If you scroll back a few posts , you will see that I declared my man-love for none other than Billy Clyde
Gillispie a mere 2 years ago. As it turned out, my man crush was possibly declared a bit too early as he won me over at his folksy press conference/pep rally. This has lead me to hold off on making any premature judgments as happened before. There's a lot of talk about President Obama and his first 100 days in office going around these days and that is important with our current recession and Mexican pigs about to rid the earth of its population with their evil plot, but it is not the only administration to be focusing on right now. That's right folks, we are talking about the Coach Cal administration. The first 30 days are up and we are passing out some grades as requirement as the Head Men's Basketball Coach at the University of Kentucky.
Task #1: Win the Press Conference
Grade: A+. Within the first sentence, Cal referenced Billy Keightly and Adolph Rupp's Son Herky Rupp. During the Q&A he referenced at least 6 former players, including Richie making a run at the governorship down the road. He referenced the banners on the wall referring to the fact that his goal is to hang more of those. He absolutely knocked it out of the park during the presser, not much more than that can be said.
Task #2: Bring in Top Talent that Can Compete Immediately
Grade: B+. Coach Cal did a great job keeping the commitments from top talents Daniel Orton and Jon Hood. Adding to that, he brought in the #2 player in the country in DeMarcus Cousiuns and a solid Juco Athlete in Darnell Dodson. I stick with the B+ right now because he has yet to land a commitment from a top PG, which is priority #1 right now. If John Wall comes to UK, the Cats will be a pre-season final four pick. In addition to prospects from this year, Cal has been on the recruiting trail for the 2010 class. The Cats are heavily involved with about 10 5* talents for next season as well.
Task #3: Win the PR Game
Grade: A+. Let's face it, many factors led to my former man crush's demise, but this was probably the biggest factor. But this post is about the current regime, so let's not bring that up. Cal has been a globetrotter on the talk show circuit over the last month. From PTI to the Jim Rome show to the Kentucky Derby this past weekend, Cal his been killing it. He realizes that his job description is more than that of basketball coach, but CEO of the program, and he is the most popular man in the state.
Task #4: Reconnect with the Program's Past
Grade: A. Cal has hired 2 former players as assisstants. He is reinstating the players weekend where former players can come back to play pickup ball with the current players. Former players are welcome to pop into practice. Cal GETS it. There really isn't another way to put it, and once again it is in stark contrast to our former head man.
I know what everyone is thinking: none of these tasks have anything to do with coaching basketball games (except perhaps the recruiting portion). As stated before, that is just a portion of being the Men's Basketball Coach at UK. No doubt about it, Cal has knocked it out of the park so far. Do I have a man crush? Perhaps, but I won't jinx this one again.
