Kentucky basketball wanted the spotlight - and got it

Kentucky basketball wanted the spotlight - and got it

University of Kentucky basketball coach John Calipari has never been sanctioned by the NCAA.

But that doesn't mean he hasn't suffered some consequences.

The scrutiny you're now witnessing of Calipari, the UK men's basketball program, its recruits and even its recruits' families and high schools is following him like a life sentence -- which, as long as he remains in college coaching, it is.

This is "Life With Cal," with more plot twists than any reality series. UK knew this kind of body-cavity search was coming. UK fans cannot be surprised. Irritated? Sure. Surprised? No way.

If you wanted quiet summers at the lake, Calipari was not your guy.

UK wanted to win. It wanted to make a splash.

That's what UK bought. That's what it got.

Think the national media outlets on Eric Bledsoe's trail would have been there had he gone to UAB? Think The New York Times would've been looking for a story questioning his senior-year academic turnaround and an allegation of a high school coach paying Bledsoe's mother's rent if he weren't part of a Calipari blockbuster class?

Sure, it's absolutely newsworthy and should be followed. But if it weren't for the UK-Calipari connection, I doubt The Times would have been pursuing it. Nor ESPN. The Birmingham News, probably, but not the national outlets.

UK wanted to be back on the national radar in a big way. Mission accomplished. The national media now have radar lock on Lexington. And even when Calipari's name is not mentioned, he is the subject, the center of events. All of the digging is under his shadow.

While the media do have a responsibility not to jump to conclusions they can't back up, this pursuit of Calipari's trail is fair game. And it's not just because he has had two Final Fours vacated. In the first the NCAA explicitly acknowledged that he had no involvement, in the second it accused him of no involvement.

Closer to the reason is Calipari's continual working of the margins. Blue-chip recruits don't grow on trees, and quite often they don't grow up in neatly manicured suburban cul de sacs. Some come with strings attached, some with considerable baggage.


Calipari is a master at pulling the strings. He is the nation's highest-paid baggage handler. But along with that, and along with the heightened profile of the UK job, comes the white-glove treatment from everyone. And Calipari has done little to ameliorate this.

If you're going to benefit from a close association with William Wesley, whose profile is so guarded that not even his role or relationship to recruits is clear, then you pay a price.

So far the price has been worth it for UK. Most fans would take some bad press for a fistful of No.1-ranked recruiting classes. And that's what UK has gotten. UK's administration can't complain, and as far as I can tell, hasn't. This is what it knew would follow Calipari.

It can't be argued that bad press has hurt Calipari. You might even make a case that it has helped him. The top-ranked recruits just keep marching in, more quickly than anyone can vet them all. If he locks up one more top recruiting class I expect half the schools in the country to invite ESPN and The Times to investigate them .



We still don't have enough information to know where the Bledsoe story will go. But this should already be known from Calipari's past -- it is only the beginning of this kind of drama.

Calipari has UK back in the spotlight. But sometimes, the heat can be intense.

Reach Eric Crawford at (502) 582-4372 or ecrawford@courier-journal.com.