Is Cal The Perfect Villain?

[BlueSince92]

• Torched our program
• Held us hostage with buyout
• Left for rival
• Strong recruiter actively recruiting nearly all our targets.

It sucks but in a way I kind of dig it. We have a hero at the helm for the first time in a long time. But that would mean a little less if there wasn’t a serious villain for our hero to oppose.

Coach K is not stepping back on a court. I think the next few years will be a way more exciting era of Kentucky basketball than they would have been if Cal had just retired. Disappointment of a leader this decade at the least.

But I think he’ll make a wonderful villain.

What say you?

 

[Bluegrassking]

I don't need a villain.

I don't care about being the good guy, I like being the empire.

I don't feel "destroyed" and I'm glad he left without making it a meltdown so he did not hold us "hostage" and he wouldn't have anyway because it would only be having the contract fulfilled.

When did contracts become unsavory in anyway?
The terms were entered into freely. We guaranteed the years.

Thank Tyson and call it a win.

 

[MrHotDice]

We must exorcise the demon.that was Calipari.

 

[Wonky]

A good villain, sure. But to be the perfect villain you actually have to win something of substance. And Cal’s pushing a decade now.

 

[PopesReignOverCardinals]

• Torched our program
• Held us hostage with buyout
• Left for rival
• Strong recruiter actively recruiting nearly all our targets.

It sucks but in a way I kind of dig it. We have a hero at the helm for the first time in a long time. But that would mean a little less if there wasn’t a serious villain for our hero to oppose.

Coach K is not stepping back on a court. I think the next few years will be a way more exciting era of Kentucky basketball than they would have been if Cal had just retired. Disappointment of a leader this decade at the least.

But I think he’ll make a wonderful villain.

What say you?

I don't want him to be the villain. The later years were frustrating, but he did bring us some great memories. I'm hoping he gets offered an NBA job before coaching a single game at Arkansas.

 

[ralphdaltonfan]

He's an old man who is past the prime. The villain role doesn't suit him as much as he's Uncle Junior wandering the Streets of Newark looking for Johnny and the entire neighborhood has changed and he's last to know.

He had a chance to be on top and now he's clinging to scraps of what he was and it'll be up to him to regain that--so he hires his kid and brings Bruiser Flint's sorry ass with him. That ain't it. Those 2 are like the goobers who gave Mike Tyson a condom filled with water to attempt to get swelling down when he got his ass kicked by Buster Douglas.

 

[Inlumine]

He's an old man who is past the prime. The villain role doesn't suit him as much as he's Uncle Junior wandering the Streets of Newark looking for Johnny and the entire neighborhood has changed and he's last to know.

He had a chance to be on top and now he's clinging to scraps of what he was and it'll be up to him to regain that--so he hires his kid and brings Bruiser Flint's sorry ass with him. That ain't it. Those 2 are like the goobers who gave Mike Tyson a condom filled with water to attempt to get swelling down when he got his ass kicked by Buster Douglas.

Beautiful Sopranos reference. He’s also got a little bit of Tony’s mother too.

 

[NociHTTP]

He's the Joker, Pope is Batman.

 

[jr40831]

 

[JAPierce_2]

• Torched our program
• Held us hostage with buyout
• Left for rival
• Strong recruiter actively recruiting nearly all our targets.

It sucks but in a way I kind of dig it. We have a hero at the helm for the first time in a long time. But that would mean a little less if there wasn’t a serious villain for our hero to oppose.

Coach K is not stepping back on a court. I think the next few years will be a way more exciting era of Kentucky basketball than they would have been if Cal had just retired. Disappointment of a leader this decade at the least.

But I think he’ll make a wonderful villain.

What say you?

Yes, he’s always been the villain everywhere he’s been.

 

[Midway Cat]

He was a great villain before he came to Kentucky. That's one of the reasons we thought it would work so well, and it did for a decade.

But as someone else said, you have to win to truly be a villain. Cal couldn't get over the hump again after 2015, then COVID happened and he wasn't the same. Eventually, he became more of a punchline than someone to be feared.

 

[UK90]

I just wanted him to not be our HC any longer.

I wish he had not gone to a conference rival, and I wish he had not taken any of our players and recruits with him. You know, like Tubby did. But, no, Cal does it in a way where he steps on our toes, stays in our lives, and invites himself to be re-cast as a UK “villain.”

Well, OK, then so be it. We did that with Pitino at UL and came out way ahead against him. I look forward to doing the same against Cal at Arkansas.

 

[NewHock15]

He's only the Villain if Arkansas somehow wins a national championship in the next couple years.... Which is highly unlikely.

 

[wardlow]

What did you do to his face? I can’t stand the sight.

 

[BlueSince92]

Hogs must’ve deserved a better class of criminal.

 

[MegaBlue05]

It's all come full circle.

