calipari's "list"

[otp85]

Has anyone else seen this yet? He is ridiculous, it's his job to tell recruits what's important now? Does he believe he knows what's best for everyone? What's important to everyone? This man's ego knows no end.

• 1. Does your program offer multi-year (four-year) scholarships?
• 2. How many players have graduated from your program over the last four to five years?
• 3. How many players have graduated from your school and gone on to the NBA?
• 4. How many players have come back to finish school after they have left to pursue other dreams? Who pays for it?
• 5. How many of your players were insured through the disability program last season? If none were, why not?
• 6. What is your team grade-point average?
• 7. Where does your Academic Progress Rate retention rank among other schools?
• 8. What type of media training do you offer?
• 9. What kind of social media training program do you have in place? What are your social media policies?
• 10. How many double-figure scorers have you averaged in the last four to five years? If you only have one or two a year, what does that mean for me?
• 11. Have you ever coached anyone like me? If so, who?
• 12. How many McDonald’s All-Americans have you coached? How many of them went on to the NBA?
• 13. How have your teams fared with three or four McDonald’s All-Americans on the same team?
• 14. How many freshmen have you started within the last four to five years?
• 15. How many draft picks have you had over the last five years? How many drafted were not McDonald’s All-Americans? How many of the total were first-rounders and were any of them No. 1 draft picks during that time?
• 16. How many of those players have gone on to make the NBA All-Rookie team?
• 17. How many games will my family be able to watch on national television?
• 18. How many of your home games are sold out? How many of your road games are sold out?
• 19. How have you done in postseason play? Any Final Fours?
• 20. What is your core philosophy?

 

[Hoophound]

That's a good list. About the hardest thing to overcome is the academic side, UK makes it incredibly easy for their players to focus on basketball and still get a good GPA. As a competing coach, it is very hard to compete with this question: "Coach, at UK you don't have to go to class and you get straight Bs just for breathing. That sounds like a good deal, can you do that here?" I don't think you can sell against that and it isn't really worth trying.

 

[Jimmy Serrano]

That's a good list. About the hardest thing to overcome is the academic side, UK makes it incredibly easy for their players to focus on basketball and still get a good GPA.

As a competing coach, it is very hard to compete with this question: "Coach, at UK you don't have to go to class and you get straight Bs just for breathing. That sounds like a good deal, can you do that here?" I don't think you can sell against that and it isn't really worth trying."

I think Roy Williams can one up Cal in this dept.

 

[specialisthusky]

I can't argue the ego part, but if I was the father of a recruit these are just about all of the questions I would want my child thinking about.

 

[Rocktheworld]

"Coach, at UK you don't have to go to class and you get straight Bs just for breathing.

Yeah well at UNCheat you get the Dean's List

 

[caw]

UConn's rebuttal:

Who won the 2014 NC, were you the coach of the winning or losing team?
Who won the 2011 FF game between UConn and UK, were you on the winning or losing teams bench?
How many McDAAs were on those four teams? Why didn't the team with all the McDAAs win? Is it because the coach with all the McDAAs is pretty mediocre at actually coaching?

 

[8893]

All good questions. I'd like to hear and compare answers to the last one.

 

[J-dog]

How many toes-in does your program require?

 

[M_Funkhauser43!]

Cal seems to have lost touch with what's important to recruits. Some of the questions at the top of his list should include:

May I join your program even if someone else takes my SAT?

Is there room on your staff for my father and/or AAU coach?

Will your university hand out a scholarship to my homeboy who doesn't even play basketball?

What is your policy regarding accepting gifts from agents and consorting with prostitutes?

Coach, will you still be around when the sheeeeeeeit hits the fan? If not, will I be able to find you at another one of this country's fine institutions of higher education?

 

[selles]

21. Do you Refuse to Lose (TM)?
22. How well do your players shoot late game free throws in NCAA title games?
23. Ever coach the Nets? What was up with that?
24. Ever serve as the perfect symbol for postmodern soulless materialism?

 

[HooperScooper]

That's a good list. About the hardest thing to overcome is the academic side, UK makes it incredibly easy for their players to focus on basketball and still get a good GPA. As a competing coach, it is very hard to compete with this question: "Coach, at UK you don't have to go to class and you get straight Bs just for breathing. That sounds like a good deal, can you do that here?" I don't think you can sell against that and it isn't really worth trying.

Well you just have to find the kids who are actually interested in an education and not just playing basketball and getting to the NBA as quickly as possible. Not every recruit wants what UK is selling.

 

[upstater]

1. what can you teach me about the sport of basketball?

Full stop

 

[willie99]

how many kids have you put in the NBA that wouldn't have gone to the NBA right out of high school if they were eligible?

how many final fours have they vacated?

how many kids have they abandoned when sneaking out of town just before the hammer comes down?

what type of degree are you getting?

how many kids have they revoked scholarships from?

 

[WhereistheDove?]

That's a good list. About the hardest thing to overcome is the academic side, UK makes it incredibly easy for their players to focus on basketball and still get a good GPA. As a competing coach, it is very hard to compete with this question: "Coach, at UK you don't have to go to class and you get straight Bs just for breathing. That sounds like a good deal, can you do that here?" I don't think you can sell against that and it isn't really worth trying.

