Drew Sharp: Here's rooting against Kentucky's John Calipari winning a title


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Kentucky coach John Calipari

By Drew Sharp
Detroit Free Press Columnist

Rooting for John Calipari to finally win a national championship is like cheering for the head of the IRS to get a tax refund. Both institutions feign shock at the villainy attached to them, arguing they're merely following the rules as prescribed.

Wherever Calipari has walked during his coaching career, the NCAA has followed right behind, usually with a pooper-scooper.

He takes his third program back to the Final Four next weekend. (He also took Kentucky there last year, but lost to Connecticut in the semifinals.) The only thing, though, is that the NCAA no longer recognizes the first two programs. The tournament record book is pocked with asterisks notating Calipari's fingerprints at Massachusetts and Memphis. Both programs had their best seasons stripped from history because of serious transgressions under Calipari's watch.

You would think that Kentucky would worry considering the man's track record, but I doubt that Big Blue cares as long as the big victories keep coming. Kentucky is no different than most big programs and fan bases. Get the championships now and worry about the potential ramifications later.

Kentucky serves as both the Final Four's biggest star and villain. The Wildcats are the most talented, most explosive of the remaining teams. But they also embody what frustrates so many about the maligned future of college basketball.

Calipari rents freshmen. He wants a program with a constant revolving door, a steady parade of McDonald's All-Americas using Lexington as a one-year way station until the NBA Draft rolls around.

Calipari denies being the bad guy. His pat answer is: Don't blame him. Blame the NBA. He's only following the law as it's written.

The NBA's 19-year-old draft eligibility requirement ended the flood of first-round draft choices just days removed from high school graduation. But it's ridiculous believing one year of playing college ball has made these guys more mature than when they could qualify for the draft a year earlier.

It has turned the college game into even more of a sham. If you're only to stay for one year, you only have to attend -- or pretend to attend -- classes for one semester. Once the NCAA realizes that you have flunked out, you already have declared for the NBA draft.

The smart policy would be something comparable to what Major League Baseball employs. You're eligible to sign a professional contract immediately following high school, but if you enroll at a college, you must wait until after your junior year before you're once again eligible for the draft.

History tells us that it's only a question of time before NCAA investigators chase Calipari's scent at Kentucky. UMass lost its 1996 Final Four and vacated all its victories from that season when the NCAA deemed that star Marcus Camby had accepted as much as $28,000 from two sports agents.

Twelve years later, Memphis forfeited an NCAA-record 38 victories and a Final Four appearance after the NCAA nailed the Tigers for academic fraud involving star point guard Derrick Rose's SAT score.

Both times Calipari walked away unscathed, leaving for a better opportunity and a fatter paycheck. Being elusive enough to stay one step ahead of the NCAA posse doesn't make a coach deserving of a national championship -- even if he has corralled the biggest assortment of basketball talent.

I see a Kentucky-Ohio State final a week from tonight.

Can the Big Ten finally beat the SEC in a national championship game?

If it means keeping the national championship door shut in Calipari's face, I'll certainly be rooting for that.

Contact Drew Sharp: 313-223-4055 or dsharp@freepress.com .

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