In 2009, Cal was the dark hero with a checkered past whose arrogance and brashness was a perfect fit for this program at a time when it was looking like a relic, while our former coach up the road had his program on the cusp of a title.

Cal pummeled our former biggest villian, the formerly beloved Rick Pitino, into submission. Cal terrorized Pitino so much Rick's program resorted to underage hookers as a recruiting tool, participated in pay for play schemes and Rick wound up getting fired.

Skip forward 7 years, Cal's success fell off, brash and bold turned into standoffish and grumpy, and the fans were sick of him with more joining the anti side with each passing disappointing season. He left in the middle of the night in April for a conference foe. UK hired a Pitino-era player as coach. Pitino endorsed the hire. Ex-Pitino guys started showing up around the program again.

Rick Pitino is now a babyface, and John Calipari is top BBN heel. I wouldn't have belived that in 2015, never in a million years.

 

[FilsonCat]

Cal isn't a villain so much as a charlatan who stuck around selling snake oil at the same spot too long. The game and the rules changed in ways that broke his only trick as a coach.

 

[mebeblue2]

why do you have to have a villain?
this is like a couple that both were unhappy then after the divorce one of them tries to make a villain.

 

[Rideordiewildcat]

Luckily Cal is his own worse enemy.

 

[Hopmix]

• Torched our program
• Held us hostage with buyout
• Left for rival
• Strong recruiter actively recruiting nearly all our targets.

It sucks but in a way I kind of dig it. We have a hero at the helm for the first time in a long time. But that would mean a little less if there wasn’t a serious villain for our hero to oppose.

Coach K is not stepping back on a court. I think the next few years will be a way more exciting era of Kentucky basketball than they would have been if Cal had just retired. Disappointment of a leader this decade at the least.

But I think he’ll make a wonderful villain.

What say you?

Imagine calling a guy who took your program to 4 final fours and won a national title the villain. You either die a hero live long enough to become the villain…. I guess.

 

[kywildcatsfannumber1]

Absolutely. Yes! Calipari left under his own validity. He left the cupboard bare as we all knew he would someday using his program as an NBA farm system. Pitino left and came back to a rival Loserville after Boston but left a roster that won a National Championship. Cal leaves for an in-conference rival to active compete against UK in the league, recruits like McNeeley, transfers. Yes, we needed to cleanse ourselves of players who didn't want to be here and one and dones in the recruiting class but doesn't change the nature of our situation all thanks to CCC.

Not to mention, ask the majority of the nation that aren't UK fans about their perception of Cal during his prime years and the national media before it was convenient to use him as a crutch to lean on to bash BBN. When he is winning and on your side, it's all good. Even then, he mocked fans and annoyed us all to hell with his Cal-isms. Maybe someday after Kentucky wins a championship again, Cal is out of the game I can reminisce on the good times from the early years with Cal. For now, he's yesterday's news and look forward to this new era with Pope getting to watch real College Basketball teams again.

 

[Rideordiewildcat]

• Torched our program
• Held us hostage with buyout
• Left for rival
• Strong recruiter actively recruiting nearly all our targets.

It sucks but in a way I kind of dig it. We have a hero at the helm for the first time in a long time. But that would mean a little less if there wasn’t a serious villain for our hero to oppose.

Coach K is not stepping back on a court. I think the next few years will be a way more exciting era of Kentucky basketball than they would have been if Cal had just retired. Disappointment of a leader this decade at the least.

But I think he’ll make a wonderful villain.

What say you?

Cal as a villian.

 

[Coalfield Cat]

Not a villain whatsoever in my opinion. But I didn’t jump on the big bandwagon and consider
Pitino a villain when he went landed at UofL either.😄

My thought is that Calipari did the best he knew to do while he was here; clearly something became amiss that prevented end-of-season results which led to a sour fanbase (I understand the frustration, I was sour too). He knew it was time to move on and he left to go to more supportive pastures—it’s what he needed to do. He’s going to try to be successful where he landed, so he’s going to take some players/recruits (it happens with every coaching change in this current era). So I don’t consider him a villain. He brought us a championship, 4 final fours, facilitated some good memories for us all, and brought constant national focus to our scandal-free program; he helped KY communities struck by disaster—-for all that, I’ll always appreciate his time and effort at Kentucky. Was he perfect? No. Is anyone perfect? No. I wish him well at Arkansas without having contempt for him. His time here ended and he moved on. Instead of hating on him, I hope we just focus support on our new coach/players and that we see great success moving ahead. As I see it, Calipari is not a villain—-he’s a guy that did the best he knew to do while here, but rightfully moved on to the best new situation he could manage to find—nothing sinister about that to me.

