[FOX 26]Gillispie Sues Kentucky Athletic Assoc.

So what's worse, a bully who isn't a cheater or a cheater who isn't a bully?

In the end, fans (even UK fans) care most about winning and would even flush a Coach K (if he had a bad run) if it brought them a cheating bully who could win titles.

From the article, I think what BCG did was over-the-top, but so far, he's never crossed the Bobby Knight physical abuse line. It maybe mental abuse, but no more so than a good military school would do to you...but this is college basketball.

And so that's how I see BCG, a military drill instructor type coach. In many great military schools and programs, they'll mentally abuse you like crazy and work you to the max, but they won't hit you. It's a distinct line and just a different school of thought from what most college bball coaches are like today.

It surely didn't work out at UK, but with my very own eyes, I witnessed a terribly undisciplined and unmotivated A&M team transform into an aggressive, extremely hard working team full of pit bulls. IMO, the talent level didn't change much. Their two best players by far (Law and Wright) were on the prior teams as well....but it worked. And it wasn't simply winning vs losing. It was about discipline and maximum effort.

I don't think BCG changed his philosophy when he went to UK. It's just a different group of players and a different area. And basketball is not pure science, so strategies/philosophies aren't always portable. So those stories aren't really shocking to me and aren't terrible for his rep imo either. Now would it hurt in the eyes of some schools? Sure. But it's not like a school that would want him wouldn't know the type of coach he is. I mean seriously, that would be bad research on a big investment, which is what UK perhaps did, and now they'll pay.

But at least they got a superstar coach now right?

 

I wasn't a Calipari fan to begin with, but to be honest has anyone been able to prove the guy does cheat?

I didn't like him at Memphis because he was getting high rankings in a piss-poor conference, but other than that I had nothing against the guy.

As for BCG being like Bobby Knight... I hated and still hate Bobby Knight. I understand tough love, but I just don't agree with it in concept. There are other and better ways to get your point across with 99% of the kids you come in contact with.. especially the kids you are talking about that were here at UK. Those weren't street kids who've had a rough life, they were suburban kids who had worked hard.

 

Does he cheat? Can they prove it? Maybe, maybe no. Now Pitino. He definitely did some cheating...

I agree with both Kim and Hayesfan. The story really doesn't seem like that big of a deal. But I agree, as a parent I would be pissed. As a teammate if I didn't buy into the coaches philosophy I might support my comrade and start going sour on BCG. But all that really matters is wins. From an outside standpoint its just not a big deal, if UK won some people might even praise that antic. What a few parents and kids think isn't relevant at a program like Kentucky. Until they start losing that is.

Like Hayesfan I also hate Bobby Knight. I think he is a dick and if I was a prospct I would never even entertain an interview with the guy. But that never felt like BCG's MO. His mentality was based more on working his guys extremely hard not reducing himself to pee-pee measuring shenanigans. Either BCG was really frustrated with the situation, he snapped, was already losing his players, got desperate, I don't know. Yes he is rough but previously he couldn't be categorized as well... half-crazy.

I mean BCG's former players love him. Acie Law who almost quit on the team when BCG came in basically fell in love with the guy. Look at BCG's staff its full of former players. One left a lucrative job with IBM to take a small role at Kentucky. Something just isn't right. There is a missing link somewhere along this path.

 

Ba Da Dum Dum!

LOL

I honestly don't know if he cheated anywhere else, but my ego says you don't need to cheat in recruiting at a place like UK. The facilities are top of the line, the fan base is rabid making the kids instant stars, most of our games are nationally televised, and they are all televised adding to the publicity, so if you have any sort of personality that enjoys recruiting you can be successful within the rules.

But then again, don't get me started on the rules, because the NCAA needs an overhaul as much as anything else.

 

I didn't mean to implicate Calipari as a proven cheater, though there are suspicious circumstances. My main point was that most fans really only care about winning. They hate BCG for act now, but if he won, they would have swept everything under the rug or even embraced his tactics.

And w/ Calipari, I think UK fans are embracing him because he's a recruiter and a winner, and even if something came to light on real cheating in the past, it would have to be very very very bad cheating to really hut him. But if he starts losing and some cheating gets uncovered, then everyone will turn on him.

So I'm just saying fans will love winners or value winning over other things. I'm not saying they don't care about other values, but in our sports world, winning is pretty much the most valued thing out there.

 

That's true, though I think there are probably some of the more moronic UK fans think winning is the only thing and can't see anything but the W's... but most of them are just people like me who yes enjoy winning, but like to see the kids working hard an improving more than anything else.

Otherwise we wouldn't have continued to sell out Rupp for the last ten years or so.

 

Dang, has UK been so-so for the last decade? That just seems so weird. Hopefully y'all get it turned around before it goes the way of A&M football and completely falls off the college sports map.

 

Hayesfan I really like your posts and the info you supply to the board... but come on now.

The guy has left two high profile jobs weeks before the NCAA dropped the hammer at UMass and Memphis. Both programs forfeited wins and players were found to be cheating and accepting large amounts of money.


If it smells like it.....If it looks like it....Then it probably is.