Sports By Brooks.com has just caught up on the news with the talk of John Calipari possibly coaching the Dominican Republic National team.
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Speaking of complete coincidences, with Pitino pushing the boundaries of NCAA recruiting rules coaching in Puerto Rico, I’m sure it’ll come as a major surprise to you that [B]John Calipari[/B] is seriously considering taking over as coach of neighboring Dominican Republic.
A Puerto Rico basketball blog reported Monday night:
[INDENT][I]There have been several conversations between people who are associated with both sides about getting John (Calipari) down there to coach the National Team. [URL=”http://insidepuertoricobasketball.blogspot.com/2010/12/dominican-republic-considers-calapari.html”]This has absolutely nothing to do with what the Puerto Rican Federation has done with Rick (Pitino)[/URL].[/I]
[/INDENT]Wait, who out there was thinking that it actually was?
Calipari apparently is considering using the same model as Pitino. Working for free for a couple-three months in order to lockdown an island said to be full of burgeoning basketball talent. (See [B]Al Horford[/B], [B]Charlie Villanueva[/B], [B]Francisco Garcia[/B] and [B]Trevor Ariza[/B].)
“Free” of course is a relative term.
I wonder if the apparel company employing Calipari might compensate him for the ability to achieve a certain profile during his stint? (Likewise Pitino.)
More:
[INDENT][I]Dominican Republic Basketball Federation President Frank Herasme and Treasurer [B]Rafael Uribe[/B] initiated contact months ago. Both sides are seriously considering this and a meeting between the two parties could happen in the next two weeks[/I]
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[LEFT][URL=”http://www.sportsbybrooks.com/pitino-rico-preparing-to-face-dominical-republic-29357″]Source[/URL][/LEFT]
[LEFT]Coach Cal has said today that he has not had any direct discussions with the Dominicans. That doesn’t mean they haven’t contacted him. It will be interesting to see how all of this plays out in the end.[/LEFT]
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