 

[kybloo92]

The humanitarian work for tornado victims, feet washing, serving meals etc was all good. No one is going to deny that if this is going to be a factor in judging his character. It's about his tenure as the basketball coach and the impact left on the Kentucky Basketball team that his legacy should be remembered for as a Hall of Fame coach. If he's not a villain/heel, I have a hard time calling someone coaching at another SEC school and leaving here after all-time low points an ally/face. It will be a longtime until he is viewed like Tubby for me. Wounds still fresh to think about all the good with the bad and everything that could have been. Doing less with more. Breaching his own contract was the best thing he has done in this process on his way out saving this university $33 million because he wasn't getting the job done anymore.

 

[FurdTerguson]

No. He saved us 33 million bucks by walking away. Villains don't raise millions for charity around the state. He just made a colossal mistake, making the program about "these kids" instead of "this state," and it cost him his dream job. All that being said, playing against him will feel exactly like playing against Pitino did.

 

[chevyman 50]

Cal never cared about Ky he was all about the NBA and himself, glad he is gone he was a great recruiter but that it.

 

[HagginHall1999]

He's an old man who is past the prime. The villain role doesn't suit him as much as he's Uncle Junior wandering the Streets of Newark looking for Johnny and the entire neighborhood has changed and he's last to know.

He had a chance to be on top and now he's clinging to scraps of what he was and it'll be up to him to regain that--so he hires his kid and brings Bruiser Flint's sorry ass with him. That ain't it. Those 2 are like the goobers who gave Mike Tyson a condom filled with water to attempt to get swelling down when he got his ass kicked by Buster Douglas.

The Uncle Junior reference has me laughing out loud at 5:47am. Congrats sir!

 

[HagginHall1999]

Cal never cared about Ky he was all about the NBA and himself, glad he is gone he was a great recruiter but that it.

I don't believe this for a second. I do think he experienced severe burnout and pshould have left 5 years ago. I also don't think he ever got over 2015. Then '17-'19 happened...those were critical years in retrospect that absolutely signaled the end. Two EE losses (and close one's) + blowing a wide open bracket albeit with a team who was probably no better than where they lost (SS).

I know some people will say there were cracks in foundation before but to me the major sign was and always will be Evansville. It was all downhill from there...small glimpses of hope but eventually it collapsed.

After Evansville is where all the sh*t hit the fan. 9-16, Sharpe situation, St. Peters, Wheeler situation, wasting Oscar 2nd year, more drama, 3 home straight court losses, wasting Rob/Reed, Oakland....

 

[Fox2monk]

He's an old man who is past the prime. The villain role doesn't suit him as much as he's Uncle Junior wandering the Streets of Newark looking for Johnny and the entire neighborhood has changed and he's last to know.

He had a chance to be on top and now he's clinging to scraps of what he was and it'll be up to him to regain that--so he hires his kid and brings Bruiser Flint's sorry ass with him. That ain't it. Those 2 are like the goobers who gave Mike Tyson a condom filled with water to attempt to get swelling down when he got his ass kicked by Buster Douglas.

It’s a totally Cal move to have Bruiser Flint and trade the one dude who made his offense relevant again for his kid lol. Cal certainly doesn’t want anything but yes men in his old age.

 

[Fox2monk]

I don't believe this for a second. I do think he experienced severe burnout and pshould have left 5 years ago. I also don't think he ever got over 2015. Then '17-'19 happened...those were critical years in retrospect that absolutely signaled the end. Two EE losses (and close one's) + blowing a wide open bracket albeit with a team who was probably no better than where they lost (SS).

I know some people will say there were cracks in foundation before but to me the major sign was and always will be Evansville. It was all downhill from there...small glimpses of hope but eventually it collapsed.

After Evansville is where all the sh*t hit the fan. 9-16, Sharpe situation, St. Peters, Wheeler situation, wasting Oscar 2nd year, more drama, 3 home straight court losses, wasting Rob/Reed, Oakland....

I agree 100%, if he could have broken thru those 3 years and made a final 4 or even won with the Fox team then it may have been a different outcome.

 

[BlueSince92]

Luckily Cal is his own worse enemy.

😂 The plot thickens!!

 

[jwphelps]

• Torched our program
• Held us hostage with buyout
• Left for rival
• Strong recruiter actively recruiting nearly all our targets.

It sucks but in a way I kind of dig it. We have a hero at the helm for the first time in a long time. But that would mean a little less if there wasn’t a serious villain for our hero to oppose.

Coach K is not stepping back on a court. I think the next few years will be a way more exciting era of Kentucky basketball than they would have been if Cal had just retired. Disappointment of a leader this decade at the least.

But I think he’ll make a wonderful villain.

What say

For me as these stories come out it is how big an A hole Cal was to the press, to donors and school administration. I think his ego grew to the point he was becoming intolerable to everyone. The more I hear the more I say that article that came out last year was right on.

 

[thedahc]

• Torched our program
• Held us hostage with buyout
• Left for rival
• Strong recruiter actively recruiting nearly all our targets.

