If you’re a fan of a NCAA Tournament bubble team, be upset if/when your bubble bursts on Sunday. However, don’t get too upset. Remember the Kentucky Wildcats are just going to DEMOLISH everybody in the end anyway.
It’s Selection Sunday! One of our favorite holidays and John Calipari is letting the media into his house to see how he and his team react to the field being unveiled.
This is pretty cool of Coach Cal, letting the media into his house. All year long, John Calipari has heard his team compared to not just opponents at the collegiate level, but also theoretical opponents at the professional level. Since Calipari’s side has dominated college hoops so thoroughly, it’s only natural that the Cats have been sized, up at least on paper, versus NBA teams.
And just yesterday Calipari seemingly made a nod to such analogies in his press conference.
We’ve heard that same soundbite over and over, “Kentucky is taller than every NBA team except the Portland Trail Blazers.” 538 did a projection showing that the Philadelphia 76ers would beat Kentucky 78% of the time. One Las Vegas sports book placed the Sixers as a theoretical 17 point favorite over UK.
If Calipari took on the New York Knicks in their current form, on a night in which the Knicks DON’T CARE (which is most of the nights that they play actually) who knows what would….well, maybe not. The Knicks would certainly bring their A game versus Kentucky because they would play with the pride of not getting shamed by a college team.
As Calipari met the media ahead of what is essentially a meaningless SEC Tournament in the big picture, he made some NBA related jokes in his responses.
When asked about how tough his NCAA Tourney bracket will be Calipari said:
“It’ll be hard. They called the Lakers and they can’t pull out of the NBA right now so I don’t think they’ll be in there. But it’ll be a hard bracket. There won’t be a you’re the (top) one seed, you should have this kind of road. No. It will not be that. And that’s fine.”
Calipari referenced the Lakers…and now Rex Chapman will BREAK THE HUGE NEWS THAT Calipari is going to the Lakers! It’s A DONE DEAL OMG! #JOURNALISM
Okay all joking aside, I’ll turn the sarcasm off and get back to being serious. Calipari was later asked if there are any teams he doesn’t want in UK’s bracket:
“I think if we had to see Oklahoma City or Cleveland, those would be tough. I’m not sure. And they tell me that Portland’s as big as we are. So those would be teams I wouldn’t want to see. I hate to say that because they may try to get those people in there.”
A non Bo Ryan or non Tom Izzo coach who actually says something worth publishing in a press conference? This is a novel concept to me. A Coach who’s not only interesting, but also witty and funny? Covering this team everyday must be a joy; on so many levels.
Paul M. Banks owns, operates and writes The Sports Bank.net, which is partnered with Fox Sports Digital. You can read Banks’ feature stories and op-eds in the Chicago Tribune RedEye newspaper and hear his regular guest spots on numerous sports talk radio stations all across the country.
Follow him on Twitter (@paulmbanks)