John Calipari

Joey Dorsey had to work to keep his emotions in check. Now, he keeps hearing how far basketball can take him - if he'll play with more emotion. Dick Vitale lectured the kid last week about playing harder. John Calipari has announced that his Memphis team won't go far in March without some ferocity from the 6-foot-9, 260-pound freshman. Gary Williams is reminding Maryland to keep Dorsey's wide body off the glass tomorrow night, when the Terps meet the Tigers in the Basketball Hall of Fame Tip-Off Classic in Springfield, Mass.

Calipari or Smart David Teel Daily Press Three Final Fours but no banner in 10 years like Ben Howland? Not good enough at UCLA. Befitting the Hollywood aura, the ideal candidate is an A-list personality with an oversized ego, designer wardrobe and unassailable recruiting chops. Translation: He's John Calipari, who's taken Massachusetts, Memphis and Kentucky to the Final Four, the latter to last season's national championship. But Calipari wouldn't bail on the bluegrass for LA's bright lights.

Good morning --N.C. State basketball -- So you couldn't lure Rick Barnes or John Calipari away. Just stay away from Brenda Frese.

[6:00 UPDATE] The Harrison twins have picked Kentucky. Maryland fans weap. Under Amour employees continue searching for their next next big thing. -------- Aaron and Andrew Harrison, 6-5 twin guards out of Texas, will announce where they plan to play college basketball next year at a 5 p.m. press conference scheduled to be televised on ESPNU today . They're supposedly picking between defending national champion Kentucky and still-rebuilding Maryland. Wildcats head coach John Calipari has had 15 players drafted into the NBA in his three years coaching in Lexington.

The number 63 Career games Xavier's David West has had double figures in points and rebounds. He said it "You looked like a bum. Why did you do that?" John Calipari, Memphis coach, to John Grice after Grice received a technical Wednesday for a slashing gesture across his throat during an upset of Louisville

Don Markus, reporter Kansas 71, Kentucky 69: There are some coaches who are destined not to win a national championship. Not saying that John Calipari is the Guy V. Lewis of his generation, but Bill Self coached a less talented Jayhawks  team over Calipari and Derrick Rose-led Memphis to win it all in 2008. It's going to happen again.  Chris Korman, content editor Kentucky 67, Kansas 55: This Wildcats team is no different than most of the teams John Calipari has led to the Final Four.

Dunbar High's two McDonald's All-Americans, Donta Bright and Michael Lloyd, who led the Poets to the nation's No. 1 ranking and a 29-0 record this past season, have made oral commitments to Massachusetts and Arkansas, respectively.Both are expected to make their decisions official after April 15, when the NCAA signing period begins for basketball players.Bright's decision is somewhat of a surprise. The 6-foot-5 center/forward, who was The Baltimore Sun's Player of the Year this past season, had been leaning toward Ohio State.

[6:00 UPDATE] The Harrison twins have picked Kentucky. Maryland fans weap. Under Amour employees continue searching for their next next big thing. -------- Aaron and Andrew Harrison, 6-5 twin guards out of Texas, will announce where they plan to play college basketball next year at a 5 p.m. press conference scheduled to be televised on ESPNU today . They're supposedly picking between defending national champion Kentucky and still-rebuilding Maryland. Wildcats head coach John Calipari has had 15 players drafted into the NBA in his three years coaching in Lexington.

Dunbar High's two McDonald's All-Americans, Donta Bright and Michael Lloyd, who led the Poets to the nation's No. 1 ranking and a 29-0 record this past season, have made oral commitments to Massachusetts and Arkansas, respectively.Both are expected to make their decisions official after April 15, when the NCAA signing period begins for basketball players.Bright's decision is somewhat of a surprise. The 6-foot-5 center/forward, who was The Baltimore Sun's Player of the Year this past season, had been leaning toward Ohio State.

Kentucky coach John Calipari doesn't agree with Bobby Knight that college basketball lacks integrity or that he is proof there is a problem. Calipari refused to get into a war of words Friday when asked about the pointed criticism from Knight that Calipari's continued employment proves the game has a problem. Instead, Calipari said he remains a "big fan" of the former Texas Tech and Indiana head coach. "I don't agree with what he says, but it doesn't change how I feel about him," Calipari said.

