Calipari Talks Recruiting, NBA Age Limit; Complaint Against Pitino Won't be Prosecuted | Zagsblog
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Adam Zagoria covers basketball at all levels. He is the author of two books and an award-winning journalist whose articles have appeared in ESPN The Magazine, SLAM, Sheridan Hoops, Sports Illustrated, Basketball Times and in newspapers nationwide.
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Saturday / November 23.

Calipari Talks Recruiting, NBA Age Limit; Complaint Against Pitino Won't be Prosecuted

Kentucky coach John Calipari says in an interview with WJBF-TV that the July recruiting period should be shut down and that the NBA age limit is a farce. Hear, hear.

**Also, Jeff Goodman of FoxSports.com reports that Duke recruit Andre Dawkins is expected to be cleared to enroll and become eligible this year. Dawkins was originally a member of the Class of 2010. Duke has two guards returning from last year —Jon Scheyer and Nolan Smith — and no other guards incoming. The Devils lost combo guard Elliot Williams when he transferred to Memphis.

**The sexual offense complaint filed against Louisville coach Rick Pitino won’t be prosecuted. Still, this whole story is pretty sordid and can’t be good for Louisville’s image.

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Latest comments

  • I couldn’t get the tape to play …but Cal is right as usual …..contrary to what the morons on this blog say …the 19 and under rule which they maintain helps Cal …should be abolished …and he agrees

  • Can u see it now?

  • pasta- please see my final comment on the Gilchrist article before you call anyone else a “moron”

  • please dont bring your 5th grade bickering to this post. please. we get it. pasta loves Cal rochchalkin hates him and loves Self. surprise.

  • i think Zag seen he was the topic or arguments in previous posts and would get alot of comments on here if he posted about Cal. please

  • i completely agree with what cal says. i think HS kids should be able to go pro and if they go to school they should stay 2 years. it was surprising seeing that coming from him though because of the success he has had with One and Dones.

    The thing i really dislike about HS kids going pro is that NBA teams take way too many of these kids who would be much better off going to school. The John Wall’s and Derrick Rose’s of the worlds are fine, but kids like Chase Budinger, Brandon Rush and Greg Monroe all have greatly benefited from college. they will be NBA contributors because of college instead of D league guys or constant benchwarmers out of high school. NBA Gm’s need to stop drooling over all of the High school kids potential and pick more polished college players. it would help the league and college ball.

    i think we will see a rule change after next seasone

  • “I think we will see a rule change after next season” – —

    I think that’s a good prediction. Maybe Midget Stern will finally figure it out one day soon.

    I view what the GMs do with the draft as playing the stock market. Some are willing to take more risk for more reward, others want to take a more reasonable chance of success. Either way, the market (even the NBA pays for a diluted product with guys who couldn’t make an NBA team pre-expansion) will dictate in the end. I’ll stick to watching HS, College and coaching my son’s team before I go to an NBA game – one cannot even talk during a game with the music blaring all the time…

  • “i think we will see a rule change after next season”

    I like the idea of going pro or two years of college. To stop GMs from drafting on “potential”, maybe there should a guaranteed top 10 pick. If the highschool kid isnt guaranteed to be drafted in the top 10 then he must withdraw from the draft.

  • yeah, if the NBA could figure out someway to limit the number of HS kids in the draft, it would probably be in the best interest of everybody because the kid is getting what is best for them.

    i dont know if stern is smart enough to figure out a plan like that though.

  • what are you guys talking about. David Stern is smart as hell. The NCAA is the stupid ones. They allow the NBA and NFL to have farm systems for FREE. I am not sure how that is stupid on their parts.

    This rule helps more kids than hurts them. Lets get this straight it is ok to have a blanket rule for kids in the NFL but not in the NBA?

    Also please explain how two years is a fair rule if you are so upset about waiting ONE YEAR!!!!

    The NBA should make it 3 years and this way they weed out the riff raff. Kids can achieve a college education and mature under good role models instead of snakes like Cal.

    The only reason Cal say he wants this rule is because is shows that he is on the side of the kids now a days. He is a damn shark. A car salesman. You never trust those guys. They always have other intentions.

