The Big Lead interviews Coach Cal

Earlier today, the guys over at The Big Lead were able to land an interview with John Calipari, the head coach of the Kentucky Wildcats.

While some the most intriguing topics were off-limits (Cal didn't answers questions regarding the Derrick Rose SAT scandal, Rick Pitino, or package deals), he did touch on some pretty interesting topics - from the reactions of Big Blue nation to sending Obama a jersey to his dribble drive motion offense to why college coaches don't always make great pro coaches (his answer to the latter was "They get bad jobs, that’s it. It’s as simple as that").

While everything has the typical Calipari spin on it (there is a reason he is the best in the business), the portion of the interview where Calipari seemed to be the most honest was in regards to the one-and-done rule and how it effects college hoops. He gave four specific changes that he would make:

1. Changing the draft rules to mimic baseball's - you can go pro out of high school, but if you go to college you are required to stay a certain number of years.
2. Eliminating the summer recruiting period, and bringing the high school coaches back into the recruiting fold.
3. Allowing college players to take out loans for insurance policies and loans for during the school year to be paid back with their professional earnings.
4. Allowing more time between college coaches and their team during the summer months.
   

Can't say I disagree with those.

The most interesting is the second one. Cal is the best recruiter in the business, which would lead one to assume he has a good relationship with a number of AAU coaches. Eliminating summer basketball would erase those ties, but could also do away with much of the corruption in the recruiting process.

Anyway, there is a lot of really interesting stuff touched on, and it is definitely a must read.

A Q&A with Kentucky coach John Calipari (The Big Lead)