipari’s coaching job was his ability to get everyone on the roster to buy into his system. The team is playing defense first and sacrificing minutes and stats for the greater good of the team. If this was another team, would Calipari’s coaching job be praised more?
He’s somehow been able to keep this team motivated as well, which is a story in its own right.
So, while America is split on one side of the line or the other when it comes to Calipari’s recruiting style and wanting to see the Wildcats lose this year, let’s just embrace it for what it’s been.