Coaches Gone Wild; Spring Break in Storrs!

The reigning NCAA Champion UCONN Huskies will be without head coach Jim Calhoun for the start of their conference schedule next season. But it's not the first time that violations have befallen a defending Final Four team. by David Wilson

I would like to begin this with reluctant congratulations to Jim Calhoun and Connecticut for once again winning the NCAA Championship. OK, that’s out of the way. It’s hard to rip on a team with someone like Kemba Walker, who even graduated a year early, but it’s tough to celebrate a championship when the head coach has a suspension already lined-up for next season. 

Of course, many sang the praises for the oldest coach to win a National Championship after the game, few even mentioning that he will be suspended for “not creating an atmosphere that complies with his program.” Calhoun will be suspended for UCONN’s first three Big East games next season. UCONN also lost scholarships for three academic years, will be on probation for the next three seasons, and cannot associate with a specific booster. But Jim Calhoun isn’t the first coach to make Final Four or win a National Championship thanks to illegal recruiting tactics or otherwise suspect dealings.  Sadly, he won’t be the last. Ironically, Calhoun defeated two other past NCAA violators on his way to his third ring. ESPN even aired a documentary, Fab Five, about one of these programs.

In 1992 and 1993, the Fab Five led the Michigan Wolverines to back-to-back National Championship appearances. Well, at least, at the time they did. Nearly 20 years later, fans remember the magical seasons put together by Chris Webber, Jalen Rose, Juwan Howard, Jimmy King and Ray Jackson, but the NCAA does not. Michigan booster Ed Martin paid four Michigan players, causing the NCAA to vacate 114 wins, including seven in the NCAA Tournament, from 1992 to 1998. According the NCAA, Chris Webber never suited up for Big Blue and U of M never went to either National Championship. Michigan fired head coach Steve Fisher in 1997 as a result of the violations. Now, Fisher coaches for San Diego State, who made the Sweet 16 this season.

Shortly after the NCAA starts to question Michigan booster Ed Martin’s involvement with the program, John Calipari coaches Massachusetts of the Atlantic-10 to a Cinderella run in the 1996 tournament. Marcus Camby leads the way for the Minutemen as they make the first Final Four appearance in school history. Well, at least, at the time they did. Though fans still remember Camby’s dominance 15 years later, the NCAA does not. The center accepted money and gifts from an agent, causing the NCAA to wipe away UMass’ tournament accomplishments. Both Camby and Calipari bolted for the NBA before the NCAA imposed sanctions. Calipari left unscathed.

After a disastrous stint with the Nets and a brief stay as a 76ers assistant, Calipari returned to the collegiate ranks with Memphis for the 2000-2001 season. In 2001, he successfully recruited Naismith Prep Player of the Year Dajuan Wagner to play for the Tigers. He also added another member of the Wagner family, Dajuan’s father Milt Wagner. Wagner served as the Coordinator of Basketball Operations for the Tigers. This form of nepotism became a staple of Calipari’s recruiting repertoire. In 2008, he recruited Tyreke Evans, the MVP of the McDonald’s All-American Game, as well as Evans’ personal strength coach.

Wall-to-wall coverage of a door outside the Memphis athletic office results after speculation that Calipari may leave for Kentucky. 

Calipari and the Tigers lost in the National Championship game in 2008 behind freshman phenom Derrick Rose. Like Calipari’s first Final Four appearance, though, the NCAA removed this one from the history books. Calipari left for Kentucky after the season ended and Derrick Rose became a first round draft pick of the Chicago Bulls. The next year, the NCAA discovered that Rose had invalid SAT scores and, even worse, that Memphis knew all about it. Calipari, once again, left unscathed.

          It’s only fitting that Calhoun defeated Fisher and Calipari en route to the NCAA Championship. In a postseason where cheating in college basketball came to the forefront of our attention with ESPN’s Fab Five, one of the most remarkable storylines passed by right under our noses. So, even if Calhoun’s National Championship mysteriously vanishes one day, he can look at the silver lining: at least, he didn’t get beat by any past violators.