Calipari - UMass jersey retirement

[JoleonLescottsHair]

One point on Coach Cal. I was a student 1980-84. A lot of people are saying the UMass program was in the toilet when Cal took over in 88. However look back to when Tom McLaughlin took over in the Fall of 1981. UMass had lost 33 consecutive conference games when McLaughlin took the helm. That is 0-33 in conference the previous 3 campaigns. That is ZERO wins in league. The next 2 seasons McLaughlin went 7-21 in conference. A VAST improvement. He also got a new scoreboard for the Cage and got the students to come back to the games. As a matter of fact since McLaughlin left in the Spring of 1983 UMass has had only 1 season where we didnt have double digit wins in a season. I saw Gerlufsen eating at Charlies Tavern the day he took over in 1983. He went 33-57 in conference play before Cal came in. My point being that McLaughlin really took the program out of the porcelain and inherited a more dire circumstance than Cal did. When Cal came in at least there were some embers burning and he took it all the way to the moon.

Great history and important points! I am a big fan of Coach McLaughlin and still have my "UMass Hoops is Great Stuff!" painters cap from back then. That early season holiday tournament win was especially cool. I remember when they beat Navy and I forget who else to take it.

[CapeCodBruiser]

Thanks LescottsHair. When I was researching my post I was shocked to find that Jack Leaman's career ended with a 13 game losing streak which was part of the 0-33 conference record. (It looks like the 13th loss and final game of his career was in the conference tournament to Villanova in OT). Ray Wilson took over the next season. This was before my time so I am not sure if Jack was forced out after that streak or he just retired. Maybe the players of that era were spending more time at The Drake than practicing basketball. The drinking age was 18 and Happy Hours were legal...aka The Good Old Days.

[JoleonLescottsHair]

^yep, they finished 5-22 and Jack retired. Eric Williams wept. Ray Wilson then went 2-24 and 3-24.

[Berkman]

At least it didn't collapse on "national" television...

Like the video board at the FB game?

[Berkman]

^ ^ ^

I think that Jack just got frustrated with was required to do to recruit players. I don't think that he wanted to go on the road recruiting as it was getting to be required then. He would deal with them when they visited the campus. The way I heard one story was that one of the assistants on the staff was supposed to do the on the road never went out to watch recruits but did the recruiting over the phone. I really doubt that they would have forced him to retire. They did not do that kind of stuff back in those days.

[rayers]

So I have to add a few things I know about the situations mentioned above. Leaman was a great basketball coach and person. I helped coach the Stockbridge Ag. hoop team when such a thing existed. Anyway Jack would come to every practice and watch and share his thoughts with the players and coaches from time to time. I relished the times he would spend time sharing his thoughts. When he spoke to the players I would get goosebumps. He was that good.
The guys on his last and second to last teams were a mixture of those who cared and those who didn't care one bit. Pot was nothing compared to what some of the players did before practices and even games. As knowledgeable as Jack was about basketball, dealing with some of the players of the seventies was too much for him. He was from a different era and was used to winning at a different level with a different type of player. I think he was in part a guy who had some difficulty with change and that era was a time of tumultuous changes, not only in basketball but throughout the world. He chose not to continue. He was not forced out. He left on his own terms. Cal as a coach reminds me of what Jack might have have been like if he didn't mind recruiting and traveling. He was still a great college coach.

[Minutemaniac74]

It's a shame that DK does not have Coach Leaman around like Calipari did in his early years.

[CapeCodBruiser]

Imagine if umasshoops.com message board existed during the 33 game conference losing streak circa 1980? I wonder what kind of vitriol would have been spewed? I loved going to The Cage when McLaughlin took over. We beat the Karl Hobbs lead UConn team one night....but I think that was 1983 in Gerlufsen 1st year. Crowds were rabid.

[tom mclaughlin]

Interesting that when UMass has something positive to celebrate like an evening for John Calipari the Boston Globe wants to bring up all the negatives and WEEI tries to put coach Cal on the defensive. I have
been around the block and coached at Stanford and ND besides UMass. While at Stanford in the old PAC 8 there were some unbelievable coaches like John Wooden, Marv Harshman, Dick Harter and George Raveling. Then at ND we faced guys like Ray Meyer, Terry Holland, Larry Brown, Bobby Knight and Joe B Hall. Hall of Fame coaches. My point is I've seen the best of the best and I can say Jack Leaman is right up there with all of them except for maybe John Wooden and Larry Brown. Coach Leaman was a basketball lifer who got caught up in a bad situation where he was competing in the new Eastern. 8 with teams like Pitt,West Virginia and Rutgers who he just couldn't compete with. Each of those teams had a few NBA type players and on the road you weren't going to beat them. Jack did the best he could with what he had and you could see it wore him down. Jack was a great coach and his key was he loved the game and he got his players to play hard every possession. I assure you it's no accident that Rick Pitino and Al Skinner have been so successful. I'm sure both of them have used Jack's techniques in their own coaching styles.
Jack was a teacher of the game of basketball and he prepared his players to go out in the world and be successful. Some of the teammates I had are some of the finest people you would ever want to know. Jack was smart in getting good people in his program and we never worried about someone getting in trouble. It was a privilege to play for Jack Leaman and UMass. Every time you put on that uniform it was an honor and it was fun to go out and beat all the New England teams like BC, UConn
And URI. Jack should always be remembered as a great coach who loved UMass until the day he died. UMass was lucky to have him.
All I can say about Coach Cal is he showed me what type of person he was when Jack passed away. He immediately flew to amherst to be by Rita's side. The Boston media can do what they want to tarnish what he accomplished at UMass but what Cal did was truly amazing and he learned his craft in Amherst and his loyalty to UMass can never be questioned. John Calipari is forever tied to UMass and he is a Hall of Fame coach and in my book he is a Hall of Fame person. UMass was blessed to have had both Jack Leaman and John Calipari coach in Amherst. They can stand up against any school any where and if UConn, BC or Providence had them coach there they would be calling them saints. UMass has a great basketball tradition that we should all appreciate and be grateful we had a chance to see two great coaches on the sidelines in Amherst. Guys like Jack Leaman and John Calipari don't come around often and they made UMass basketball something to be proud of.

