In his three seasons at the University of Kentucky, John Calipari has gone to an Elite Eight, a Final Four and this year a National Title. Long before that, he paid his dues as an assistant in the land of college basketball’s Old Testament; Kansas. The road between the two has been a long and winding one, which could be developed into an epic movie series. But when it is all said and done, what will Coach Calipari’s legacy be?
When Cal came to UK, the basketball program was coming off of one of its darkest periods in recent memory. The only times worse than the last days of Billy Clyde Gillespie, were ones which had resulted from NCAA sanctions. Cal, himself was no stranger to the cold hand of collegiate basketball [I]justice[/I] and in reality the two were a perfect fit. A combination of elite history/talent and a black eye (or three)… you could start a sentence about either the program or the coach just like that.
From the moment Cal arrived in Lexington, the Big Blue Nation was on fire and so were the nets at Rupp Arena. With each blue chip recruit, each win, and each run in the post season the cries of foul from the peanut gallery also gained pitch and volume. But then something happened…
When John Calipari led his team, consisting of three freshman and two sophomore starters, to a National Title, the cries stopped. Sure there was the random (enter name of school Kentucky/Cal beat along the way here) fan who said enjoy it until it is vacated, but by and large the pundits sat quiet. Almost as if in shock, or as if they were aware of some secret rule the NCAA had about not tampering with those who had succeeded in cutting down the nets (Shout out to John Wooden and Mike Krzyzewski). Call it what you will, I say it was the collective moment when the national media and anyone who happened to have half a brain following college basketball not only validated, but changed the way they characterized John Calipari.
The silence only lasted a moment, but it was a beautiful and peaceful silence. Much like I imagine one finds after ascending one of the world’s tallest mountains. But it was more than just the obvious validation a coach would achieve by winning a National Championship. It did not stop the many questions that follow Cal and any elite basketball program, especially one who will likely lose the starting five that won it all. There was the obligatory Cal to the NBA rumor, how will he top this (40-0, anyone?) and how long will he stay in Lexington…
It remains to be seen how history will ultimately remember Coach Cal, but one thing changed on April 2[SUP]nd[/SUP] in New Orleans as rains of biblical proportion poured down on the Super Dome. It was as if he had finally laid down the costume of college basketball’s villain. Thirty years after John Calipari arrived in Lawrence Kansas, he has arrived undeniably at the table of basketball’s coaching greats.
