From Amherst to Memphis: Coach Cal Brings His Act Down South

Having the #1 ranked team in America is the goal of any college coach. John Calipari is no exception. In fact, there was a time not too long ago when he resurrected a basketball program nestled in Western Massachusetts’ Pioneer Valley. All he has to do is close his eyes to remember a time when he led UMass to the top of the NCAA polls and had their fans dreaming of a national title banner hanging from the Mullins Center rafters. There is certainly something inside of this man that loves the challenge of creating a giant – in the most improbable of places. It doesn’t take long after his arrival on campus for big-time college basketball to follow. The country’s top recruits, #1 ranked teams, top seeding in March and runs to the Final Four have followed Calipari from Amherst to Memphis.

A decade ago, the eyes of the sporting world were fixed on the campus of the University of Massachusetts for a matchup between the top-ranked Minutemen and the Wake Forest Demon Deacons. Does Marcus Camby vs. Tim Duncan ring a bell? UMass won that game, and plenty of others. Marcus Camby was named national Player of the Year and led UMass to the Final Four.

John Calipari had brought UMass to the top of the NCAA world, just as promised.

Here’s the problem…go look in the NCAA record books and you will find no mention of this accomplishment, as if it never happened. Why you ask? The NCAA struck UMass’ accomplishment from their records as punishment for multiple NCAA infractions – that’s why. Calipari’s run at UMass became tarnished, concluding under the cloud of scandal. Marcus Camby ran to the NBA; Coach Cal left town quicker than a Peter Pan bus; and the program was left in ruins. NCAA sanctions, penalties and scholarship deductions immediately handcuffed the program. Ten years and three coaches later, UMass is still trying to sort their way out from under the wave of corruption that Coach Cal left behind.

That brings us to Saturday night’s mega matchup when his new team, the top-ranked Memphis Tigers, host the #2 ranked Tennessee Volunteers. The eyes of the nation will again be fixed on a John Calipari reclamation project – this time in the Memphis heartland instead of the Massachusetts valley. John Calipari has again delivered on his “hire me and I will bring big-time college basketball to your school” promise – but at what cost? Did that promise make any mention of running a clean program? This is the major question that has gone largely unanswered during Memphis University’s meteoric rise. The last time John Calipari coached a #1 ranked team, his program was penetrated by corruption. The things that happened under his leadership were so bad that, to this day, the NCAA fails to recognize that UMass even existed in 1996.

Now he coaches another #1 team, again laden with America’s top recruits. The question begs to be asked: Has John Calipari simply cleaned up his act, or is he up to his same old tricks? The same tricks that have Kelvin Sampson about to lose his job at Indiana. The same tricks that give college basketball a bad name and force the NCAA to rule with an iron fist. If you’re a Memphis supporter these thoughts never enter your mind. What happened in the ’90s at a school 1,300 miles away is not your problem. They would argue that history couldn’t repeat itself because John Calipari simply wouldn’t be that stupid!

Is it that far-fetched to speculate that Coach Cal might not know any better or to suggest that he may be duplicating the things that worked at UMass? Are we to believe that his indiscretions were left behind in Amherst, while this recent success has cleanly followed him to Memphis? Are we supposed to just forget history?

Either way, Memphis fans will enjoy this moment Saturday night. They will continue to enjoy the national attention the program is receiving and relish the excitement that March will surely bring. This is what John Calipari lives for – delivering great college basketball, as promised. However, if his prior blind-eyed corruption turns out to be a trend instead of an aberration, Memphis will see the other side of a Coach Cal program. The side where the NCAA tears the program down just as quickly as Calipari built it up – as if it never happened!

A President's Day Matinee

The Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum was sold out for the ninth time this season as the New York Islanders (28-25-7) hosted the San Jose Sharks (31-20-8) in a President’s Day matinee. Trailing 2-0 after a Joe Thornton goal early in the third period, the Islander’s offense came to life, scoring three straight times for a come-from-behind 3-2 victory.

The game was littered with penalties as both teams had their special team units on display all afternoon. Despite almost half of the game being played on the power play, both squads failed to convert on their chances, as San Jose went 0-7 and New York 0-6 with the man advantage. Both teams wasted full two-minute, five-on-three power plays in the first period. San Jose struck first early in the second period as Marcel Goc skated out from behind the net and roofed a shot over Rick DiPietro. Evgeni Nabakov was forced from the game later in the second after a Radek Martinek slap shot found its way through his mask, busting open his nose. Failing to capitalize on this opportunity, the Islanders managed only one shot on San Jose backup Thomas Griess. San Jose’s stingy defense helped the minor-league call up get through the second period virtually untested. In true hockey fashion, Nabokov returned for the third period, stitches and all, but the effects of the Martinek shot lingered and appeared to have an impact on his game.

Trailing by two after Thornton’s tally, the Islanders continued their ‘business as usual’ approach. The hard work finally paid off when Andy Hilbert crashed the net looking for a Bill Guerin entry pass, finding a way to jam home his seventh goal of the season. Mike Comrie quickly followed, scoring his 18th and fanciest goal of the year, pulling off a schoolyard move to get past two San Jose defenders before catching Nabakov off guard with his shot. At 11:19 of the third period the Islanders struck again, scoring their third goal in just under seven minutes. The game winner came off the stick of Freddy Meyer, who rushed down the right wing and snapped off a wrist shot through a defender and past Nabokov. The flurry of goals were a welcome dose of offense for a team having difficulty generating scoring chances, let alone a goal, through the games first 43 minutes. Winners of four in a row, the Islanders recent resurgence leaves them one point behind the Boston Bruins for the eighth and final playoff spot, and only three points behind the sixth-seeded New York Rangers. The Islanders will be looking for their fifth straight win Wednesday night when they visit the Washington Capitals.

