When I first came across the report by
The Memphis Commercial Appeal Wednesday night stating that
the NCAA is investigating the Memphis basketball program for major
violations during the 2007-08 season, I wasn't surprised one bit by
what I was reading.
Maybe it was just a gut feeling, or maybe it was something I
saw in the Memphis locker room during that season.
But it seemed only a matter of time before another mid-major
that John Calipari had built up to national proportions would get
knocked right back down to size.
That's potentially what will happen to a Memphis program that
had a bright future ahead with new head coach Josh Pastner —
one of the youngest and brightest minds in the game at only the age
of 31 — assuming control not even two months ago.
And Calipari, enjoying his brand new eight-year, $31.65
million contract at Kentucky, won't feel one ounce of pain from it
all.
Heck, he knew this was coming.
The NCAA, in fact, notified Memphis on Jan. 16 — more
than two months before Calipari accepted the UK job on March 31
— of the potential major violations, one of them stating that
an unknown person took the SAT for a player to earn acceptance at
Memphis, and that player, according to FOXSports.com sources, being
named as last year's No. 1 draft pick, Derrick Rose.
And Kentucky knew what was coming for Memphis, too. Kentucky
president Lee Todd admitted that he was aware of the investigation
when Calipari was interviewing for the job and furthermore, said
that his new head coach was honest and open about "any issues under
investigation at the University of Memphis" during the hiring
process.
"We are confident that Coach Calipari was not involved in any
way," Todd said. "He was very open with us about what he was aware
of at that particular time, and since this is an issue between the
University of Memphis and the NCAA and not a UK issue, we will not
be commenting further on anything related to this situation."
So let's not kid ourselves.
Calipari knew quite well what was barreling down the tracks
at him in Memphis, and his quickest escape was Kentucky.
After all, the Wildcats were coming off two unsatisfactory
— particularly to Kentucky standards — seasons under
Billy Gillispie and athletic director Mitch Barnhart couldn't have
been more desperate to find a high-profile coach with Billy
Donovan, Rick Barnes and Jay Wright turning down the job on
multiple occasions.
And for Calipari, the timing was perfect.
Not only would he be getting his dream job, a handsome salary
and most importantly, a fresh start, but he'd also be in the clear
when it came time for the NCAA to hand down its punishment to
Memphis.
Sure, he's agreed to fully cooperate with the NCAA's hearing
next week in Indianapolis, but Calipari won't have to worry about
the repercussions.
That will be left for poor Pastner, who told The Associated
Press on Thursday that he wasn't even aware of the allegations when
Memphis offered him the head coaching job in April.
For Calipari though, it shouldn't feel all that different
from 13 years ago, when he took UMass to the Final Four only to
have the appearance vacated by the NCAA thanks to Naismith Player
of the Year Marcus Camby accepting $28,000 from two sports agents.
At that time, he was already off to the NBA, taking over as
head coach of the New Jersey Nets and leaving behind the start of
something big in Amherst. Now, after locking up the top recruiting
class in the last two months, he'll get his chance to win a
national title at one of college basketball's premiere programs
right away.
But the eyes will loom even larger on Calipari's back.
The NCAA is watching, the media is watching and anyone and
everyone else in college basketball is watching.
His every move will be scrutinized. His every word will be
dissected.
Every time he locks up a top recruit, we'll wonder if money
or a fudged SAT exam was involved.
Every time he wins another game, we'll wonder if his program
is really doing everything by the book.
It's a reputation that Calipari has built for himself and a
predicament that he'll most likely deal with for the rest of his
career.
But as they often say in sports, winning never comes easy.