    If you have a problem with kids that are one and done then how about this novel idea…………………dont recruit them.

    Stop whining. The NBA is at its best right now without 3 extra kids a year.

  • Terp4life- you would complain about this since your not a basketball school, and all this rule change would do is hinder your program more. when kids have the choice go to NBA or college 2 years then this would benefit the bigger schools, and yes that includes Cal. even though he recruits one-and-dones does not mean that if the one and done rule was changed he would be out of luck. he is still one of the most popular coaches and has the offense alot of kids want to play for.

  • How many kids would get drafted out of high school each year? That’s the issue imo . If it 2 dozen or so then college ball could suffer ….but if its 4 or 5 …then so what let them go …and the other ones commit for 2 years .

  • terp-
    The NBA makes the rule, the NCAA has nothing to do with the NBA’s age limit.

    when the rule first started i really liked it because the top talent was all in college and the college game improved, but i have grown to dislike it for a couple reasons.

    1. Many of the kids truly dont want to be there and are only focused on there personal goals of making the NBA
    2. They dont have to go to class at all second semester, which is most definately not in the kids best interest.
    3. the schools can rent a player for 6 months then he is gone. That is not what is best for the school at all.

    i would be fine if the NBA did what the NFL rule is, and makes it two years after your high school graduating class graduates, but it is much more likely that the rule will change to go out of high school or go to college for minimum 2 years.

    i have heard multiple big name coaches in the NBA and Ncaa support changing the rule, plus the Players association has been grumbling about it, that is why i believe there is a rule change in the near future.

  • Each of your so called points about being right are of course ….wrong ….your conclusions are based upon your theory that every issue is black and white …..and your opinions are right and mine are wrong …. Ithink anyone reading the posts in an objective manner would find plenty of gray area where opinions can vary . You must be obsessed with my ability to shed a different light on the many biased opinions you post in here . Chill out man .

  • It’s a bad rule because some young men don’t need to be in college and should be allowed to make money by playing in the NBA. But the NBA teams should not draft every high school kid that enters the draft hoping to get the next Kobe. It does not help them or the players.

    The bigger problem are the “runners” like William Wesley (aka WWW) who are allowed to influence players, families and their high school & AAU coaches to steer the top players to schools like Kentucky. The NCAA should ban these pimps/advisors from having any contact and they should be under the same recruiting rules as boosters and coaches. Until this is changed the honest schools will not be able to compete with the cheaters.

  • MD is a basketball school with a rich tradition.

    I don’t think the NBA will change the rule to let kids out of school right into the NBA. The players association will cave because ultimately they only want this as a bargaining chip. That is the smart thing to do. You say oh we want this but you really don’t care about it. The players association is aware that they are dealing with the most shrewd commish in sports. They need as many chips as possible. With the revenue decreasing and fans of all sports pulling back now is the best time for the NBA owners to strike. They know the players can’t afford a lock out or Steph may not be able to pay off his car notes. LOL.

    So the players union will ask for this 2 year rule but honestly their job is to protect the people within the union.

    I don’t disagree with you guys at all. One and done players are a bad influence on programs as a whole. You do get the Carmelo players but he wasn’t as big as Lance and others when he hit the Cuse. The NCAA needs to make a rule that is only dependent on them. A simple rule will benefit all involved. Now players scholarships are year to year. Change that to 4 years with an option out for athletes only in 2 or 3 years. If you leave early then you have to pay twice the total amount of the 4 year scholarship value.

  • I think it helps more young men than it hurts. Patterson from Kentucky is an excellent example. He would have entered the draft out of school. But now he will be ready to play in the league and is getting an education and maturity too.

    Rules aren’t made for the few but rather the many. It protects 5 times more kids than it hurts.

    The easiest thing is to get rid of AAU teams. But that wont stop it. You still will have money falling out of fedex packages no matter what. I dont see how you can other than banning these teams and coming down so hard on schools. So what you didn’t know about it. You are responsible to check these kids out and now you are burned. If you find it out 12 years later suspend that school.

