FanPost

Tjarks says Calipari is"one of the most honest coaches in the sport..."

Jonathan Tjarks of SB Nation has his most recent update to his NBA Draft Toolbox, which any Kentucky fan will want to read and pass along to any UL fans who constantly play the harpies in his life decrying the "dishonesty" of Coach Cal.

See here for the full report; "NBA Draft Toolbox: John Calipari's Kentucky Squad Stacked Again"

As to why Calipari gets what seems to be his pick of the recruits, Tjarks attributes that to the Dajuan Wagner story.

Having Dajuan Wagner, his first big-time recruit since returning to college, for two or three years would have been huge for Calipari. After a freshman season where he averaged 21.2 points a game on 41 percent shooting, Wagner wasn't a lock to go pro,....

But as Calipari knew, a relatively unathletic 6'3 combo guard couldn't afford to pass up on the chance to be a lottery pick, as there was no guarantee NBA scouts wouldn't fall out of love with his game if he stayed in school.

In 2005, in what could have been his senior year at Memphis, Wager was diagnosed with ulcerative colitis, a rare internal infection which forced him to have surgery to remove his entire colon, effectively ending his basketball career.

Wagner, a reclusive figure since retiring, can always go back to school, but he ended up only having one shot at a making enough money to be financially secure for life.

If he had played for a more traditional coach, Wagner might have nothing to show for his career. Instead, he made over $8 million after the Cleveland Cavaliers took him No. 6 overall in 2002. Calipari could have sold him on the value of a college degree and playing for the love of the game, but it's not really a game for the players Calipari recruits, it's life.

As to the claim that Cal is a "cheater":

His reputation has been tarnished because his first two trips to the Final Four, with UMass in 1996 and Memphis in 2008, have been stripped from the record books. However, it's hard to muster much outrage over what actually happened: an agent was caught paying Marcus Camby at UMass while Derrick Rose has been accused of having someone else take the SAT for him in order to become eligible to play in college. ....

And if you consider the breath-taking number of far more serious scandals that have rocked college sports in the last year alone, Calipari's violations look like small potatoes indeed. He's one of the most honest coaches in the sport, which is probably why so many dislike him.

Unlike Digger and Knight, I think we can count Tjarks as one of Cal's fans.

He then breaks down the strengths and weaknesses of the five Cats he expects to be in the draft this Spring (AD, MK-G, Jones, Lamb and Miller) showing what he expects is there best and worst scenarios in the NBA, and short notes on Wiltjer and Teague who he expects wil be back next year for further seasoning.

A most interesting read.