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Rick Barnes on John Calipari

It's nice to see kind words and accurate assessments about Cal in the media, because so often stories contain neither. Barnes is a class act.

Thanks for sharing! (But that article is horribly-written.)
 
Cal's circle of close coaching friends is interesting - The guys who he's really tight with, off the top of my head

Barnes - loved by all coaches and media, charismatic, known as the consummate southern gentleman
Huggy - level-headed but blunt/straight shooter kind of guy. looks like a mafia enforcer, widely villainized in media
Izzo - about as respected on the court as any coach, with a quiet, friendly, but frank personality, loved by media
Sean Miller - like a nephew to Cal, with an intense, fiery, aggressive personality, liked by media
(formerly) Tarkanian - did not give a crap what anybody thought about him. Loved by other coaches. somewhat villainized in media until death

I also don't know if he's super close with Frank Martin, but they have both heaped praise on each other, and Frank has said that he loves Cal before.

The only pattern I see between these guys is that they're all really straight shooters. It seems funny, because people are always talking about how Cal is so slick and puts on airs (even many UK fans), but the people who like him most are some of the most genuine/least fake guys in coaching. And they all praise how honest he is. Honesty and loyalty/unselfishness are the two attributes they always bring up.

Very interesting.
 
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It's nice to see kind words and accurate assessments about Cal in the media, because so often stories contain neither. Barnes is a class act.

Thanks for sharing! (But that article is horribly-written.)

It is horribly written. Tennessee writer.

I hope Doug Gottlieb doesn't read the article, which I am sure he won't. He dislikes Calipari and Kentucky.
No wonder Jay Williams wanted to punch his condescending ass out when the worked at ESPN together.
 
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Cal's circle of close coaching friends is interesting - The guys who he's really tight with, off the top of my head

Barnes - loved by all coaches and media, charismatic, known as the consummate southern gentleman
Huggy - level-headed but blunt/straight shooter kind of guy. looks like a mafia enforcer, widely villainized in media
Izzo - about as respected on the court as any coach, with a quiet, friendly, but frank personality, loved by media
Sean Miller - like a nephew to Cal, with an intense, fiery, aggressive personality, liked by media
(formerly) Tarkanian - did not give a crap what anybody thought about him. Loved by other coaches. somewhat villainized in media until death

I also don't know if he's super close with Frank Martin, but they have both heaped praise on each other, and Frank has said that he loves Cal before.

The only pattern I see between these guys is that they're all really straight shooters. It seems funny, because people are always talking about how Cal is so slick and puts on airs (even many UK fans), but the people who like him most are some of the most genuine/least fake guys in coaching. And they all praise how honest he is. Honesty and loyalty/unselfishness are the two attributes they always bring up.

Very interesting.

You forgot one of Cal's closest straight-shooters.....Larry Brown.
 
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Cal's circle of close coaching friends is interesting - The guys who he's really tight with, off the top of my head

Barnes - loved by all coaches and media, charismatic, known as the consummate southern gentleman
Huggy - level-headed but blunt/straight shooter kind of guy. looks like a mafia enforcer, widely villainized in media
Izzo - about as respected on the court as any coach, with a quiet, friendly, but frank personality, loved by media
Sean Miller - like a nephew to Cal, with an intense, fiery, aggressive personality, liked by media
(formerly) Tarkanian - did not give a crap what anybody thought about him. Loved by other coaches. somewhat villainized in media until death

I also don't know if he's super close with Frank Martin, but they have both heaped praise on each other, and Frank has said that he loves Cal before.

The only pattern I see between these guys is that they're all really straight shooters. It seems funny, because people are always talking about how Cal is so slick and puts on airs (even many UK fans), but the people who like him most are some of the most genuine/least fake guys in coaching. And they all praise how honest he is. Honesty and loyalty/unselfishness are the two attributes they always bring up.

Very interesting.
You forgot John Chaney! :joy:
 
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Funny thing is that they're friends now!

I wonder how many times a year these 2 actually hang out and have a drink? haha. After being threated to be choked, i'm not sure i would want to be anywhere near the former Temple coach with booze in his system.
 