    I think if you made coaches live up to their contracts that would help too. Also somehow you have to make coaches focus on building men and not basketball players. Im not sure you can do any of these things but it would help.

  • WWW does adhere to booster rules in that he does not try to recruit them to a particular school . Boosters are allowed maintain a friendship with the recruit and family that existed prior to the recruit …well ..becoming a recruit. This is basically what he does ….however …. I think he’s pushing the envelope because these kids keep going to the same school ( coach) . Specifically …..Wagner …Rose …and Tyreke . If he’s involved with anymore kids going to Cal ..I expect the NCAA to investigate . Now that Cal’s at Ky. he may not need WWW’s help anymore …..hopefully

  • Cal needs top talent and WWW has them. He can’t help himself.

    Gilchrist is the next million dollar boy.

  • I think Cal knows that some type of rule change is inevitable and wants to postition himself ahead of the curve . Besides, he figures he can out recruit most coaches for one and dones ….so he’ll do the same thing with 2 and dones ….should that be part of the new rule .

  • WoW …Tom Watson shoots 65 …tied for the lead at Turnberry ( OT)

  • The rule needs to banished. Guys should be able to take the risk and hop to the NBA and vice versa GM’S and owners should be given the right to take risk and draft on “potential” or “upside” if that’s what blows their hair back.

    Imagine the scope of college basketball and the teams they were on if Oden, Durrant, Beasley, Rose, Love, Mayo, Gordon, Evans, Holdiay, Derozan, Wall, Favors, Cousins, Henry were allowed to leave early? Needless to say Cal wouldn’t have been made the Final Four without Rose.

  • I’d rather have them go to the NBA than have them skip over to Europe. ESPECIALLY with a case like Jeremy Tyler (I think that’s his name; the one who is skipping his senior year of HS). The 1-and-done rule is stupid. In attempting to help College BB, the rule wound up screwing it. 1-and-dones aren’t even students. They go to classes for their first semester to maintain eligibility and that’s it. Screw the 2nd semester classes. What motivation do they have to go to class? One foot is already out of the proverbial door. Is that a student-athlete?

    The NCAA should not be a developmental league for the NBA.

  • AZ,

    So, you finally put some words about the Rickie Dickie.
    The boys in the West were wonder how many more days without some verbish of Ricke Dickie.

    But, the matter will probably go Federal.
    You can not trust the state of Kentucky.
    This will probably get dragged out ,into the season.
    How are the spanish families responding to Rickie Dickie?
    (The recruits with some spanish origin…family values.)

    Especially when that whole Kentucky…party-weapons…and NO arrests.
    WOW…

    PS-
    Why is Cali talking about RULE in the NCAA?
    Some one called him a car sales man…and others say he is not a good coach, can not develope players (outside the top 25).

  • AZ,

    Can some one explain these fools from the state of Kentucky!

    First, the Rickie Dickie Show…
    Karen “Got Legs”….got her panties in a bunch…if she was wearing any.
    “I’m furious.
    If the investigation was thorough like it should have been, they would have found out what they needed to carry out this case.
    I’m not done yet,”

    I am not done yet…..this was the same line she USES on Rickie Dickie…
    Come back Rickie…I am not done yet…LMAO.

    Can YOU say FEDERAL involvement!
    Cover UP in Kentucky No.1

    Then, COVER UP No. 2 in Kentucky.

    UK players were involved with assults and WEAPONS were drawn.
    Kentucky police will not do anything.
    But, ATF is getting involved.
    GOOD…if the state is corrupt….no problem…

    There were at least two basketball players at this party.
    Wild ,out of control trouble.

    Cover Up No. 3:

    Cali is a good coach…NOT.
    Most on here are in agreement.
    Except for that Man Crush that Pasta has.
    LMAO.

  • So you don’t that the junior who is going to the NBA foot isn’t out the door too?

    What about the NFL? Do you think the same thing.

  • I think a junior leaving early has 5 semesters under his belt, not just 1.

    Here’s my philosophy-

    This rule will only apply to top level talent. So, by extension, this rule will affect the big-name schools the most. The NCAA likes to keep a watchful eye on these big-name schools, as they are essentially the “face” of NCAA basketball.