Notes:

-Islander defensemen Andy Sutton injured his hamstring during the final two minutes of the game when he fell awkwardly after finishing a check on San Jose forward Jeremy Roenick. He is scheduled for an MRI Tuesday. If the injury causes him to miss time he would join a growing list of Islander defenders currently populating the injury report; Chris Campoli (shoulder), Bruno Gervais (oblique), and Brendan Witt (knee).

-Islander coach Ted Nolan spent the first period in his Coliseum office, speaking with his son Jordan Nolan about the sudden death of Mickey Renaud. Renaud was Jordan’s teammate and captain of the Ontario Hockey League’s Windsor Spitfire. A fifth round pick in the 2007 NHL entry draft, Renaud died Monday shortly after collapsing at his parents' home in Tecumseh, Ontario. Ted Nolan put it best saying "He was my son's teammate and good friend, and it was tragic," continuing to say, "Sometimes there's a lot more important things to me than a hockey game." Renaud was 19 years old.

The Respect List

G-MAN'S WEEKLY POWER RANKING
1/28/08 - 2/12/08

1.) New York Giants (2) – The road to a Super Bowl title has never been more daunting than what the New York Giants faced during the season’s final month. Three straight road games, all against division champions, followed by the enormity of facing an 18-0 team in the Super Bowl. Underdogs throughout their entire journey, these Giants emerged from this eight-team tournament as the undisputed champion of the world. Congratulations to the G-Men on a job well done, even if I still can’t believe it happened.

2.) Boston Celtics (9) – The Celtics are 17-0 vs. the feared Western Conference this season. This includes two impressive wins in the past 10 days against Dallas and San Antonio, both on national TV, both without KG. If Boston isn’t the best team in the NBA then I must be missing something.

3.) Detroit Redwings (4)– The mighty Wings have stumbled of late, dropping their last four contests, including a home-loss to archrival Anaheim (making their first power ranking appearance of the year below). This current losing streak, coupled with the loss of sparkplug forward Dan Cleary, may have Detroit GM Ken Holland looking to make a deal before the February 26 trade deadline.

4.) Memphis Tigers (6) – Still undefeated and still the #1 team in America. The February 23 showdown against the top-ten Volunteers can’t get here quick enough!

5.) Duke Blue Devils (NR) – In a classic Duke/UNC game, with the teams ranked #2 and #3 in America, the Blue Devils marched into Chapel Hill and beat the Tar Heels 89-78. When the Blue Devils heat up behind the arc, they have proven they can play with any team in America, hitting 13 3’s in front of the Dean Dome faithful. DeMarcus Nelson, Gerald Henderson and Greg Paulus lead a 21-2 group — just looking for trouble in the NCAA this season.


6.) New York Mets (NR) – I’ll be the first to admit that it’s rare to see a baseball team appear in a February power ranking, especially considering pitchers and catchers haven’t even reported yet. For this to be the case something earth shattering needs to take place –– acquiring the best pitcher on the planet falls into that category. Say it with me everybody…Johan Santana is a Met…Johan Santana is a Met…Johan Santana is a Met...Believe it or not Met fans, the off-season dream has become a reality!

7.) Tiger Woods (7) – Tiger Woods detractors will point to his apparent inability to come from behind to win a tournament, especially majors. This past weekend in Dubai, Tiger once again silenced his critics. Trailing by four shots entering the final round, Woods birdied six of the final nine holes, shooting a final round 65 en route to a remarkable one-shot, come-from-behind victory. Tiger is now two for two on the young season, and I think it’s fair to say that the PGA Tour has officially been put on notice.

8.) Detroit Pistons (NR) – The Pistons have won nine straight and, near the all-star break, are looking as cohesive as we’ve seen them all season. Only three games behind Boston for the Eastern Conference lead, keep an eye on Detroit down the strech as they look to wrestle home-court advantage away from the resurgent Celtics.

9.) Anaheim Ducks (NR) – Scott Neidermayer is back; Temmu Sellanne is back; and it appears the Anaheim Ducks are back. After showing a classic case of Stanley Cup hangover, the return of the Conn Smyth MVP and 48-goal sniper has helped Anaheim rediscover their form. In the midst of a five-game winning streak that includes a 3-2 win over the Red Wings in Hockeytown, the Ducks appear ready to reclaim Western Conference supremacy down the home-stretch.


10.) Jimmie Johnson (NR) - One of my fundamental beliefs is that auto racing should get more love in the mainstream media, so I’m here to give it a little off-stream. NASCAR’s two-time defending champion is Jimmie Johnson - the same Jimmie Johnson who won the 2006 Daytona 500. Why is he tenth in this week’s poll you ask? Go look and see who’s on the pole in the 50th running of the Daytona 500 this Sunday afternoon and you’ll find your answer. Sorry to bore you with the obvious, racing fans - I’m just trying to bring everyone else up to speed.

By Nick Giarrusso