The Morning According to Us

For a school so desperate, recruiting's sure thing would sure help.

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Dude can sell.

Just because they're desperate doesn't make Kentucky less than great. The fact that they are so publicly, openly desperate after 40 wins in two years means something, right? And landing John Calipari could be the perfect move.

That's because Calipari might be a good coach, but he's a great recruiter. It's defined his career, minus the NBA mess. It's a little trickier when you can't win the lottery every year. Competition is real. But this man wins the lottery in college, and that's why he's here. Calipari gets players. He did it masterfully at UMass (with an ounce of hot water), couldn't do it with the Nets, and has mastered the art at Memphis. Calipari knows that, as Casey Stengel would say, "I couldn't of done it without my players," and so he gets the best he can find.

That's not a rip. Find a great Division I coach who doesn't dip his spoon annually in the top five percent of high school talent. It's an absurd notion.

And for Kentucky, a school dying for players, this is the best you can find. And pay for. It's a credit to them, if a little peculiar. It feels something like a slap on the back to old Hugh Hefner for keeping the ladies at the mansion. Darn if it ain't cool, but you know it has a lot to do with old money and fervent pride. It makes others both jealous and amused. "Well, if you can pay for it…"

But they can pay for it. Again, that's a credit to them.

In Calipari, the stunning amount Kentucky has to shell out starts with a likely $6 million buy-out of Billy Gillispie, the most recent savior that couldn't do the aqua trot. If they land Calipari, it'll be about $35 million for his services, plus who knows for assistants, the ones who make recruiting go. But they win in that realm, don't they? Calipari lured in Derrick Rose. He landed Tyreke Evans. Now he has committed another big thing in Xavier Henry (and DeMarcus Cousins). That's just the last three years, but it's three No. 1 level recruits in three years. Enough to make others—again—whisper with both jealousy and amusement. But Kentucky needs players. They need relevancy. In this state, basketball is the religion, Rupp Arena is the biggest church, and they literally need a new greased-back preacher. Give 'em a Joel Osteen of hoops. They won't dissect the message if you can just bring the goods. Keep 'em inspired.

And that's the issue here. You need to either be so good at recruiting the coaching is secondary, or a cult figure in everything else. Tubby Smith can coach like a wiz, but was run out because most thought he couldn't recruit. Billy Clyde could recruit, but not in time to save himself from one bad year. And people can dispute this, but in the parlance of the rationale, "Come on, man." He was SEC Coach of the Year last season, and you know at a bottom-line hoops school public relations nit-picking is like one missed confession compared to the church-torching that is 14 losses. Seriously. When you're winning, a beef with a reporter is amusing at worst. Just ask Jim Calhoun. Or catch Pitino eviscerate a halftime reporter.

But Calipari should be better. At least for this place. Sure, he's obnoxiously expensive plastic surgery for a program whose pretty face did the tanning beds twenty years ago, but the man gets players. It's the fifth coach in 25 years for a place that screams for stability, but he could make them a looker in no time.

Kentucky looks desperate, but this is still college basketball, where if the checks go through you can always find a way to win. Lexington is resolute that greatness must return, and they'll pay to make sure. Just win…somebody.

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