    With the NCAA keeping a watchful eye on these schools, the coaches (I’m generalizing here, I know) keep a watchful eye over their players. I’m pretty sure that some of the last things they want are sanctions. A junior will have 2.5 years of being held accountable for his actions by his coach and required schoolwork to maintain his eligibility. As opposed to the one-and-done, who really has no motivation to be there in the first place, and only has 1 semester.

    That’s how I think, at least.

  • please explain how this nutjob’s claim is somehow damaging to louisville? we don’t even know what she’s alleging!

    sloppy journalism, i expect more from this site.

  • Your comment about Pitino was off the wall.
    1, While sounding sorted , this is nothing but nonsense .
    2, Pitino passed a polygraph 100% and has been cleared of any wrong doing , The state dropped the case , there was no evidence to support the claim!!!
    3,The woman in question is certifiable ,and will be in jail soon, due to the fact her accomplice has confessed and turned in as federal witness .The federal case was delayed because of the large amount of evidence so it could be cataloged and sorted.
    4, All this has done is rallied the fan base and the school around Pitino and the Tons of support nationally .

  • the allegations were not only dismissed by the police, but also by the local media.

    no one will entertain this woman, not even her own lawyer.

    the only thing “damaging” to Louisville is when recruits see nonsense like this on a respected recruiting blog. you should honestly be ashamed.

  • Pitino had sex with her several years ago …..now most men with millions would give her some cash to get lost ….not Pitino …he’s a little wimp ass scum bag who has to call the feds for Christ’s sakes …..Cal will suck all of the air out of the state of Kentucky next year and run this punk out ot town .

  • Pasta,
    Why all the hate for Ricky P? You are constantly ranting about Memphis fans disliking Cal. Cal lied to Memphis fans, just like Pitino lied to UK fans. Pitino took the UK job under some severe circumstances and brought a heart beat back to the program. I cant stand Louisville, but I certainly appreciate everything Pitino did for UK.

    Memphis fans need to get over Cal, just like you need to get over Pitino. Cal did for Memphis what Pitino did for UK, you have had eleven years for the wounds to heal, Memphis has had four months.

  • My comments about Pitino have nothing to do with basketball. There are many unstable blondes in the world ….. most men can deal with them without sending them to prison …..Pitino is a little faggotty ass twerp.

  • Infidelity is nothing new to Ricky P. If he was coaching anywhere else he would be my second favorite coach. That being said, he will always have my respect. He put together the best team to ever play college ball. ’96. When it comes to switching jobs, coaches are a lot like politicians. You can watch them speak, know they are lying, but want to believe them regardless. I dont care what any coach does off court, provided it is not illegal. Besides the jury is still out.

  • I love it. This woman’s allegations haven’t even been made public yet somehow Pitino is a scumbag? That’s a UK fan for you. Even if they claim to like him, they take something like this with no details involved and run with it.

    It’s just sad the author of this zags blog post had to do the same.

  • I wasnt “running” with anything. I simply stated something that UK fans have known since Ricky P coached our program. Hes a sucker for the ladies. Not a knock on him. Perhaps the said “encounter” with this Sypher woman was just having tea and truffles, I dont know.

  • TrojanKid,

    Have you ever proof read your comments… just to make sure that you are not rambling. I guess your doing your best with this whole “english” experiment. And by the way, no one cares what the “spanish” families think. All those great family values (La Familia), besides you should be grateful to Cal, he put half the “spanish” players to ever play b’ball on a scolly. You remember, Giddel Padilla, Edgar Padilla, Carmelo Travieso. And speaking of not trusting a state: LAPD is known for failure to do anything right at a crime scene. Even on Michael jackson… what about OJ… It took the state of Nevada to have enough sense to convict him without worrying about what the black or mexicans would do in the street after a verdict.

    And no Man uses the term “my boys”. What are you “down” or something homes.

  • Her credibility is shot, that much is obvious. No one is taking her seriously but UK fans.

    Beyond that, I find it surprising that Pitino hasn’t been pictured out on the town with any of these so called “lady friends” if it’s such a common occurrence.

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