Calipari Strikes Again. Beware Big Blue!

First it was UMASS player Marcus Camby wearing thousands of dollars worth of jewelery which he couldn't afford. The former star of the Minute Men was receiving benefits under Head Coach John Calipari's watch. The result: The Massachusetts Men's Basketball Program had to take down their 1996 Final Four banners. The Minute Men's appearance in the 1996 Final Four was stricken from the record by the NCAA.

Now there is another alleged violation committed under Calipari's watch, this time at Memphis. Allegedly, a former player for the Tigers, supposedly Point Guard Derrick Rhodes, had a "Ghost Tester" take the SAT for him. Memphis has been down this road before. The team reached the 1985 Final Four under former Head Coach Dana Kirk. Back then they were called Memphis St. The program was later put on probation by the NCAA because of violations committed by Kirk and some of his assistants. Could Memphis have to take down their Final Four banners just like UMASS had to? One common thing, or in this case, person in both cases, is John Calipari.

Kentucky is not satisfied with mediocrity. That's why they fired Billy Gillespie. However, they are literally willing to win at all costs by hiring someone who brought down one program and may very well bring down another. In both cases, Calipari claims to not have been aware of the wrong doings of his players. That is a poor excuse. He is the CEO. It was on his watch. Like Rhode Island and Georgia did with Jim Harrick (and we know what happened at those schools), Kentucky will do with Calipari. Winning is the name of the game, even if it's for the short run. Forget moral obligations. At least Gillespie, who is suing Kentucky for "Termination Without Cause", didn't break the rules. Actually, there was a cause. He didn't win. But if Gillespie had violated NCAA rules in recruiting, or had players receiving benefits, and been able to get Big Blue to a Final Four or win a National Championship, so what!

Kentucky is selling its basketball soul to the Devil, just like Rhode Island and Georgia did with Jim Harrick, and just like Indiana did with Kelvin Sampson. Al Davis's words ring loud and clear: "Just Win Baby, Win!" Kentucky has taken the words of former Green Bay Packers Coach Vince Lombardy to a new level: "Winning isn't everything. It's the only thing." Of course, Lombardy didn't mean for his statement to allow for cheating and breaking rules, but schools like Memphis, Kentucky and others are willing to embrace winning as the "only thing" none the less, and no matter what the cost.