catmandoo
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posted 09-02-2015 09:35 AM
Being fired by the New Jersey Nets bought John Calipari security, insecurity, humility and confidence. It was a confusing time, to say the least.
In one of America’s most volatile professions, he had experienced only soaring, virtually uninterrupted advancement. He’d kind of lost his job twice: first when he was an assistant at Kansas and Ted Owens was dismissed, and then at Pitt, when Roy Chipman simply had enough of coaching and resigned. But even then Calipari’s value was such he was kept on staff by each program’s new boss.
What did Calipari take out of being fired by the Nets after less than three seasons in the NBA? He thought he might never work again. For a while, anyway.
fter he got a job back in college basketball as head coach at Memphis, he figured the $15 million he’d made from the Nets gave him the power to do things exactly as he saw fit.
“It makes you humble,” he told Sporting News.
But not so much as to keep him from writing a book, “Bouncing Back,” discussing how to overcome obstacles and setbacks in business.
“I don’t think Cal has ever had a shred of doubt that he was going to be successful,” said Sammy D’Agostino, a friend for 40 years. “He knew he was in a bad situation. He’s not naïve. And he got out of it.”
It wasn’t by choice, really.
Calipari’s time as Nets coach always was tumultuous. He was not only the coach but also vice president of basketball operations. He was in charge, more or less, of the entire competitive operation. He chose the personnel, not always wisely. He designed and enforced the strategic schemes, not always astutely. He managed the personnel, not always delicately.
Players complained his approach to defense was too harsh on their bodies for an 82-game schedule. They complained his method of coaching was too callous, too ruthless, too collegian, to be frank. They were men, not teenagers, and did not respond as well to his penchant for severity.
In his first draft, Calipari had the opportunity with the No. 8 overall pick to select high school sensation Kobe Bryant but instead picked Kerry Kittles of Villanova. Kittles averaged 17.2 points for the Nets in his second season but saw his career damaged by a subsequent knee injury. Bryant became… well, you know.
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[ 09-02-2015, 09:36 AM: Message edited by: catmandoo ]
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