It sucks but in a way I kind of dig it. We have a hero at the helm for the first time in a long time. But that would mean a little less if there wasn’t a serious villain for our hero to oppose.

Coach K is not stepping back on a court. I think the next few years will be a way more exciting era of Kentucky basketball than they would have been if Cal had just retired. Disappointment of a leader this decade at the least.

But I think he’ll make a wonderful villain.

What say you?

You can dislike his results and style but I am bothered by the framing of Cal as a villain. You can cheer against him and not think he was the right coach for us anymore but the villain thing is irrational nonsense.

I don't think he fits the role of villain at all. Quite the opposite in fact. I will lay it out using only facts. Please let me know where any of you disagree.

1. Rupp Rafters posters wanted him out and he left. He gave them what they want = they should be thanking him

2. Rupp Rafters posters were tired of the "one and dones". He took those players with him to Arkansas, so again he gave that group of fans what they want = they should be thanking him

3. Arkansas has been a strong program. The Cal haters say he cannot coach and he runs programs into the ground. By this logic, he has weakened a strong opponent in Arkansas by going there = they should be thanking him

4. He brought us a national title in his stint here = Thank you

5. Lots of recognizable stars and rising stars in basketball (some of the biggest in the game) are forever connected to Kentucky. This was not really the case before Cal. = Thank you

6. I am told we are recruiting "different kids now". Not all the 5 star Mcdonads guys. If that is the case we will not be recruiting against each other. He will just take kids that could have gone to UNC, Kansas, and Duke, thus weakening them. = Thank you.

7. Side note that many don't like to discuss, he also did a lot for the people of Kentucky and raised and gave literally millions of dollars to the state including during times of great tragedy in Kentucky. = Thank you

8. His kids he recruited did not engage in nefarious criminal activity and were good citizens, and good ambassadors and by all accounts just good kids while here and after. During Cal's time here, Duke, UNC, Kansas, Louisville and Alabama all had their share of sketchy kids and criminal activities perpetrated by players in their programs. For bringing good quality kids into our program = Thank you.

I honestly don't see the case for a villain at all.

 

[Tubbyfan78]

He’s not a villain he’s just an a$$hole..

 

[UK90]

Why didn’t you just post this in the other “Is Cal a villain” thread?

There’s no need to have multiple threads with that same narrow theme.

 

[BlueSince92]

You can dislike his results and style but I am bothered by the framing of Cal as a villain. You can cheer against him and not think he was the right coach for us anymore but the villain thing is irrational nonsense.

I don't think he fits the role of villain at all. Quite the opposite in fact. I will lay it out using only facts. Please let me know where any of you disagree.

1. Rupp Rafters posters wanted him out and he left. He gave them what they want = they should be thanking him

2. Rupp Rafters posters were tired of the "one and dones". He took those players with him to Arkansas, so again he gave that group of fans what they want = they should be thanking him

3. Arkansas has been a strong program. The Cal haters say he cannot coach and he runs programs into the ground. By this logic, he has weakened a strong opponent in Arkansas by going there = they should be thanking him

4. He brought us a national title in his stint here = Thank you

5. Lots of recognizable stars and rising stars in basketball (some of the biggest in the game) are forever connected to Kentucky. This was not really the case before Cal. = Thank you

6. I am told we are recruiting "different kids now". Not all the 5 star Mcdonads guys. If that is the case we will not be recruiting against each other. He will just take kids that could have gone to UNC, Kansas, and Duke, thus weakening them. = Thank you.

7. Side note that many don't like to discuss, he also did a lot for the people of Kentucky and raised and gave literally millions of dollars to the state including during times of great tragedy in Kentucky. = Thank you

8. His kids he recruited did not engage in nefarious criminal activity and were good citizens, and good ambassadors and by all accounts just good kids while here and after. During Cal's time here, Duke, UNC, Kansas, Louisville and Alabama all had their share of sketchy kids and criminal activities perpetrated by players in their programs. For bringing good quality kids into our program = Thank you.

I honestly don't see the case for a villain at all.

Yeah we should all be worshipping him. ✅👌🏻

Maybe we can build a shrine to his poo.

 

[Imafan4evr_]

He’s not a villain he’s just an asshole.

I think this sums things up as succinctly and accurately as anything could.

 

[thedahc]

Yeah we should all be worshipping him. ✅👌🏻

Maybe we can build a shrine to his poo.

What part did you disagree with? You didn't point that part out.

 

[TriCountyCat]

He’s not a villain he’s just an asshole.

100000%, he may not be a villain but he sure as shit is trying to purposely go after every player that is leaked thats been contacted by Kentucky. Make no mistake, beating UK is his number goal going forward.

 

[berniecarbo]

I realize he left in luxury, but thank God and Greyhound he's gone.