Say what you will about John Calipari. Call him a sleaze-bag (he's been called worse) for his recruiting methods. Rip him for the vacated seasons and Final Four appearances at Massachusetts and Memphis when players and agents did questionable things on his watch. Mock him for how oily and unctuous he can sound in interviews.  But the man can coach. Anyone who watched Kentucky win its eighth national title last night -- 67-59 over Kansas -- and anyone who watched the Wildcats dismantle opponents all season long knows that.

The next time college basketball fans see Kentucky, the newly crowned national champions will look a lot different. So will the team the Wildcats will be facing - Maryland. Neither the countdown nor the buildup for their Nov. 9 matchup at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, N.Y., has yet to begin, but it's interesting to speculate what each team will look like. It's a given that Kentucky will be starting nearly from scratch, as John Calipari's teams seem to do on a now yearly basis.

Don Markus, reporter Kansas 71, Kentucky 69: There are some coaches who are destined not to win a national championship. Not saying that John Calipari is the Guy V. Lewis of his generation, but Bill Self coached a less talented Jayhawks  team over Calipari and Derrick Rose-led Memphis to win it all in 2008. It's going to happen again.  Chris Korman, content editor Kentucky 67, Kansas 55: This Wildcats team is no different than most of the teams John Calipari has led to the Final Four.

Kentucky coach John Calipari doesn't agree with Bobby Knight that college basketball lacks integrity or that he is proof there is a problem. Calipari refused to get into a war of words Friday when asked about the pointed criticism from Knight that Calipari's continued employment proves the game has a problem. Instead, Calipari said he remains a "big fan" of the former Texas Tech and Indiana head coach. "I don't agree with what he says, but it doesn't change how I feel about him," Calipari said.

Kentucky coach John Calipari doesn't agree with Bobby Knight that college basketball lacks integrity or that he is proof there is a problem. Calipari refused to get into a war of words Friday when asked about the pointed criticism from Knight that Calipari's continued employment proves the game has a problem. Instead, Calipari said he remains a "big fan" of the former Texas Tech and Indiana head coach. "I don't agree with what he says, but it doesn't change how I feel about him," Calipari said.

The University of Memphis gave Kentucky permission Monday to speak to John Calipari about the Wildcats' head coaching position, then made a final push to try to keep the coach. Some of Memphis' key boosters met with Calipari on Monday. One booster expects Calipari to go to Kentucky, though the person, speaking to the Associated Press on the condition of anonymity, acknowledged the coach was torn between the two great opportunities. The Wildcats had a short meeting at their practice gym Monday afternoon.

Kentucky coach John Calipari doesn't agree with Bobby Knight that college basketball lacks integrity or that he is proof there is a problem. Calipari refused to get into a war of words Friday when asked about the pointed criticism from Knight that Calipari's continued employment proves the game has a problem. Instead, Calipari said he remains a "big fan" of the former Texas Tech and Indiana head coach. "I don't agree with what he says, but it doesn't change how I feel about him," Calipari said.

Say what you will about John Calipari. Call him a sleaze-bag (he's been called worse) for his recruiting methods. Rip him for the vacated seasons and Final Four appearances at Massachusetts and Memphis when players and agents did questionable things on his watch. Mock him for how oily and unctuous he can sound in interviews.  But the man can coach. Anyone who watched Kentucky win its eighth national title last night -- 67-59 over Kansas -- and anyone who watched the Wildcats dismantle opponents all season long knows that.

Good morning --N.C. State basketball -- So you couldn't lure Rick Barnes or John Calipari away. Just stay away from Brenda Frese.

Joey Dorsey had to work to keep his emotions in check. Now, he keeps hearing how far basketball can take him - if he'll play with more emotion. Dick Vitale lectured the kid last week about playing harder. John Calipari has announced that his Memphis team won't go far in March without some ferocity from the 6-foot-9, 260-pound freshman. Gary Williams is reminding Maryland to keep Dorsey's wide body off the glass tomorrow night, when the Terps meet the Tigers in the Basketball Hall of Fame Tip-Off Classic in Springfield, Mass.