Funny, Cal and Crean were reported to be close; their families hung out together. That was before Crean screwed things up by calling for IU fans to be the most obnoxious in the country right before the infamous Dec. 2011 game, and then the scheduling debacle. Crean chose pandering to the immature and idiotic fanbase there over civility and friendship.

Now, not so much. Crean has apparently burned that bridge. What a douche.

Oh, and IU sucks.
 
No offense, but I just don't agree. It's a sports story on a sports website. I guess my standards are too low, huh?

I think there are basic and objective grammatical rules that any writer should follow, regardless of the intended outlet. I'm not sure why you are so defensive. Perhaps you're the author? If so, I'm sorry, but your writing needs work.
 
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Cal's circle of close coaching friends is interesting - The guys who he's really tight with, off the top of my head

Barnes - loved by all coaches and media, charismatic, known as the consummate southern gentleman
Huggy - level-headed but blunt/straight shooter kind of guy. looks like a mafia enforcer, widely villainized in media
Izzo - about as respected on the court as any coach, with a quiet, friendly, but frank personality, loved by media
Sean Miller - like a nephew to Cal, with an intense, fiery, aggressive personality, liked by media
(formerly) Tarkanian - did not give a crap what anybody thought about him. Loved by other coaches. somewhat villainized in media until death

I also don't know if he's super close with Frank Martin, but they have both heaped praise on each other, and Frank has said that he loves Cal before.

The only pattern I see between these guys is that they're all really straight shooters. It seems funny, because people are always talking about how Cal is so slick and puts on airs (even many UK fans), but the people who like him most are some of the most genuine/least fake guys in coaching. And they all praise how honest he is. Honesty and loyalty/unselfishness are the two attributes they always bring up.

Very interesting.
Never had anything against Barnes or Izzo
 
I wonder how many times a year these 2 actually hang out and have a drink? haha. After being threated to be choked, i'm not sure i would want to be anywhere near the former Temple coach with booze in his system.
Well, UL fans love to play that incident up like "see - even rival coaches think that Cal is grimy - he was driven to violence towards another coach - you never see that" blah blah blah.

Look back at Chaney's history since the 80s. He's threatened or gotten physical with coaches like half a dozen times. He was apparently a huge hothead, and Cal was just one of many who was on his wrong side at one point, but nobody talks about that.
 
I think there are basic and objective grammatical rules that any writer should follow, regardless of the intended outlet. I'm not sure why you are so defensive. Perhaps you're the author? If so, I'm sorry, but your writing needs work.


My goodness. So serious. Can't wait till recess.:)
 
Cal's circle of close coaching friends is interesting - The guys who he's really tight with, off the top of my head

Barnes - loved by all coaches and media, charismatic, known as the consummate southern gentleman
Huggy - level-headed but blunt/straight shooter kind of guy. looks like a mafia enforcer, widely villainized in media
Izzo - about as respected on the court as any coach, with a quiet, friendly, but frank personality, loved by media
Sean Miller - like a nephew to Cal, with an intense, fiery, aggressive personality, liked by media
(formerly) Tarkanian - did not give a crap what anybody thought about him. Loved by other coaches. somewhat villainized in media until death

I also don't know if he's super close with Frank Martin, but they have both heaped praise on each other, and Frank has said that he loves Cal before.

The only pattern I see between these guys is that they're all really straight shooters. It seems funny, because people are always talking about how Cal is so slick and puts on airs (even many UK fans), but the people who like him most are some of the most genuine/least fake guys in coaching. And they all praise how honest he is. Honesty and loyalty/unselfishness are the two attributes they always bring up.

Very interesting.

Nice post. Agree with pretty much all of it including your characterization of the various coaches. I like them all especially Tark. He was definitely my kind of guy. Like some other's I think Miller may get a serious look if Cal moves on anytime in the near future. I think I'd be good with that choice. Yes, I know he's never gotten beyond the E8, but I just can't see denying he can, and he will. As for Cal it's great when other's acknowledge and say what we know, but it doesn't matter. He's our guy, warts and pimples, and all. He's perfect for UK, and I'm extremely glad we have him.
 
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