[JoleonLescottsHair]

Hurray to this post!!

[Swampy]

Interesting that when UMass has something positive to celebrate like an evening for John Calipari the Boston Globe wants to bring up all the negatives and WEEI tries to put coach Cal on the defensive. I have
been around the block and coached at Stanford and ND besides UMass. While at Stanford in the old PAC 8 there were some unbelievable coaches like John Wooden, Marv Harshman, Dick Harter and George Raveling. Then at ND we faced guys like Ray Meyer, Terry Holland, Larry Brown, Bobby Knight and Joe B Hall. Hall of Fame coaches. My point is I've seen the best of the best and I can say Jack Leaman is right up there with all of them except for maybe John Wooden and Larry Brown. Coach Leaman was a basketball lifer who got caught up in a bad situation where he was competing in the new Eastern. 8 with teams like Pitt,West Virginia and Rutgers who he just couldn't compete with. Each of those teams had a few NBA type players and on the road you weren't going to beat them. Jack did the best he could with what he had and you could see it wore him down. Jack was a great coach and his key was he loved the game and he got his players to play hard every possession. I assure you it's no accident that Rick Pitino and Al Skinner have been so successful. I'm sure both of them have used Jack's techniques in their own coaching styles.
Jack was a teacher of the game of basketball and he prepared his players to go out in the world and be successful. Some of the teammates I had are some of the finest people you would ever want to know. Jack was smart in getting good people in his program and we never worried about someone getting in trouble. It was a privilege to play for Jack Leaman and UMass. Every time you put on that uniform it was an honor and it was fun to go out and beat all the New England teams like BC, UConn
And URI. Jack should always be remembered as a great coach who loved UMass until the day he died. UMass was lucky to have him.
All I can say about Coach Cal is he showed me what type of person he was when Jack passed away. He immediately flew to amherst to be by Rita's side. The Boston media can do what they want to tarnish what he accomplished at UMass but what Cal did was truly amazing and he learned his craft in Amherst and his loyalty to UMass can never be questioned. John Calipari is forever tied to UMass and he is a Hall of Fame coach and in my book he is a Hall of Fame person. UMass was blessed to have had both Jack Leaman and John Calipari coach in Amherst. They can stand up against any school any where and if UConn, BC or Providence had them coach there they would be calling them saints. UMass has a great basketball tradition that we should all appreciate and be grateful we had a chance to see two great coaches on the sidelines in Amherst. Guys like Jack Leaman and John Calipari don't come around often and they made UMass basketball something to be proud of.

Thank you for the reminders, coach.
GO UMASS!

[Old Cage]

With mic in hand on Wednesday night, Cal reiterated what is posted in the line below this one.

[InnervisionsUMASS]

UMass AD Ryan Bamford proud to have Calipari banner at Mullins Center: 'John appreciates his roots'
http://www.masslive.com/umassbasketball ... iver_index

[eldonabe]

^ Dan Shaughnessy can suck my fat C**k....

Nobody is perfect - nobody. I am sure the ever pious Dan Shaughnessy has done a couple regrettable things too, and I am sure those things are left in the rear view mirror forgotten er I mean ignored as if they never happened.

Cal has pushed and will continue to push the envelope. He demands (and more importantly instructs how to achieve) excellence.


The jaded masses look at his reverence and acknowledgement for Amherst as self serving and a marketing opportunity. Nothing could be further from the truth. The problem is that is represents something that people today are woefully lacking - respect for just about anything. Which is exactly why people do not understand it anymore.

The guy poured his heart and soul into Umass while he was here and that is what we all saw and why we all still celebrate him and think he is the shit.... Regardless of whether he broke the rules or not, he was genuine in his desire to make Umass great and did whatever it took. Shady.... Maybe? More than anyone else - doubtful.

[baseline47]

^ Nobody is perfect!

Cal poured his heart and soul into Umass. That's why many (most?) MA college basketball fans celebrate him. Rightly so!

The scandal (Camby's accepting money from an agent) sullied the reputations of Cal and UMass. He should've known/done better! I think he (and Camby?) ultimately accepted responsibility. The NCAA punished us (UMass).

Too bad it happened. It's muck for the Globe and Shaughnessy to dredge up when ever they do a piece on UMass. Strangely, the Globe doesn't mention its printing the grades of UMass players. That was below the belt, even for the Globe! Did they apologize for that?

Who celebrates Cal and thinks he is a shit? You either love him or hate him. There is no middle ground when it comes to Cal!