In life, there are many different ways to break up sometimes it’s mutual, maybe one person wasn't feeling the “love” anymore, or occasionally it’s unexpected and you’re left picking up the pieces.
When ex-Memphis coach John Calipari and the University of Memphis broke up in 2009, it was always rumored it could happen, but after spending the whole 2000s together it didn't make it any less depressing.
Now Basketball Hall of Fame coach John Calipari didn't have the most kind words when referring to his time at Memphis and UMass on Monday.
“I always wanted to have a job like the other guys,” Calipari said. “It’s not like I had any disrespect for Massachusetts or Memphis. I loved those places; I loved those jobs. But, you were at the little table, you weren’t at the big table. You never got to carve the turkey; you had plastic forks and plates. And that’s what it was, but I always said, ‘I wonder what would happen if I got one of “those” jobs.”
The little table? Most Memphis fans would admit that Kentucky is a more established program and a better coaching job, but that doesn't mean the Memphis Tiger basketball program is a “little table” by any means.
As hard as it may seem for Cal, Memphis Tiger basketball existed before he walked through the door in 2000.
The Tigers made seven Sweet Sixteen appearances between 1973 and 1995, though four of them under former coach Dana Kirk (1982, 1983, 1985, 1986) were taken away due to him committing NCAA violations.
On three of those occasions, Memphis made it to the Elite Eight (1973, 1985, and 1992), two times the Tigers made it to the Final Four (1973 and 1985), and in 1973 the Memphis fell to UCLA in the National Championship game who were led by Hall of Fame coach John Wooden and Hall of Fame center Bill Walton.
Of course with successful teams, the stars shine that much more. Try telling Penny Hardaway that the Memphis basketball program is a little table. The little table didn't stop him from growing into one of the best players in college basketball, and eventually one of the players in the NBA in the late 1990s.
Hardaway is one of 20 former Tiger players who were drafted in the NBA before Cal’s time. Three of them including Hardaway were NBA All-Stars at the next level, showing Memphis has always been more than capable of producing top-tier NBA talent.
That’s not to say Calipari added nothing to the program that would be false. He brought a lot of success to a program that was on the down slope after a few years.
But Memphis gave him a chance to build his college resume as well. He left UMass in murky waters which resulted in a Final Four being vacated (sound familiar), and his coaching stint with the now Brooklyn Nets in the NBA left a lot to be desired.
In fairness, to him Calipari took the opportunity and grabbed the bull by the horns and his work at Memphis, regardless of how poorly he is perceived now, should be respected.
However, he should not forget without Memphis giving him a chance that the success Cal is currently enjoying at Kentucky probably never happens.
They say you should never forget your roots, and Calipari shouldn’t forget the girl that let you sit with her at the little table that when no one else would.
