One-On-One
ONE-ON-ONE: JOHN CALIPARI
Feb. 25, 2003
By Steve Richardson
Memphis coach John Calipari is in his third season coaching at the school and appears headed to the NCAA Tournament for the first time with the Tigers. Memphis has upset Louisville on the Cardinals' home court and also has beaten Illinois, Syracuse, Villanova and Mississippi this season.
Coach "Cal" took Massachusetts to the Final Four in 1996 before a brief tour in the NBA with the New Jersey Nets and an assistant's position with the Philadelphia 76ers. Last season's Memphis team failed to make the NCAA Tournament, but it won the 2002 National Invitation Tournament.
NABC.com: How did you view winning the NIT?
JC: "Obviously, we want to be in the NCAA Tournament. We didn't come here to win the NIT. That was nice. The first step is to be in there (NCAA)....We feel we should be in there this year."
NABC.com: You have been outspoken that all Conference USA Teams should be in one division. That will happen next season when every team will play every other team once, and then three conference games will be based on rivalries and other factors. Why is that good for the league?
JC: "We are playing once in Louisville this year.....I would love to play those guys twice...I would love to play Marquette and Cincinnati twice....We are good as any conference in the country 1-5. But in this half of the league (National Division), any time we lose a game it is tortuous. In the other half (American Division), they lose, it is not that bad. That's why they are making the change."
NABC.com: Playing Louisville is a mindset?
JC: "The biggest thing is understanding it is hand-to-hand combat. They are coming at you in waves. We have to do the same. We have to play 9-10 also. We have to have a lot of guys ready. We have to come out with our own guys playing high. We can't have two or three guys playing poorly.
Rick has done a fabulous job."
NABC.com: What does it take to do well in the NCAA Tournament?
JC: "Any team which doesn't have a post presence is a fraud. The end result is you are trying to win the national tournament and you will not shoot it well every night out...Some night you will go 3-for-30 and your season is done. You have to have a post presence,"
NABC.com: You had a slump in the middle of the season, then turned it around in mid February?
JC: "The win against Tulane may have been the biggest win in the 2 1/2 years that we have been here. It was a significant game. There was something at stake. It was a huge game for them and us. We shot 36 percent and still won the game. A year ago, two years ago, if we had shot 36 percent we would have gotten beat by 18. I had to convince them defense and rebounding were important."
NABC.com: Have you told your team anything to avoid another letdown?
JC: "When we were getting on the bus the next day after the South Florida game (a victory), I told them they better remember this. At the same time last year, Kelly Wise got hurt and we lost three of four. The committee (NCAA Tournament Selection Committee) said they would take it into consideration and they didn't. It was over for us."
NABC.com: Talk about your point guard Antonio Burks?
JC: "Burks is playing as well as any point guard in the country. He got a little sloppy at South Florida. He tried to score too much. His speed is a weapon for our team not just him. His defensive pressure on the ball and off it is a weapon for us. We have eight players averaging nine points a game (at least), great balance and that will start with your point guard."
NABC.com: And your forward Chris Massie, he has had an outstanding season since he came back from sitting out the fall semester because he was ineligible, hasn't he?
JC: "He was in great shape playing for us when he started this year. Last year he was not in shape... He got humbled last year. But he as good a leader as I have coached. If you (the defense) triple team him, he will throw it out every time. If you single team him, he will score...I am proud of him. I never thought he would get himself eligible."
NABC.com: How strong is Conference USA?
JC: "I still think we have a chance for five teams, maybe six in NCAA Tournament....if UAB turns it on...De Paul has games left. And if they win, they have a chance...It's an interesting, interesting year."
