Gate 21

From One Rival To Another?

March 30th, 2009 |

It’s finally a done deal. The delusion is going to be at an all-time high – and for Kentucky basketball fans, that’s saying quite a lot…

UNRELATED YET IMPORTANT UPDATE (1:20 p.m., March 31st): Georgia still needs a coach, and is trying to get Missouri’s Mike Anderson. I don’t see why Anderson, who’s also rumored in the potential replacing of Calipari at Memphis, would go to Georgia, but who knows. Calipari, Donovan, Pearl, Anderson, Stallings and Horn in the same division next year? Wow.

UPDATE 2 (12:15 p.m., March 31st): This little bit is just too interesting and kinda funny to pass up, from Geoff Calkins at the Commercial Appeal. Interesting because it’s not 110% believable and funny because the particular donut shop was/is a cool hangout place for my friends and I in high school and now over breaks and the like (after 11 p.m. you can get half a dozen donuts for $1).

UPDATE (6:25 p.m.): ESPN is now getting in on the fun, saying the reported deal is for 8 years at $35 million – still over the $4 million mark.

If you’ve been just about anywhere on the internet on a sports website today, you’ve probably seen the John Calipari-to-Kentucky news. It’s to the point now where it’s all but official

BB Kentucky From One Rival To Another? Gate 21

Some major sites like USA Today and SI.com are coming out in the last hour or so and saying the same thing. Good ol’ Channel 5 in Memphis says it’s a done deal, and the Tigers’ Rivals site says so as well. Interestingly, in that article, it says Kentucky is paying Calipari $40 million over six years. For those of us not good at math, that’s, oh, $6.67 million PER YEAR. I heard on the Sports Animal here in Knoxville about an hour ago Jimmy Hyams say he heard the same information in talking with Ron Higgins, who’s with the Commercial Appeal in Memphis.

For comparison sake, Pete Carroll at USC and Nick Saban at Alabama make $4 million a year, give-or-take. Florida coach Billy Donovan is the nation’s highest-paid basketball coach at roughly $3.5 million.

calipari kentucky From One Rival To Another? Gate 21

Hey, can you blame me for turning down $6 million a year?

Again, I have seen nothing official on this as of 5 p.m. Eastern, so if this turns out to not be true, then all this commentary is obviously irrelevant.

Now this is not Tennessee news, but it’s certainly Tennessee-related and I would even say I care more than most being from Memphis and having the disdain for both the Memphis and Kentucky programs that I do. You have a coach that’s easy for us Vols to dislike, going from the in-state rival – and a rivalry that’s grown into one of the bigger basketball rivalries for Tennessee and Memphis the past four years – to the historic conference rival in big, bad Kentucky – one that at least has become much more competitive recently (thank you Bruce Pearl).

For me, it’s more reason to hate Kentucky. Yes, hate is a strong word. But much like the case with Alabama, Florida and Georgia in anything, if Kentucky lost every basketball game for their rest of time, I would enjoy it. Seeing them in the NIT and reading the thoughts of the crazier side of their fanbase on Rupps Rafters talk about being in the NIT? Loved it. Likewise, seeing Missouri eliminate the Tigers in the Sweet 16 last Thursday was enjoyable for me.

Now throw in Mr. Calipari, who’s dislike of and disrespectful attitude toward Tennessee and Pearl was a major reason for my dislike of the Tigers, joins Kentucky. As if they shouldn’t already be, you have to put Kentucky now as Tennessee’s biggest basketball rival now, right?

I don’t see much of a change recruiting-wise. The Memphis-area will still be hard for the Vols to recruit, like it is for both football and basketball. Calipari recruited nationally at Memphis (not many players from Memphis on the roster), and he will do that at Kentucky as well. So that doesn’t change.

And finally, I’ve read that Tennessee needs Kentucky to be good, because a strong Kentucky makes the SEC look stronger and more respected. I think that’s garbage. Kentucky is a rival. How can anything that’s good for them – and this is certainly excellent for the Wildcats – be good for Tennessee? If Tennessee keeps playing a tough schedule and wins 25 games and sweeps the SEC regular season and tournament titles in a given year, they’re going to get a high seed regardless of Kentucky or the rest of the league. (Signed, Memphis and C-USA).

On one hand, this hire by UK is scary – Calipari was their ultimate dream hire, and his recruiting ability and style has much more of a probability of success than failure. On the other hand, I say bring it. Bruce Pearl vs. John Calipari twice a year (or more) now? I can go for that…

– … to me.

