UConn is in Calipari's head

[RayIsTheGOAT]

Not sure if this is news to you guys or not...

Calimari was on Colin Cowherd earlier today. Cowherd asked him if there was ever a recruit that he missed on. The first person that came to his mind within seconds was "The guard in Charlotte.... that went to Connecticut" (he couldn't remember Kemba's name, or at least pretended not to). He mentioned how he "watched him in high school, and he wasn't big enough for me" and that Kemba beat him twice in Maui and the Final Four.

Just thought it was interesting that this was his most memorable regret. Score one for us.

 

[djct1999]

UConn Envy. See: Krzyzewski, Mike; Boeheim, Jim.

 

[CardiacAndre7]

He puts on such an act for the media

 

[tcf15]

He felt the same way back in 2010, too: http://articles.courant.com/2010-11...ky-coach-john-calipari-chaminade-silverswords

"I made a mistake," Calipari said after Kentucky advanced to the Maui Invitatonal championship game and Wednesday's final, whiere they lost to UConn, 84-67. "Normally I can see something and I say, yes, let's go with it. I missed it with him. I told him last year in warmups [before the Wildcats played the Huskies at Madison Square Garden], 'I missed on you. No question I missed on you.'"

Calipari was never serious in his recruitment of Walker, who has emerged as one of the best players in the nation. Calipari, coaching Memphis at the time, took Tyreke Evans, who stayed one year and jumped to the NBA.

"It wasn't like Kemba said he would come to [Memphis]. We were recruiting a bunch of guys. We got Tyreke, who was pretty good, too [NBA Rookie of the Year last season]. But I went to look at Kemba because I like his high school coach, think he's a great guy. ... Like I said, I made a mistake. No question, he's terrific."

 

[BUConn10]

He felt the same way back in 2010, too: http://articles.courant.com/2010-11...ky-coach-john-calipari-chaminade-silverswords

"I made a mistake," Calipari said after Kentucky advanced to the Maui Invitatonal championship game and Wednesday's final, whiere they lost to UConn, 84-67. "Normally I can see something and I say, yes, let's go with it. I missed it with him. I told him last year in warmups [before the Wildcats played the Huskies at Madison Square Garden], 'I missed on you. No question I missed on you.'"

Calipari was never serious in his recruitment of Walker, who has emerged as one of the best players in the nation. Calipari, coaching Memphis at the time, took Tyreke Evans, who stayed one year and jumped to the NBA.

"It wasn't like Kemba said he would come to [Memphis]. We were recruiting a bunch of guys. We got Tyreke, who was pretty good, too [NBA Rookie of the Year last season]. But I went to look at Kemba because I like his high school coach, think he's a great guy. ... Like I said, I made a mistake. No question, he's terrific."

It's like when Cal told Kemba "he missed" on his recruitment it's supposed to be taken as a compliment or something. Like "hey Kemba! Can you believe that you could have played for ME?!"

 

[Silk31]

He makes it seem as if he recruited Kemba it was a lock that he would have got him. He recruited Drummond pretty hard and even the squid couldn't lure AD away from UConn. He's so full of himself it's great

 

[Leebo]

He makes it seem as if he recruited Kemba it was a lock that he would have got him. He recruited Drummond pretty hard and even the squid couldn't lure AD away from UConn. He's so full of himself it's great

He's not explicitly saying that, though I know people get a hard on when they imagine Calipari in the worst possible light. He's simply saying that he didn't see the potential that existed in Kemba.

Obviously his chances of getting Kemba would have been better had he recruited him hard, but that's not what he seems to be regretting. He regrets his evaluation of Kemba.

 

[Silk31]

He's not explicitly saying that, though I know people get a hard on when they imagine Calipari in the worst possible light. He's simply saying that he didn't see the potential that existed in Kemba.

Obviously his chances of getting Kemba would have been better had he recruited him hard, but that's not what he seems to be regretting. He regrets his evaluation of Kemba.

Yea it's more like him telling Kemba "Hey you should be honored to know that I regret not recruiting you...and I'll also pretend to not be able to recall your name in a couple years"

 

[Leebo]

Yea it's more like him telling Kemba "Hey you should be honored to know that I regret not recruiting you...and I'll also pretend to not be able to recall your name in a couple years"

It's not enough for people here to interpret omissions and coverage of other teams as insults, now we are spinning compliments as insults.

