To RTC’s credit, they admit to “speculation” and “conjecture” in this case— but yes Tru, people are seemingly losing their minds over the impending Calipari-UK domination of college hoops. Derangement Syndrome is a good way to describe it.

Personally, I’ve always had pretty thick skin when it comes to critics of the program, but I might have to start growing a shell.

had a marathon thread (they called it epic) regarding this situation..it was hard to read due to all the Cal and UK bashing that was going on..I wasn’t aware that we were so hated by Jayhawk fans? In any case they were predicting the end of Cal and that Uk would receive the dreaded “death sentence” from the NCAA..some noted bloggers were even there defending the fort.. Marc Maggard had several posts that were summarily dismissed..also the recruiting blog @ Memphis Roar wasted a lot of time flushing out the issue..its kinda nice to be on the minds of so many..

UNC and KU fans would have to be rated tied for third to last..loathing is best served as a spread..

somewhere in the deep recesses of the subconscious mind there is a faint nagging twinge of fear that cannot be ignored…this is why they hate..this is why they must hate..

I asked this question previously, but think that no one saw it. Every time I click on any wildcatblueblog.com link, it loads but the content disappears immediately. Does anyone else have this problem, or an answer as to why this might be happening?

Thanks for any help.

Greetings, everyone. I’m John Stevens, the author of the post on Rush The Court that Tru references in his piece today. Where the sites will let us, if it’s a blog/message board of which we’re particularly fond, we sometimes like to offer a response to the discussion resulting from any article we write that hits a nerve, good or bad. ASOB is one of our mainstays when it comes to Univ. of Kentucky news, is a pleasure to read, and a high-class site. That said, if you don’t mind, I’d like to say some things about last night’s post that I wrote at RTC.

Most of the qualms with the article seem to have to do with the presumed element of speculation in linking the departure of Batley with the tiny violation (and I think we all agree, if Batley’s actions constitute a violation, something is seriously wrong) that was self-reported by UK. In my mind, this series of events as described represents one of three possibilities:

1. Calipari heard about the violation and dismissed Batley because Calipari is playing things very safely, taking absolutely no chances in the NCAA’s eyes. This is his dream job and he’s protecting it.

2. There is no connection. Batley left UK because of a family illness, and the timing of the miniscule violation and its reportage is totally coincidental. Calipari had nothing to do with it.

3. There’s something extra to the story that involves Batley — maybe big, maybe little — and, in the spirit of keeping things clean, a decision was made to dismiss Batley using the “family illness” angle as a cover story. As head coach, Calipari would either have to make that decision or at least approve it, it would seem.

Now, unless I’ve misinterpreted Tru’s takes on this, it looks like his problem with the article is why possibilities 1 and 3 are even mentioned when possibility 2 is not only the most likely, but no evidence exists for 1 and 3, and he feels that I have brought those into the mix simply because John Calipari is the UK coach.

Here is my response: with this sequence of events, I (and, I think, countless others) would be considering possibilities 1 and 3 even if it happened at any other program. In my mind, the sequence of events merits some reflection — call it speculation, fine — even if it were happening at another school and under another coach. What has happened is not disputable; after being here only a few months, Batley departed from the UK program — an incredibly sweet job at an absolutely resume’-boosting program, without a fight, with a presumed family illness as the given reason, and a very short time later an incerdibly tiny violation associated with him is reported to the NCAA. I would find it hard to believe that not a single UK fan, including those here (both reader and administrator) didn’t wonder just for a few moments about whether there was some connection. It is only natural to consider that a connection could exist. And I believe that it is a valid consideration completely independent of the program or the coach. If this happened at Kansas under Bill Self, or UNC under Roy Williams, or where/whoever, I would still wonder about it. If it happened at Kentucky under Tubby Smith or Rick Pitino, I’d still wonder about it. And let’s be honest, if Calipari were never hired at UK and he was still at Memphis, if this sequence of events happened, everyone here would be wondering about it, as would every other follower of college hoops.