Images Courtesy of: AP/ Daylife

About the Author: I'm from Memphis but I'm now entering my third year at the University of Tennessee here in Knoxville. I am majoring in Journalism/Electronic Media and hope to go into sports broadcasting/writing/something like that. I'm a huge Vol fan and have been going to games for as long as I can remember. I started my on blog called "The View From The Hill" but moved here to Gate 21 for bigger and better things. In addition to my passion for Tennessee football and basketball, I enjoy watching the NFL and the NBA as well. Basically, sports are a big part of my life. >> Read more from this author

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Posted in College Basketball, College Sports, The View From the Hill |

Tags: Bruce Pearl, John Calipari, Kentucky Wildcats, Memphis Tigers, SEC Basketball, Tennessee Basketball, Tennessee Volunteers

6 Responses to “From One Rival To Another?”

lawvol

says:

30 March 2009 at 4:43 pm

Agreed. For once I feel that Tennessee actually has an upper hand, and I’m all for Pearl vs. Calipari part deux.

Furthermore, for what Billy Clyde wasn’t, he was a madman as a recruiter. I personally don’t see Calipari replicating that every year. Not to mention the fact that Calipari will now actually have to play a conference schedule that means something.

I think Calipari will improve Kentucky, but contrary to what the Wildcat-faithful may want to believe, he will not be able to simply rain titles.

Bruce Almighty can hold his own in that fight…

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Home Sweet Home

says:

30 March 2009 at 4:53 pm

I think it’s an upgrade for Kentucky recruiting-wise. sure, BCG could recruit, but Calipari got players to play (a) for the University of Memphis and (b) in Conference USA. granted, there’s FedEx and the Forum and Memphis is nicer city than it’s given credit for, but still he can recruit…

raining titles? no, but he’s now got a name program to recruit to, he assuming he “embraces the tradition” and all that garbage.

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Oskie

says:

30 March 2009 at 8:10 pm

I’m 100% on board with this hire. Sure it makes Kentucky all the more formidable, but we weren’t exactly owning Gillespie either. Cal is the coach that I love to hate (much like Auriemma in women’s), so I’m all for intensifying the rivalry between UT and UK, as well as the Cal vs. Pearl duels.

I’m sure Bruce is up to the challenge. And maybe this opens up Memphis just a little bit more for us.

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Home Sweet Home

says:

31 March 2009 at 11:25 am

no doubt this fires up the UK-UT rivalry…

what’s interesting now is he’s kinda leaving everybody in suspense. that story in the second update was the first I had checked (Memphis site) and I have no idea what the man’s gonna do now. at this point it would be epic hilarity if he stays.

I’d just keep hitting F5 on Rupps Rafters to watch the 20K person meltdown haha

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Wittiness

says:

1 April 2009 at 4:49 pm

oh Home Sweet Home.. you amaze me.. This doesn’t help Tennessee? This is a rivalry where records are thrown out the window, and the game is almost always close (if you bring up the mid 90’s I swear..) But those two losses to Kentucky this year are what really killed us in the seeding.. if thats two losses to the Kentucky of old, our seed is 2-3-4 times higher.. and Memphis wasn’t rewarded this year for playing a weak schedule, any other team with that record would have been the overall 1 seed, hands down, no questions asked… for you to bring up the c-usa thing is to say that Memphis wasn’t good this year, they just played in a weak conference.. do you honestly believe that? The fact is, Memphis was really good this year, and last year.. (which is when they get the 1-2 seeds respectively).. Yes if Tennessee justt takes care of business that would have helped, but Auburn took care of business this year and with Kentucky out, enjoyed a short stint in the NIT. This solidifies Kentucky as our top rival, which is the way is should have been anyways, helps the SEC, and gives us a coach that we LOVE to hate playing in our arena every year.. This also gives us free reign on Memphis every year where WE decide when and where to play them.. I’m thinking three home for one away Tiger high..

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Home Sweet Home

says:

1 April 2009 at 10:34 pm

oh dear Wittiness…

so you’re telling me that if ONE and only 1 SEC team is at its normal level of competitiveness, Tennessee gets a two-seed bump? granted, those two beatings we took didn’t help and they were down, but the WHOLE league was down this year. the non-conference was embarrassingly bad – UK lost to VMI, UGA lost to freakin’ Loyola-Chicago, Vandy lost to Illinois-Chicago, Carolina to Charleston, Bammer and Auburn to MERCER, MSU to Charlotte, we almost lost to Belmont…THAT’S why we got a 9…LSU won the thing and got an 8 because they played and beat NOBODY out of conference…

it’s like saying when people say Florida winning two football titles would help us if we were ever in a position as a one-loss team hoping to get into the BCS title game…Florida winning titles in NO WAY helps Tennessee…

don’t get me wrong, I’m hoping the UT-UK rivalry is finally becoming just that, but I do not for a second the Cats’ certain re-emergence “helps” the Vols in terms of respect and NCAA seeding. we take of our business against the sked we always play, we’ll be fine…

/rant

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