Let's be completely honest here. Athletes taking easy classes isn't exactly unique to UK players and UConn players aren't exempt from it. That's not to say there is something unsavory going on but if you just want a degree and ask around, you can find incredibly easy classes in most schools, UConn included.

 

[Rocktheworld]

you can find incredibly easy classes in most schools, UConn included.

lol I remember freshman year half the football team being in an Intro to Theater class which has to be up there for easiest class at UConn.

Why do I say this? I completely forgot we were having an 8:30 a.m. exam until I arrived at Van Der Mehden. Before I left for class, I was pretty sick and in my general delirium took Nyquil and Dayquil at the same time (DON'T DO THIS). This led to me being sick as hell, mildly high on....whatever's in that stuff, with no studying done, walking in cold to an exam. I should have failed horribly. Instead I got a B+

 

[otp85]

I like that #1 is 4 year scholarships; when's the last time he's had a successful player stay 4 years?

 

[otp85]

21. Do you Refuse to Lose (TM)?
22. How well do your players shoot late game free throws in NCAA title games?
23. Ever coach the Nets? What was up with that?
24. Ever serve as the perfect symbol for postmodern soulless materialism?

Read that and immediately wished there was a "love" option, like is not enough.

 

[David 76]

Mostly good questions. About 25% self-serving.

 

[Kitaman]

I know you guys are making fun of him but this could be the one legacy cal can hang his hat on. As this article says its slanted towards uk, but its a very smart sales/marketing ploy. linky

The thing is it should cause other colleges to create a similar Q&A. We should have our own to counter. By the way there are only about 6 schools that can compete with uk in recruiting, I believe we are one of them.

As they say "don't hate, appreciate". Champions can do that, and especially appreciate how lesser teams are trying to keep up.

 

[otp85]

As they say "don't hate, appreciate". Champions can do that, and especially appreciate how lesser teams are trying to keep up.

I don't hate because he is successful or because his team wins. I have and will defend most coaches throughout the country but not this guy. I hate him because I truly believe he does not have the best interest of his players at the top of his list. First question you should ask is "do you care more about me or winning a basketball game?"

And you hit the nail on the head, this is sales, marketing. Because he's not a real coach, he is just a genius. He saw AAU influence and one and done mentality quicker than anyone and has become no different than the sleazy AAU coach using kids for his own personal gain. He collects talent and I can't name one player he made better. I can list of player's he somehow made worse.

It's an ugly model for success but it works and will work. And I will always be happy that that is not the way things are done around here.

 

[champs99and04]

21. Has Kevin Durant ever credited you with changing the culture of an NBA franchise?

 

[mauconnfan]

I actually liked the guy for the way he coached his kids when he started the UMass program…….took some low end recruits (Kellogg, Travieso, Padilla) and made them solid pieces in building around Camby, Roe etc…..they played hard, won with defense a lot…….then we found out what was going on, the grades were criticized in the Boston papers to the point as most players were lucky to be getting even close to a 2.0, most 1 or under……..then he became the whining salesman, snake oil is perfect for him. On the TV, on the radio in all of the media it amazed me how the interviewers were falling in love with this guy who sold himself more than his program or his kids. Stayed the same at Memphis and continues……he might try to coach now but all these stars have their own agenda - Rememebr Wall and Cousins not even listening in the huddle of a tourney game?

He's a piece of crap, WWW has helped him and who knows how that works but it does and did……..his model isn't fun for fans, can't be! But why would he care, he's a salesman not a coach!

 

[WhereistheDove?]

lol I remember freshman year half the football team being in an Intro to the lawer class which has to be up there for easiest class at UConn.

Why do I say this? I completely forgot we were having an 8:30 a.m. exam until I arrived at Van Der Mehden. Before I left for class, I was pretty sick and in my general delirium took Nyquil and Dayquil at the same time (DON'T DO THIS). This led to me being sick as hell, mildly high on....whatever's in that stuff, with no studying done, walking in cold to an exam. I should have failed horribly. Instead I got a B+

It's now intro to toxicology that has taken over. The majority of the bball players and a huge number of fball players were in that class with me and it was a joke. A "B" was only possible if you were actively trying to fail.

 

[huskyharry]

Squid has always been willing to push the envelope in getting recruiting advantages. The list above highlights some of this. When other schools build top-notch practice facilities, Kentucky has been willing to take it further and fund for special dorms for the athletes. From reading the list, it seems like UK is willing to fund for special insurance for all the athletes, whereas other schools may not. He also strokes the recruits egos but pointing out that only he has the experience to work with multiple athletes from the highest tier.

 

[otp85]

he has the experience to work with multiple athletes from the highest tier.

Has he though? I mean has he really worked with any of them? Because to me he just handles them, strokes their egos and passes them along. What player can you honestly say that he has actually made better? If not for the one and done rule he'd be exactly what he was at Memphis.

If what you want someone who's worked with the highest tier athletes then why not take the guy who has ACTUALLY been on the court with those athletes before. The one who taught some of those top tier athletes what work really was. Ask Kevin Durant.