The tide has turned.
Rick Pitino has been labeled a future Hall of Famer since he
won the national title more than a decade ago. John Calipari always
aspired to earn the same respect given to his one-time friend while
being regarded by many in the profession as a renegade who
dominated in mid-major conferences.
Pitino was handed the keys to the New York Knicks job in
1987– back when it was considered a valuable commodity.
Calipari, on the other hand, settled for the ugly stepchild across
the river with the New Jersey Nets.
Pitino left the NBA (the first time) for one of the plum,
most sought-after gigs in college basketball at the University of
Kentucky – where he hung another banner at Rupp Arena and
then watched Tubby Smith put up one more with his players the year
after he left.
Calipari’s brief stint in the pros was followed by
having to take on a major rebuilding task with a downtrodden
Memphis program – where he came up a free throw or a Mario
Chalmers 3-pointer shy of winning a national title.
But now their roles have flipped.
Finally, Calipari is king.
He now has the job that formerly belonged to Pitino, the one
in Lexington, Ky., that has amassed more victories in its history
than any other college basketball program.
The one he never, ever thought he’d have a chance to
secure.
It’s not as if Pitino is roaming the sidelines at some
obscure mid-major institution, but let’s face it: Louisville
is not Kentucky.
Certainly not these days.
While Cal’s Cats have rolled to a 14-0 start and are
considered a legitimate national championship contender one year
after Billy Gillispie had them in the NIT, Pitino and the Cards
have struggled out of the gates – yet again – with
three losses, all to non-BCS schools.
Calipari goes to war with the No. 1 recruit in the country,
John Wall, who has more than lived up to his billing.
Pitino goes in with his own No. 1 recruit in the nation,
Samardo Samuels of the Class of 2008, who has been a disappointment
thus far and often has difficulty outrebounding opponents a
half-foot shorter.
At one time, Pitino and Calipari were buddies.
Now there’s no love lost between the two.
But their disdain, which is fairly high on the hate-meter,
still pales in comparison to the rivalry that extends through
Bluegrass Country between Louisville and Kentucky.
Saturday afternoon’s game is one that’s circled,
highlighted and bandied about each and every year.
Louisville vs. Kentucky.
Two of the most storied programs.
But now it’s ramped-up to a level unmatched by any
other game in college basketball this season.
Sure, when Kansas travels to Austin and the Jayhawks play
Texas in what could be a matchup of No. 1 and No. 2 in early
February, it’ll take center stage in the sports world.
But it doesn’t have anything on Saturday’s
matchup when Pitino and the Cardinals take the hour or so trip down
the road to Lexington.
Once upon a time, it was Pitino who recommended that his alma
mater, UMass, hire this young, cocky hotshot named John Calipari to
be its next head coach.
But much has changed.
Now they put on their phony smiles when they run across one
another at speaking engagements and AAU tournaments in the summer.
There was that dinner in July of 2008 orchestrated by
Calipari’s long-time friend and basketball power broker,
William “Worldwide Wes” Wesley. But it was just for
show.
There will be a couple of grins when they grip one
another’s hands just before the ball is tossed up, but they
will be as artificial as Pamela Anderson’s breasts.
Neither has any fondness for the other.
This was supposed to be a heavyweight battle.
Instead, Louisville will be fortunate to keep it close.
Calipari has become a rock star since taking over for Billy
Clyde Gillispie back in April. He signed Wall, and took top
recruits DeMarcus Cousins and Darnell Dodson with him from Memphis.
While Calipari has enjoyed cult status, Pitino’s
reputation has taken a hit and his name has been dragged through
the mud.
He admitted to having sex with a woman in a restaurant in a
story-turned-soap opera this past offseason that captivated the
nation. There’s a looming federal trial in which the woman
will take the stand with charges of extorting Pitino for millions
of dollars.
The Kentucky fans, the most rabid in the country, are certain
to be merciless when Pitino arrives at Rupp on Saturday.
There will be crude jokes, nasty taunts and in all
likelihood, a Kentucky victory.
"My hope is that our fans make this game about the
players,” Calipari said earlier in the week.
“It’s not about me, it’s not about Rick
Pitino.”
Calipari can finally say that and mean it, now that
he’s moved up in the world.
