Knight-Packer

Billy: I have known John Calipari for a long time and I think it is a great move on his part to go to Kentucky.  At Memphis and at Massachusetts he proved he has a great eye for talent and is a great recruiter.  

Keep in mind; at UMass he was not getting the most highly coveted players in the country.  But the reason he was successful was that he was able to identify potential, in other words knowing what a guy could be in a few years as opposed to just being able to see what he can do now.

One of the things he has done perhaps more successfully than any other coach is that he got comfortable with the one-year player.  That is, the guy that would come to play for him but might then leave for the NBA after one year.  
What is really interesting about that is the fact that some of the shall we say, traditional powers won't go after the one-year player.  So, in effect, he had a recruiting pool of great players that weren't as fiercely sought after as guys that were more likely to stay in school for 3 or 4 years.  He used that very effectively.

If he had stayed at Memphis for another 15 years he would have had top 20 if not top 10 teams every year but he would never get full credit because of the conference he was in.  He would have a team that would compete for a national championship every year but there would always be that caveat because of the conference he was playing in.

Now he goes to a premier program.  To be honest, that program has not been what people want it to be since Rick Pitino left.  Now he can be in the hunt for every player and that gives John the opportunity to go for the one-year players if he likes and any other top-flight athlete which really expands his recruiting efforts like never before.

I think you will see in the next 30 days that Kentucky's incoming class will rival any that we have seen in some time.  You will see some kids who were lined up for Memphis deciding to come to Kentucky. Now, he doesn't have unlimited scholarships.  There may not be openings for that many recruits but he will adjust and bring in the players he needs.  This is a tremendous positive for the University of Kentucky. They can pretty much lock in that they will be one of the, if not the best team in the SEC for years to come.

And let me make one other point.  John Calipari is a tremendous worker on and off the court.  Alumni outings and corporate functions, and setting up charity events.  He will put it all together to create the kind of program the University of Kentucky expects and demands.

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Billy: Everything became so obvious Monday night.

There is no comparison when you look at the size of the interior players, the individual ability and maturity of the players.

North Carolina has better players, bigger players more skilled players and more experienced players.  That's a bad combination if you are Tom Izzo.  Those two teams could play 20 times and I don't see Michigan State beating them.  

The first thing that I saw tonight, and we have been talking about this here at surviveandadvance.net and on our television shows with Bob, was the home court issue. Bob downplayed the home crowd.  I didn't downplay it at all. If Michigan State could have mounted a drive, even 10 points down, then that crowd really comes to life.

The crowd was begging for a chance to go crazy and every time there was even a hint of a run, the Spartans would either miss the shot or turn the ball over.  
If you are Roy Williams you can tell your team to ignore the crowd.  And he could do that with this veteran club.  As it turned out that huge partisan crowd ended up being a motivator for UNC. It was a tremendous run for Michigan State, the way they altered their style to get to this final game.

North Carolina never had to alter its style.  Once Lawson got hurt and didn't play in the ACC tournament or the first round of the NCAA tournament that gave him what amounted to three weeks to heal that toe.

There just is no weakness on that team and once Roy started utilizing Zeller and Davis, there was nobody that could stay with UNC's inside people when you add Tyler Hansbrough.

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There's no debating it anymore. The North Carolina Tar Heels are the best team in the country hands down after handling the Michigan State Spartans in front of a record-crowd at Ford Field 89-72 for the 2009 National Championship. This one, like most of the tournament, was not very close as the Tar Heels established the biggest lead after a half in championship game history. Wayne Ellington was named the Most Outstanding Player after averaging 19 points, six rebounds, and two assists in the Final Four. Ellington was phenomenal, but this was a team effort by the Tar Heels the entire way. Freshman Ed Davis was a real difference maker for Roy Williams, complementing the superior play of the upperclassmen perfectly. Tyler Hansbrough, Danny Green, Ty Lawson, and Ellington will be leaving North Carolina with quite a legacy that was fittingly capped off with a championship. In the game the Tar Heels were just overwhelming defensively, forcing 21 turnovers and holding the Spartans to 40% from the field and 30% from deep. They accomplished what they set out to do at the beginning of the season.

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KP Editor: Billy, Coach Knight, Thurl Bailey, Larry Johnson, and Ed O'Bannon make their pick for the national championship game. Larry Johnson won the Naismith Player of the Year award, and the John R. Wooden award in 1991. Ed O'Bannon won the John R. Wooden award and Oscar Robertson trophy in 1995.

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KP Editor: Billy and Coach Knight discuss the key matchup between UNC's Ty Lawson and MSU's Travis Walton.

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KP Editor: Billy, Coach Knight, Thurl Bailey, Larry Johnson, and Ed O'Bannon discuss important statistics to focus on going into the championship game. Thurl Bailey won the National Championship in 1983 for N.C. State. Larry Johnson won the 1990 National Championship with UNLV. Ed O'Bannon won the 1995 National Championship with UCLA.

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KP Editor: Billy and Coach Knight compare UNC and Michigan State's stats throughout the tournament and how tempo will be a main factor in the Championship game.

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KP Editor: Three coaches who have had great success in the tournament Jim Boeheim, Tubby Smith, and Roy Williams discuss the most important statistics to look at in the NCAA Tournament.

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College Coaches Deserve Every Penny

Special To Knight-Packer "Surive And Advance"

For More College Basketball Content Check Out Hoopville.com

 By: Phil Kasiecki

Now that John Calipari has become the highest paid college basketball coach, and during a terrible economic downturn, talk of the salaries of college coaches is front and center.  That's even more the case now than it was in February, when Jim Calhoun was famously asked about his salary by a political activist who managed to get a photo credential to a game.  It was also a topic of discussion with the National Association of Basketball Coaches news conference on Thursday.

This really cuts to the heart of the larger issue of what athletes and coaches make throughout the sports world.  In college sports, it is particularly noteworthy because the coaches are at academic institutions, and the primary mission is academic in nature since student-athletes are a minority of the student body.  It's something that often brings out reactions of righteous indignation, as people who object to these salaries often mention that coaches make more than professors, or how pro athletes make more money than doctors or teachers.

There's a key thing to remember in all of this.  The salaries are determined by one big factor: economics.  When Calhoun talked about the money the basketball program brings in to the university, he was on the right track, much as his manner in that press conference left something to be desired.  The men's basketball program brings in a large amount of money to the university directly, and indirectly it does that as well.  Additionally, boosters also help pay the salaries of coaches, as well as media and conference revenue sharing, the last of which is derived in part from wins by conference schools in the NCAA Tournament.  The Huskies are on national television all the time.

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KP Editor: Billy, Coach Knight, and college hoop stars Thurl Bailey, Larry Johnson, and Ed O'Bannon discuss the degree to which having home court advantage  will benefit the Spartans. Thurl Bailey was the #7 overall pick in the 1983 NBA Draft. Larry Johnson was the #1 overall pick in the 1991 NBA Draft. Ed O'Bannon was the #9 overall pick in the 1995 NBA Draft.

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