Ben Reeves
Lancaster
Overplayed
The thing people need to realize is that Coach Cal was not named in any report. Until he is, his record is still clean. Truth be told, his record is cleaner than that of three national title winners. Rick Pitino, Roy Williams and Bill Self all have infractions on their records with the NCAA, but Coach Cal still has none.
Myself, I was very excited when I learned Cal was going to be our coach, and still am. If he ever cheats at Kentucky then we'll worry about it. Until then he's clean in my book no matter what ESPN analyst Pat Forde says. Truth is coach Cal can recruit because he coaches a style of play that lets players get up and down the court and not stand around bouncing a ball. That style of play helps kids get to the NBA, which is what most players thrive to do.
It's being overplayed in the media because coach Cal at Kentucky means we will be a national player in college basketball again. All the Kentucky bashers (like Pat Forde) can't stand that once again Kentucky basketball is back and headed towards the top.
Brian Sallee
Hustonville
Positive man
My opinion of coach Cal has not changed a bit. Follow him on Twitter and find just how positive this man is in dealing with life on a daily basis. He is much more than just a basketball coach.
As long as (UK president) Dr. (Lee) Todd is okay with him, then I am okay with him
Skip Yeomans
Brandon, Miss.
Good to be hated
Perception is a funny thing. Calipari has gone from on top of the world to scum in less than a week according to the media. Yet coaches like Roy Williams (at Kansas), Rick Pitino (at Providence), and Jim Calhoun (currently at Connecticut) have been linked to major NCAA violations but don't seem to get any backlash from the media for it. Why? Because the national media understands that UK and Cal are on the verge of something huge. It actually makes me feel good to be hated again.
Josh Dickson
Glasgow
Treated unfairly
I think he is great for UK. He has been treated unfairly even before this stuff came out. I think some writers need to be fired. I am a football season ticket holder but I also love basketball.
William J Rudie Jr.
Ashland
Happy
I just wanted to take this opportunity to tell Coach and everyone how happy I am to have John Calipari as our coach here at UK. I have been a fan since 1990 when I was only 7 years old and have endured many great years as a fan of UK basketball and a few not so great. Without adding any extra pressure to the already highest of expectations that are here (or I will try not to if that's possible), I have never been this excited for basketball to start again.
I grew up enjoying college basketball and UK was real good at it - in the mid 90's, it was heaven. As time passed it seemed as though somewhere along the line it stopped being fun. Not that we weren't winning but we weren't making some deep runs in the tournament. The style of play, the media attention and loss of aggressiveness on the recruiting trail was all part of it. No longer did I even want company over to see games and I sure wouldn't go to someone else's house to watch the shot clock wind down and force up a shot hoping to edge out a win against another weak opponent.
I surely don't expect to win every game and know we will be beat out for recruits sometimes, but the swagger is back! Not only do the fans have confidence, but the players have it, too. The media either hates us or loves us but we are in the spotlight once again like it should be and rival fans and coaches cried many tears the day Coach Cal became the head coach at Kentucky.
