John Calipari: Like Him or Not, Attention Serves Him Well

Kentucky Wildcats coach John Calipari is the star of the NCAA East Regional this weekend in Newark.

His team will play the Ohio State Buckeyes tonight in the second half of the doubleheader. And while they might be the tourney’s #1 overall seed, there’s no one that comes close to Coach Cal’s star power.

Talk about Ohio State’s Jared Sullinger, Kentucky’s Brandon Knight, and North Carolina’s Harrison Barnes, but they don’t come close to Calipari. Neither does North Carolina coach  Roy Williams, Ohio State coach Thad Matta, or Marquette coach Buzz Williams.

Those players and coaches won’t attract anywhere near the same media attention that Calipari will, as good they are.

With Calipari, a writer’s notebook is filled. It wasn’t an accident that most writers and reporters hovered around him for interviews yesterday.

The Kentucky coach enjoys the attention; he likes promoting himself. That draws his fans, and, just as importantly, it draws his critics.

His fans love the charismatic side of him and his exciting style of basketball.

His critics hate him for being cocky and full of himself.

Now, the more informed critics would point to how he put his teams on probation and bailed out afterwards, which was the case when he was coaching (and leaving) both UMass and Memphis.

To Calipari’s credit, he does not get worked up about what people think of him anymore. His age and his experience helped him realize it after being obsessed with his critics when he was in his 30s.

He laughs it off. If anything, he feeds off of it. He is not going to respond back, but he does not forget either. It only motivates him more to do well.

This year is more rewarding to him than last year, when one looks at him winning with so many underclassmen.

Folks thought Kentucky would have a down year after losing John Wall, Eric Bledsoe, DeMarcus Cousins, and Patrick Patterson to the NBA Draft.

They started off so-so, but they finished strong by winning nine of 11 heading into the NCAA tournament.

They survived and advanced against Princeton last week in the first round by getting a game-winning layup from Knight, and they had their way against West Virginia to advance to the Sweet 16.

With a good weekend, they can get to the Final Four. This would  be a testament to Calipari’s ability to coach and get players to buy into what he is doing.

That is something even his critics have to grudgingly accept.

Winning cures everything. People forget his baggage when his teams win. They appreciate his ability to get the most out of his players. They like how he motivates his team to be at its finest. They soak up whatever he says.

At Kentucky, he can do no wrong.  He is recruiting one-and-done players, and he is having success with it. His teams have yet to underachieve over there.

If Kentucky beats North Carolina tomorrow afternoon, Calipari will be in the Final Four for the second straight year. That would be a great story, looking at their up-and-down season.

This accomplishment makes his legend even bigger. If he wins a national championship with this group, he will be a hero in Kentucky. It has been 13 years since the Wildcats won the prize, and those folks are antsy for a championship.

Even if Calipari’s team falls short this year, they could win it all next year; especially if the current group of freshmen decide to stay in college with the NBA going through a lockout after this season.

Calipari knows he can win a championship with one-and-done players. He has had success before; it’s just a matter of time.

It isn’t just his success that draws people. It’s his personality. He can talk to anyone. He loves shooting it with the fans and the boosters, which is something coaches typically dread.

He is the type of guy that is a go-getter, and people are drawn to that.

Critics will hold out hope that he continues to fail. There’s no question they enjoyed seeing West Virginia denying Kentucky the Final Four by beating them in the NCAA regional final last year.

That’s okay with Calipari. He knows they are watching him, and that’s a compliment to him. He feels that the more the critics pay attention to him, the more they envy his success.

It’s the type of stuff that keeps him going. It makes him focus on accomplishing his goals, which is to recruit more championships.

All eyes are on him tomorrow. That’s the way he likes it.