By WILL GRAVES
AP Sports Writer
January 15, 2010
LEXINGTON,
Ky. (AP) -- When John Calipari was introduced as Kentucky's coach on
April 1, he cautioned that he wasn't "The Grand Poobah."
April Fools!
Nine
months later he has conquered the Bluegrass, leading the unbeaten
Wildcats back to their customary perch among college basketball's elite
with 17 consecutive wins, the No. 2 ranking in the country and a
legitimate chance to reach their first Final Four in 12 years.
Calipari has done his best to downplay his team's meteoric rise. In his eyes, the Wildcats are 10-7 at best.
"I'm pleased, but we have a long way to go," he said.
Maybe, but Kentucky's best start since Adolph Rupp was on the sidelines 44 years ago has caught the nation's attention.
"They're
absolutely exceeding expectations, any reasonable expectations anyway,"
said ESPN analyst Jay Bilas. "I think John's been the Coach of the Year
to this point. For him to have taken a program and to have infused so
much talent and to get the talent playing so well together ... is
remarkable."
And if that isn't enough to justify being the
highest-paid college basketball coach in the country at about $4
million per year, Calipari's influence off the court has been just as
pronounced.
He spent his first six months on the job promoting
the program from one end of the state to another with a politician's
savvy and a carnival barker's sense of showmanship. He asked for
patience but did it with a smile, knowing his pleas would go unheeded.
It tends to happen when you assemble the top-rated recruiting class in
the country led by star guard John Wall.
So far, the precocious Wildcats have lived up to the hype, providing the state with a welcome dose of good news.
"The
one thing people have always enjoyed emotionally is Kentucky
basketball," said Kentucky athletic director Mitch Barnhart. "Cal has
brought that (joy) back and given people some pride in their program
again. He's given them energy and fun and I don't know how you put a
price-tag on that."
That would be $31.65 million for eight years.
Barnhart
knew Calipari's eye-popping deal -- the highest in college basketball
-- would raise some eyebrows, particularly in a state whose economy is
slumping. He was almost defensive the day Calipari was hired, arguing
it would be money well spent if Calipari could restore the program's
faded luster.
Nobody asks Barnhart about Calipari's salary anymore.
If
anything, said Kentucky alum and booster Jim Host, Calipari may be
underpaid for how he's delivered the program out of the depths of Billy
Gillispie's tumultuous two-year tenure.
"I thought Gillispie was
a disaster," Host said. "Cal's done the best job of being an ambassador
for the university of anybody I've ever seen. He's excited the base of
that program like nobody I've seen since (former coach) Rick (Pitino)."
Calipari has energized the program's corporate partners too, a segment that is growing seemingly by the day.
IMG
College pays Kentucky around $8 million a year for the school's local
multimedia rights package. The athletic association's take goes up if
advertising sales exceed a certain threshold.
That didn't happen under Tubby Smith and Gillispie. Calipari's success has helped open the flood gates.
"It
has gotten a whole lot easier to sell it with Calipari here," said IMG
College managing director Tom Stultz. "The sponsors seem very, very
happy with him and his attitude toward them. He's a guy that gets it
and totally understands the value of doing what he can."
Namely winning and looking good doing it -- in that order.
The
school has been stalking the 2,000-win barrier for several years,
something that had become a bit of a joyless pursuit under Gillispie.
Instead of limping to the line, however, the Wildcats sprinted across,
becoming the first school to reach the milestone with a win over Drexel
in December.
The postgame celebration featured confetti and
commemorative "UK2K shirts" modeled by the players. The school's
athletics Web site set a sales record the next day, a boost deputy
director of athletics Rob Mullens likened to a Final Four or conference
championship appearance.
"He brings a different profile to the table," Mullens said. "He's put us back in the national conversation on a daily basis."
Though
Calipari is saying all the politically correct things about the early
success, his mentor Larry Brown isn't fooled. Brown is only too aware
of how consumed his former assistant is with getting Kentucky back to
prominence.
"I could be in the middle of an eight-game losing
streak and he won't ever ask me how we're doing," said Brown, who
coaches the NBA's Charlotte Bobcats. "It's all about (him). I always
have to remind John, 'You know, John, we just lost our eighth
straight.' He's always so wrapped up."
Well, he does have a rapt audience.
Thousands
of fans stick around after home games to listen to his postgame radio
chats. He has over 1 million followers on Twitter, a cutting edge Web
site and his latest motivational book was a best-seller.
Calipari has made Kentucky basketball cool again.
Superfan
Ashley Judd -- a fixture in the stands during Pitino's glory years --
has returned to Rupp Arena. Games are drawing such huge crowds the
actress had trouble finding a parking space before last week's win over
Georgia.
"It's like a big cloud has been lifted off the state and people have their swagger back," Stultz said.
The
school has already broken its single-game attendance record three times
this season. The starting price for upper level seats to next month's
showdown with Tennessee are already $150 a piece on Stubhub.
At
least those seats are available, that can't be said for ones courtside.
Attorney Darryl Isaacs, an alum and high profile booster, is one fan
who isn't giving his up. He's even started traveling with the team
again, something he did only once during Gillispie's tenure.
During
a trip to Florida on Tuesday to watch an 89-77 win over the Gators,
Isaacs and several boosters took a look around Florida's football
facilities. They saw the list of $1 million donors to Florida
athletics. Isaacs guessed it's a number Kentucky can easily match with
Calipari at the helm.
"I do think you've got some big donors, when they see a guy of his caliber and magnitude, they don't mind stepping up," he said.
Calipari
understands Kentucky basketball extends beyond the court. He called
boosters on Christmas Day to wish them Happy Holidays and has reached
out to some of the program's luminaries like former coach Joe B. Hall
ensure they feel included.
"It's not something a normal coach would do," said booster Davis Marksbury.
It's
a renaissance Marksbury hoped would start three years ago. Calipari was
his first choice to replace Tubby Smith in 2007. The coach has proven
to be worth the wait.
"He gets people to buy in, whether it's
the donors, the players, whoever," Marksbury said. "I like to say that
if we could take the UK basketball team public and make it a public
entity, he'd be a great CEO."
For now, being "The Grand Poobah" seems to be good enough.
