Looking Back At The Calipari Era
by Sebastian Pruiti
Aug 21, 2009 Blast From The Past, Jayson Williams, John Calipari, Keith Van Horn, Kendall Gill, Kerry Kittles, Sam Cassell
As someone who was first introduced to the Nets in the 1990s, I’ve retained some real fondness for the 1997-98 team. While only winning 43 games and getting swept away by the eventual NBA Champion Chicago Bulls in the first round of the playoffs, the 97-98 group was just an entertaining group of players: Sam Cassell hitting big shot after big shot, Keith Van Horn when he was “the next Larry Bird,” Jayson Williams owning the boards, Kerry Kittles streaking down the court and lining up for a three. And that team was led by a young, intelligent coach coming off a great little run in the NCAA – you might have heard of him the past 24 hours – John Calipari.
When it comes to Nets lore, the 97-98 team probably gets lost in the shuffle. The Jason Kidd era showed how the Nets could be both fun and talented. Plus the following season was a disaster for the Nets. The 1999-2000 season was already shortened by the lockout, and when play resumed, a Nets team that had shown so much promise, nosedived. You got the sense that Calipari, who was about as energetic and wiry as they come, was starting to rub his players the wrong way. Jayson Williams, who would later tarnish his own legacy with other issues, was very candid about his dislike for Calipari. They started the season 3-17 and Cailpari was fired. It wasn’t until they exchanged Stephon Marbury for Jason Kidd that the Nets were a relevant part of the NBA again.
I guess that’s what Calipari does. While it may not be intentional, he now has a solid steak of coming to a team and giving the fans some hope before leaving behind a path of destruction. Yesterday, it was revealed that the NCAA was stripping the 2008 University of Memphis Tigers of its tournament victories for using an ineligible player, which is believed to be Derek Rose, now of the Chicago Bulls. That Memphis team (with current Net Chris Douglas-Roberts) made it to the championship game and was coached by Calipari. Calipari was also coach of the 1996 University of Massachusetts Final Four team, which had to vacate its record because then-player Marcus Camby accepted gifts and money from an agent. Calipari was cleared of any wrong-doing, but all of this has to make you think why controversy always seems to be following a Calipari.
I will always have my memories of the 97-98 Nets team. I’ll always remember how they almost caught the Bulls napping in game one of their series, making, what was by all accounts, an invincible team, have to scratch and claw their way to a victory. I remember Slam Magazine putting Cassell, Van Horn, Williams, Kittles and Kendall Gill on the cover – marking the first time I ever purchased Slam. But when I go back and recall the Calipari era in New Jersey, I always get a bitter taste in my mouth. And it seems like now Memphis Tigers fans will now get the taste, when they look back at their own Calipari years.
Posted by Mark Ginocchio
August 21st, 2009 at 10:58 AM
I literally have that issue on my desk. Good one…if only Tony Gervino was more of a prophet. He predicted we’d win the Finals. :’(
August 21st, 2009 at 11:41 AM
I should have added that the 97-98 team was one of the few bright spots of a decade that featured “whoop-de-damned-doo,” Shawn Bradley, Butch Beard and my favorite player of all time (Drazen) dying in a car wreck. Seeing my favorite team, which hardly ever received any ink nationally, featured on the cover of Slam was absolutely amazing. I really bought in to Gervino’s predictions too and thought Rony Seikly was the missing piece. Whoops….
August 21st, 2009 at 10:36 PM
i was about 4 years old at that time so had no idea of who the Nets were
August 22nd, 2009 at 6:00 PM
I just became a nets fan after that season, and what really drew me towards them was the Jason Kidd era. The back to back finals appearence, if only the Spurs and Lakers weren’t freakishly good.
August 23rd, 2009 at 2:24 PM
Ahhh yes. What year that was. This year ends with my favorite New Jersey Nets story… Went to a few games that year, including the last game of the regular season, at home vs. the Grant Hill led Detroit Pistons. The Nets had to win to guarantee the 8th spot in the playoffs, or the Wizards would have had it. It was a great game, the Nets won 114 – 101. Two players who are underrated in Nets history had great games: Sherman Douglas had 18 points, 11 assists and 5 steals, and my fave, Kendall Gill(I lost a Kendall Gill #13 pin that I had on my desk on 9/11), had a monster game, led the team with 27 points, shot 75% from the floor and 9 for 9 from the line, and added 5 rebounds and 5 steals. He was to lead THE LEAGUE in steals the following season. Of course Kittles and KVH had great games as well, with all 5 starters scoring double figures. At the end of the game, Grant Hill walks off the court crying…
http://www.basketball-reference.com/boxscores/199804190NJN.html
I had tickets for game four of that 1st playoff series, but of course MJ and the the Bull swept the Nets in 3…
Regarding Coach Cal, clearly he’s left a trail of dust in his wake some places, but there was no real scandal associated with his time with the Nets. He was fired because a player disliked him? (In retrospect, maybe Jayson didn’t like Calipari because Cal objected to him bringing guns to the arena.) Byron Scott was canned for similar reasons and look at what’s happened since then. Doesn’t mean they were bad coaches. Plus, I recall the way they fired Calipari was like scene out of the Sopranos: in a limo at the Miami (I think) airport?! The Nets brass took a beating for the way that happened. But yeah, that team Had some pizzazz. SAM-I-AM Next Nets Head Coach? hmmmmm…
September 8th, 2009 at 6:07 AM
[...] for two games despite being swept while being declared the team of the future by Slam magazine (cover found on NAS here). Net coach John Calipari said it was the first time he met with players in the preseason and [...]
September 23rd, 2009 at 6:01 AM
[...] I’ve discussed previously, the John Calipari era in New Jersey has always been a curious one for me. There was one great, [...]