That is why, as much as I love and rely on ASOB, I object to Tru’s title. This was not a game of Whack-A-Calipari. I would be wondering about these events no matter where or under whom they occurred. I think anyone would. That’s all I did in the piece I wrote. In my opinion, the diagnosis of Calipari Derangement Syndrome (I’m smiling as I type this) was made before the labs and the X-rays came back, and is in fact, with all due respect, both premature and in error.

The question that remains, then, is…is it valid to even consider posibilities 1 and 3 as I describe them above? Because of the timing of these events, I believe it is, as I’ve said. Tru makes the statement that I feel my consideration is “rooted in UK’s supposed concern for it’s image under Calipari.” I feel that is only partially true; in terms of image, I bet Coach Calipari’s FIRST concern is the program’s image in the eyes of the NCAA. If I were Calipari and there were even a HINT of a connection between a person on the UK staff over whom I had jurisdiction and any violation at all, that person’s job would immediately be tenuous. Why? Because I take Calipari at his word. I believe him when he says this is his dream job, and I think it means enough to him to where he would take NO chances with something harming it. This is why I think it is at least valid to put options 1 and 3 on the table. And I feel that my last question in the article is important, and has yet to receive an answer. If a family illness is why Batley left, he could eventually have his job back if he wanted it, and why wouldn’t he? It’s a stupendous job! If Calipari’s “personality” were really relevant, we could say that he’d certainly let Batley come back, no matter the length of departure. So why is the guy totally gone? To start coming up with far-fetched possibilities would be espousing conspiracy theories. To merely ask the question, though, is not.

Tru also adds that firing Batley would “be at odds with the actions of UK under other coaching regimes.” Again, with all due respect, I feel this is irrelevant. Because let’s be honest, Kentucky fans (of whom I count myself one). This is not just another coaching regime. I hate to say it, but we all know it — Calipari is indeed kind of a special case. He has coached at two places, and both of those places had Final Fours vacated. I am NOT saying it is directly due to anything he did! But I think we all know that to write it off as coincidence would be naive. Again, I personally believe that EVEN IF the man did some suspect things in the past, it doesn’t matter, because I believe him when he says that it gets no higher than Kentucky, and I don’t think he’d take any chances in screwing up the place. If he was ever going to run a totally clean program, Kentucky is the place where he’ll do it. But because of what happened at UMass and Memphis, people will always have questions about John Calipari. Kentucky fans will simply have to put up with it. That is the price of the enjoyment, the upcoming stable of ridiculous athletes, as well as Final Fours and (likely) championships that are about to arrive at UK. Sometimes people’s questions will be valid, and sometimes they won’t. For the reasons stated above, I feel my piece as written falls into the former group. And because I believe option 2 is what really happened, I even noted a couple of times in the article that there’s probably nothing more to this, and that any “conspiracy theory” that anyone senses would fall under the category of conjecture. Again…hence my surprise when I saw Tru’s piece from earlier today. I don’t think I wrote anything that anyone else wasn’t thinking, and I don’t think I went out on any crazy limbs; and just in case anyone thought I did, I covered myself. And finally, while I/we acknowledge Calipari’s past, the fact that he is the coach in this case is actually coincidental, and any assertion that I was picking on him is…dare I say it…maybe embracing the hate a little too tightly.

I appreciate the chance to respond, and I hope I haven’t bored anyone with my defense. I also hope this didn’t come off as making it look I was/we were angry or offended. I feel it’s a respectful thing to respond to others’ thoughts about something you’ve written, as long as it’s done right. My response is not meant as whining, but rather to facilitate more discussion, because it’s that interaction with others that is one of the great pleasures of running or being part of a blog/website. While I disagree with Tru’s assertion that I espoused a conspiracy theory, and I’m surprised RTC was singled out, given the much longer limbs that other writers/blogs are going out onto with this, I appreciate it anytime someone reads our site. I hope anyone who hasn’t will come check out our site, leave some comments if you feel like it (even if you disagree with us), because we’re proud of it and we work hard at it. Good luck with Louisville next week. Shouldn’t be a problem.

John Stevens
Rush The Court
http://rushthecourt.net
(both on Facebook)