blueblueblue

March 25th, 2018 at 11:50 PM ^

Somebody correct me if I'm wrong, but there seem to be 3 reasons to issue a congratulations on Twitter:

  1. You don't have the person's contact info
  2. You are congratulating multiple people, such as a team
  3. You want other people to know that you've issued the congratulations

I am guessing Calipari has Matthew's contact info. It's #3, which means it's all about number one (him), which means it's number two (shit). 

 

ijohnb

March 26th, 2018 at 5:32 AM ^

maybe it has been 2 years since he has talked to him, he doesn’t have his “contact info” and/or doesn’t want to cold call a player on another team during Final Four week, and he is genuinely happy that a player he knew and didn’t work out with is thriving somewhere else. People tweet congrats all the time. There is no indication this was anything but genuine and was probably a nice thing to hear for Matthews. Calipari is not making any headlines by doing this. Pretty cool move, IMO.

In reply to by ijohnb

1VaBlue1

March 26th, 2018 at 8:04 AM ^

This is one of the few times I agree with you.  Yeah, Calipari is a slimey bastard, but Matthews is a kid he's known for several years.  And slimy, or not, coaches still like the players that play for them, even if things don't work out and someone transfers.  I think it's pretty cool that Calipari reached out and personally congratulated him.  And I have money that says Matthews genuinely appreciates it, too...

ijohnb

March 26th, 2018 at 9:22 AM ^

can't tell you that you are wrong regarding your general opinion of Calipari.  I think that Kentucky has been a dirty program as far back as Pitino, and that Calipari is part of that crowd.  He was also a very bombastic personality when he was younger during his early days at UMass and that certainly rubbed some people the wrong way.  I will point out, however, that he gushed over Michigan before, during, and after the Elite 8 game against them and based on his comments and general conduct during that game, I got the feeling that he had a lot of respect for Beilein as a coach and our program, in general. 

I don't think that anybody is ever just one thing.  Calipari can act like a dick, and he certainly is not a great "face of college basketball," but I do think he can be circumstantially gracious and this would appear to be one of those times.

In reply to by ijohnb

El Jeffe

March 26th, 2018 at 9:32 AM ^

Hold on now... You're saying that more than one thing can be true at the same time? Have you MET the internet?

I agree with your post, btw.

gujd

March 26th, 2018 at 11:44 AM ^

So you would say the same about Harbaugh's congratulations? Pretty sure he has Beilein's contact info. 

https://twitter.com/CoachJim4UM/status/977747540245385217

 

I would offer an option 4) making a public congratulations can further expose the success to a wider audience. 

As many have said, Calipari seems to genuinely have his players' interests. 

Clarence Boddicker

March 26th, 2018 at 8:12 AM ^

Don't know why it's so hard for people to get that Calipari loves his players, past and present, and his players love him. Calipari is not Dave Bliss. Relevant quote:

"Although that Final Four run was later vacated after it was discovered Camby had accepted money and gifts from agents, the 43-year-old former NBA center said he remains close with Calipari.

"'It meant a lot to him,' Camby told the Daily Hampshire Gazette, referring to his former coach. 'He's excited. He said he wouldn't miss it for the world. We share a lifelong bond, and I wanted him to be part of it.'"

WolveJD

March 26th, 2018 at 12:44 AM ^

If I remember correctly, someone asked Charles right after the game about his time at Kentucky.  He could have taken a shot at Calipari and UK, but he didn't. He went out of his way to thank Coach Cal for getting him ready to play at this level.  

Then he thank Coach Beilein for taking him beyond.

I thought that was a classy, don't-take-the-bait gesture by the young man. 

 

LabattsBleu

March 26th, 2018 at 1:43 AM ^

not a fan of Calipari, but a nice gesture by him...

Matthews mentioned that he kept in contact with coach Cal and one of the other coaches after he transfered...left Kentucky on good terms

WorldwideTJRob

March 26th, 2018 at 6:58 AM ^

Yeah I think Cal knows he probably could’ve used a player like Matthews on his team this season, but instead of being salty he congratulated a good kid that he had the pleasure of knowing.

Preacher Mike

March 26th, 2018 at 7:47 AM ^

I think Calipari is a slimy in his recruiting practices, but in terms of how he treats his kids, I think he is actually a good guy. His players and former players love him for the most part, from what I've seen/heard. Matthews didn't leave because he hated Cal, it was just a matter too much talent and not enough minutes to go around, right?

Niels

March 26th, 2018 at 9:29 AM ^

I've never had a definitive take on how Cal has been terrible since coming to UK. In the absence of that I consider Cal to be like Saban, (with his liberal use of medical dismissals,) someone who leveraged early career sketchiness to help build a rep he can now trade on while generally following the rules. I actually find Cal to be refreshing insofar that he treats the NCAA one and done situation like the joke that it is, and has built a brand that catered to NBA first rounders out of HS who want to have a fun gap year and learn hoops/travel around with other AAU all-stars. 

Rick's American Cafe

March 26th, 2018 at 8:52 AM ^

Why the Calipari hatred? I have no problems with him. At least he’s upfront about who he is, and what he does. The real slimy ones are the sanctimonious ones, like Pitino and Coach K, who pretend to be “men of integrity” to the public, but cheat just as much as anyone else, behind closed doors. I kind of admire Calipari, for not putting on false displays of piety. He’s got a lot more integrity than the Sean Miller’s of the coaching world.

matty blue

March 26th, 2018 at 9:26 AM ^

i don't want him within a thousand miles of my program, but for all his faults as a recruiter and in-game coach, calipari seems by appearances to be a generally good guy.

and matthews signed up with him once, so there is clearly some level of affection between the two...AND their parting was apparently not acrimonious, so why wouldn't he wish him the best? 

i'm sure beilein hopes for success for kam chatman, and donnal, and aubrey dawkins, and etc etc etc.