If you want to be completely surprised then don't read below this opening paragraph.
Well made, but given that series it's not a surprise.
One thing I will say is John Calipari's career is long, tumultuous and polarizing. There is any number of directions they could have taken this; any number of years they could have chosen to emphasize more than anything else.
Some of the highlights and points the documentary chose to emphasize were:
- Calipari's blue collar upbringing and how the yearning to better yourself has influenced him and his approach with kids;
- His brash, fearless approach that rubbed a lot of people the wrong way at UMass;
- The historic nature of the momentum he created with that UMass program;
- The Camby and Rose scandals;
- His failure with the Nets
- His adaptation of and success with a OAD strategy and all the draft picks at Kentucky
There was a nice segment on the 2011-12 championship team but almost nothing on any other team at Kentucky. If you are looking for a documentary that is very heavy on Calipari's tenure at Kentucky this probably will disappoint, slightly, in that respect. But if you are interested in learning about Calipari, what makes him tick, how he was raised, how he came up in the coaching world, his relationship with World Wide Wes and things mostly other than UK, then you'll love it.
Some who have seen this have written that it's a 'fair/balanced portrayal of a complicated figure.' Maybe it's just me, but I don't see Calipari as a complicated figure. He's just human. Good, bad. Yes and yes. He's only "complicated" to people who are still living in that world that held Joe Paterno and Dean Smith above and beyond approach.
The documentary does a great job of illustrating the fire that burns inside Calipari. He has always been extremely driven and he is a ridiculous competitor. The film shows that. It does seem that he has mellowed in his approach, as far as how it relates to and rubs off on other people, since he has been 'mainstreamed' at Kentucky. Maybe some of that is age. But the film shows that Calipari is perfect for Kentucky because he absolutely has the same obsessive edge about winning as Kentucky fans.
He was mic'ed up as he left College Station after the Isaac Humphries technical foul led, ultimately, to their defeat. As he was leaving the arena you could hear him say, "We got cheated. We got cheated." Then he got to the locker room and said they got cheated because guys didn't make plays. He was sending a message, but his raw, visceral reaction was that he got cheated.
In another scene he was mic'ed up working a ref. He wanted a call and didn't get it. He demonstratively and in a mocking tone said to a ref, next to him, "I'm not calling that. I'm not calling that for you, Cal. Not for you, Cal." You can tell he still takes it very personally and thrives on that me-against-you, they're-against-me stuff, even if he has mellowed and been mainstreamed.
Highly recommend, but if you want a UK-centric 30 for 30 about Calipari, tone down your expectations on that one point.
I also think the film was more than fair to Calipari. It probably errs heavily on being more friendly than negative. Most of the commentators and interviewees are either pro-Calipari, opened minded about Calipari or have come around to him over time. The only one negative remark that just hung out there and didn't get resolved, I thought, was Jim Calhoun ultimately criticizing OAD and implicitly Calipari's use of it, but it was couched in mostly friendly language and Calhoun wasn't negative overall in the film.
Well made, but given that series it's not a surprise.
One thing I will say is John Calipari's career is long, tumultuous and polarizing. There is any number of directions they could have taken this; any number of years they could have chosen to emphasize more than anything else.
Some of the highlights and points the documentary chose to emphasize were:
- Calipari's blue collar upbringing and how the yearning to better yourself has influenced him and his approach with kids;
- His brash, fearless approach that rubbed a lot of people the wrong way at UMass;
- The historic nature of the momentum he created with that UMass program;
- The Camby and Rose scandals;
- His failure with the Nets
- His adaptation of and success with a OAD strategy and all the draft picks at Kentucky
There was a nice segment on the 2011-12 championship team but almost nothing on any other team at Kentucky. If you are looking for a documentary that is very heavy on Calipari's tenure at Kentucky this probably will disappoint, slightly, in that respect. But if you are interested in learning about Calipari, what makes him tick, how he was raised, how he came up in the coaching world, his relationship with World Wide Wes and things mostly other than UK, then you'll love it.
Some who have seen this have written that it's a 'fair/balanced portrayal of a complicated figure.' Maybe it's just me, but I don't see Calipari as a complicated figure. He's just human. Good, bad. Yes and yes. He's only "complicated" to people who are still living in that world that held Joe Paterno and Dean Smith above and beyond approach.
The documentary does a great job of illustrating the fire that burns inside Calipari. He has always been extremely driven and he is a ridiculous competitor. The film shows that. It does seem that he has mellowed in his approach, as far as how it relates to and rubs off on other people, since he has been 'mainstreamed' at Kentucky. Maybe some of that is age. But the film shows that Calipari is perfect for Kentucky because he absolutely has the same obsessive edge about winning as Kentucky fans.
He was mic'ed up as he left College Station after the Isaac Humphries technical foul led, ultimately, to their defeat. As he was leaving the arena you could hear him say, "We got cheated. We got cheated." Then he got to the locker room and said they got cheated because guys didn't make plays. He was sending a message, but his raw, visceral reaction was that he got cheated.
In another scene he was mic'ed up working a ref. He wanted a call and didn't get it. He demonstratively and in a mocking tone said to a ref, next to him, "I'm not calling that. I'm not calling that for you, Cal. Not for you, Cal." You can tell he still takes it very personally and thrives on that me-against-you, they're-against-me stuff, even if he has mellowed and been mainstreamed.
Highly recommend, but if you want a UK-centric 30 for 30 about Calipari, tone down your expectations on that one point.
I also think the film was more than fair to Calipari. It probably errs heavily on being more friendly than negative. Most of the commentators and interviewees are either pro-Calipari, opened minded about Calipari or have come around to him over time. The only one negative remark that just hung out there and didn't get resolved, I thought, was Jim Calhoun ultimately criticizing OAD and implicitly Calipari's use of it, but it was couched in mostly friendly language and Calhoun wasn't negative overall in the film.
