Are you ready for some March Madness!!!!

Parent Cafe
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<p>Congratulations to DogHenry! Our dog did not pick the dog-related teams consistently, so he’s not doing as well as DogHenry, but he is nevertheless leading in the family pool.</p>

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<p>I’m thinking the line will be bigger than the number of graduates of either program from the last five years.
:)</p>

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<p>Got bummed out at end of UK-Wis game. Watching game on TBS with 5 seconds left and Wis running ball down court, my cellphone beeps and pops text banner on phone display…“Final: UK 74-Wis 73”. Wisconsin hadn’t even made final shot yet. If I’d know about TV delay sooner…I maybe could have slipped a quick bet in with someone else watching game with me who didn’t know outcome when I already did!</p>

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<p>Umm…there are several seniors on the UConn team this year. All are graduating. Kevin Ollie is a UConn grad. He is committed to making this a priority. The grad rate since their suspension for post season play has increased. 8% is old news.</p>

<p>I did NOT want Kentucky to win. Now THAT school has issues. Many kids who play one season and leave. Plus, I’m not fond of their coach.</p>

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<p>Didn’t realize they had twin brothers playing. That’s kinda cool. </p>

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<p>Cool? That’s an understatement…the Harrison twins must have ice water steaming through their veins. That clutch 3 pointer to win game was made by a cold-blooded basketball shooter. He was cool as can be when the hottest heat was on.</p>

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<p>I don’t like Calipari either. Any other college team he’s ever coached has had to have wins in the tournament vacated because of NCAA violations.</p>

<p>Go UConn.</p>

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<p>Waaaah. Poor Badgers. </p>

<p>Wisconsin=100% senior graduation. And yes-- Aaron Harrison. Amazing…</p>

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<p>No, I just think the fact that there are twins on the team is cool. I was rooting for the other team, so that’s the best they are gonna get :-" </p>

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<p>Here is a good summary of the Calipari issues:</p>

<p>"Calipari has a long history of cheating, accused of recruiting violations with Derrick Rose and Eric Bledsoe. Rose’s brother traveled with the team for free and his brother took his SAT for him while Eric Bledsoe received financial benefits while in high school.</p>

<p>And as Geoff Calkins, sports writer for of the Memphis Commercial Appeal noted back in 2009, if you connect the dots, there is good circumstantial evidence that Calipari not only knew Derrick Rose cheated on his SAT but may have arranged for it to happen.</p>

<p>Then there is the fact that he depends on flesh traders like William “World Wide Wes” for his talent and most of his players are one-and-done. One year and then bolt to the NBA. Explain to me how those kids are student-athletes and nothing more than mercenaries. </p>

<p>As basketball legend, Bobby Knight said in 2009,</p>

<p>“We’ve gotten into this situation where integrity is really lacking and that’s why I’m glad I’m not coaching,” he said. “You see we’ve got a coach at Kentucky who put two schools on probation and he’s still coaching. I really don’t understand that.” "</p>

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<p>Like I said…go UConn!</p>

<p>ETA…Bobby Knight wasn’t exactly squeaky clean in the NCAA violations category!</p>

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<p>That said, this year’s crop on one-and-dones seem like basically good kids. That has NOT always been the case with the Kentucky players. There have been some real thugs. Last year’s group was generally decent, too, with Anthony Davis. The cheating and paying of athletes issues at Kentucky go back at least until the early 70s when I was at IU. It was harder to detect back then in the pre-internet age, but the program was dishonest back then and still is. But a player interviewed last night used a three syllable word, so things may be improving!</p>

<p>Here was a good article about Calipari (from his book) that actually made me like him a little. The one-and-done thing really isn’t his fault. Some of the other cheating (and the use of World Wide Wes) is, though.</p>

<p><a href=“Kentucky's John Calipari: Why 'One and Done' Must End - WSJ”>Kentucky's John Calipari: Why 'One and Done' Must End - WSJ;

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<p>Best line of the day!</p>

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<p>Lollipop?</p>

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<p>Bobby Knight was completely clean while he was a coach at IU and Tech. Absolutely NO NCAA violations. That’s why he is so quick to rip on other coaches who he felt cheated. There is no question that he played by all the rules.
In 2011 after he was no longer coaching, he had a secondary violation when he called a couple of recruits on behalf of his son, Pat, who was coaching at Lamar. It didn’t exactly rock the planet. </p>

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<p>More on Knight as the opposite of Calipari and UConn’s previous coach.</p>

<p>"His players testify to his ability to inspire them to become better players, better students and better men.</p>

<p>“He challenged you every day to take you places you never thought you’d go in your life,” said Quinn Buckner, who played on the 1976 team. “That’s what I appreciate about him.”</p>

<p>Knight was committed to academics. If you played at IU, you were going to get a degree at IU.</p>

<p>Dean Garrett, another former player, remembers how he and Keith Smart hurried back to campus after they won the championship in 1987, foregoing the opportunity to prepare for a professional career.</p>

<p>“Keith and I didn’t have the option to go to Colorado Springs and train for the NBA draft,” Garrett said. “We had class! We won the championship, got back to Bloomington. Class was off the next day but the day after that we were back in class.” "</p>

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<p>3 syllables? Bailbondsman? oh wait, maybe thats 2 words…</p>

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<p>Calipari not only had issues at Memphis that MOWC referenced, but also at UMass. He always left the school that was being investigated before the you-know-what hit the fan.</p>

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<p><a href=“» David and Goliath and Kentucky”>http://grantland.com/the-triangle/david-and-goliath-and-kentucky/&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>This is worthwhile to read. It took some of the wind out of my anti-Kentucky sails. These ARE just kids, after all. I may actually be rooting for the Kentucky PLAYERS tonight, despite my feelings for Cal and the program.</p>

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<p>John Calipari is not the problem with college basketball, it’s the system that is the issue. Calipari didn’t make the rules, he is just taking advantage of the rules.</p>

<p><a href=“http://bostinno.streetwise.co/2014/04/07/kentucky-v-connecticut-start-time-ncaa-championship-game-john-calipari-villain-gifs-video/”>http://bostinno.streetwise.co/2014/04/07/kentucky-v-connecticut-start-time-ncaa-championship-game-john-calipari-villain-gifs-video/&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;