 

[upstater]

It's not enough for people here to interpret omissions and coverage of other teams as insults, now we are spinning compliments as insults.

He doesn't even remember Kemba's name! Surely we're not at the point where we can't make fun of that.

 

[Silk31]

He doesn't even remember Kemba's name! Surely we're not at the point where we can't make fun of that.

Yea c'mon @Leebo why won't you let us have our fun with The Squid???

He damn well knows Kemba's name...he saw that beast of a player in his nightmares for quite sometime

Kemba and Bazz are the college bball saviors who rose up and stood between Calimari creating a UK dynasty...he knows their damn names

 

[jibsey]

Cal is quite charming in these type of interviews. I saw it and he was fine. Talked about going into underprvileged recruits homes and telling them that he would help them change their situations through coaching their kid. He loves recruiting and he gets great results. I guess we still hate him, right?

 

[Silk31]

Cal is quite charming in these type of interviews. I saw it and he was fine. Talked about going into underprvileged recruits homes and telling them that he would help them change their situations through coaching their kid. He loves recruiting and he gets great results. I guess we still hate him, right?

Nothing to hate from our end - we own him and he knows it, whether he wants to admit it or not

 

[Dooley]

He comes off as a pompous fool, per usual. Makes it seem like all he had to do was make one 30 second phone call and Kemba would have ran down to Memphis. Kemba is a NYC kid and was able to experience one of the most memorable runs in NCAA postseason history in his own backyard.

 

[Leebo]

He doesn't even remember Kemba's name! Surely we're not at the point where we can't make fun of that.

If people sincerely think he couldn't remember Kemba's name, then that would actually be insulting, but c'mon.

 

[BUConn10]

If people sincerely think he couldn't remember Kemba's name, then that would actually be insulting, but c'mon.

I dont get who you are defending here. If you watch the interview he explicitly acts like he didnt know his name, whether it was intentional or not, its a move and textbook Cal. In the next segment Cowherd brought up Wiggins' surge as of late and Calipari didnt say a single thing about Andrew, but starting talking about how Karl Anthony Towns is "putting up absolutely historic numbers right now" to which he prefaced by saying "sorry Colin, I dont mean to talk about my players.... (pause) but I actually do" before cutting the Wiggins talk short. So when it comes to his guys and pimping their brands he has a rolodex of names, numbers, stats, and current records being broken. But when it comes to "that kid in Charlotte" who lit him up in '11 he cant seem to remember.

 

[RayIsTheGOAT]

If people sincerely think he couldn't remember Kemba's name, then that would actually be insulting, but c'mon.

Well, that's because he literally couldn't remember Kemba's name. It's like come on man, you breathe basketball every day of your life, he killed you in 2011, and you even said he's your biggest recruiting regret. You know his frickin name.

 

[BigErnMcCracken]

If this demonstrates that "UConn is in Calipari's head" I'm not even sure how you could describe the place he occupies in the brains of UConn fans.

 

[champs99and04]

If this demonstrates that "UConn is in Calipari's head" I'm not even sure how you could describe the place he occupies in the brains of UConn fans.

Imagine this board if we had lost those two games.

 

[tzznandrew]

Imagine this board if we had lost those two games.

Let's just be happy we don't have to live in that world.

 

[nomar]

He doesn't even remember Kemba's name! Surely we're not at the point where we can't make fun of that.

You don't really believe that, do you? It was a joke. It's like saying, "that shooting guard from UNC who played for the Bulls in the 80s and 90s."

 

[Waquoit]

If this demonstrates that "UConn is in Calipari's head" I'm not even sure how you could describe the place he occupies in the brains of UConn fans.

Why don't you and Leebo get a room?

 

[BigErnMcCracken]

Why don't you and Leebo get a room?

As long as we don't have to listen to you whine and moan about "real fans," I'll pay for it.

 

[DALTX]

UConn Envy. See: Krzyzewski, Mike; Boeheim, Jim.

Also see: Williams, Roy

 

[Huskyforlife]

Of course he knew his name, why he didn't want to say it I have no idea