Steve Greenberg of the Chicago Sun-Times says John Calipari is a top candidate for national coach of the year this season.
Greenberg points out that what Calipari does with a roster full of five-star players is not as easy as it looks.
Here is an excerpt of the top 3:
1. Tony Bennett, Virginia: The Cavaliers returned a lot of pieces from a top-seeded team, but they didn’t appear as set as the Badgers and, besides, the expectations of this program just aren’t as high yet. More relevant, the ACC is much tougher and more crowded toward the top of the standings than the Big Ten, and yet there UVa is at 12-1 (and 24-1 overall) — pretty unreal. This team has held three different opponents under 30 points this season. What year is this, 1915?
2. Larry Krystkowiak, Utah: Who knew he could do what he’s done in Salt Lake City? I realize he had a cup of coffee as the Milwaukee Bucks’ coach, but still. He ushered the Utes into the Pac-12 in his first season (2011-12) and they went 3-15 in league play and 6-25 overall. Three seasons later, they’re 20-4 and tied atop the league with Arizona at 10-2. What a rock-steady building job, which reminds me of Krystko the longtime NBA player — steady and effective, if utterly unspectacular.
3. John Calipari, Kentucky: Yeah, that John Calipari, Kentucky. Don’t give me that business about how your grandmother could coach the Wildcats to a perfect season. She couldn’t. To the Final Four, maybe, but definitely not to a perfect season. No joke, you think what Cal does with a roster packed with alpha dogs and healthy (as in large) egos is easy? Well, it’s not. Nor is it for just anybody. Most guys couldn’t deal with it, is my guess.
