By LARRY VAUGHT

This is just what the John Calipari critics were waiting for.
The “I-told-you-so” crowd is salivating now that the NCAA has stripped Memphis of all 38 wins from the 2007-2008 Final Four season because it says the Tigers — and Calipari — used an ineligible player.
It’s no secret that player apparently was Derrick Rose, who just completed his first year in the NBA.
However, since I’ve not led a perfect life, I am a little hesitant to join the media crowd that is having so much fun throwing stones at Calipari and blaming the new Kentucky coach for the mess at Memphis.
Maybe I’m not the smartest guy in town, but I know enough to understand that Calipari was not implicated in any NCAA allegations of wrongdoing — and never has been.
I also noticed that Memphis president Shirley Raines is going to appeal what she feels is an unfair penalty.
“We know the rules,” Raines told The Associated Press. “We did our due diligence. We did everything we could to determine the student-athlete was eligible and that the rules were being followed.”
She didn’t blast Calipari for doing anything wrong. How could she? The unnamed player in the NCAA report is accused of having another person take his SAT exam in Detroit after he failed it three times in Chicago during his senior year in high school so he would be eligible as a freshman.
Memphis heard the allegations before clearing Rose to play and could not find enough evidence to support the claim. And the NCAA did clear Rose to play.
So what was Calipari supposed to do? Not play perhaps his best player because of an allegation that school officials and the NCAA could not verify. Give me a break. What about innocent until proven guilty?
Calipari issued a statement saying he was “very disappointed and disheartened by the NCAA’s findings” and both UK president Lee Todd and athletics director Mitch Barnhart have indicated they will not comment on the matter.
However, former UK player Mike Pratt, who was on the committee that helped bring Calipari to UK, has said numerous times that the coach was honest and frank with UK officials about the NCAA investigation at the time he was hired.
“He didn’t hide anything or refuse to talk about anything,” Pratt said.
In a recent interview with the AP, Barnhart said he was not concerned about allegations of NCAA violations at Memphis that became known after Calipari was hired. The coach was not been deemed “at risk” by the NCAA, and Barnhart stressed Calipari was eager to help the Wildcats win the right way.
“There’s one thing John says, ’I want my banners to count for something, and I want to put the rings on the fingers and let them stay there,”’ Barnhart told the AP. “That’s important to him, and so he is embracing any help that we give him to make sure we’re able to, at the end of the day, not have to look over our shoulders and worry.”
Sure, it’s easy to note that Massachusetts had to vacate its Final Four appearance when Calipari coached there. It’s not as easy to remember that the coach was the one who found out Marcus Camby had hired an agent during the season and reported the violation or that Calipari was not charged with any wrongdoing.
Rose still denies he cheated on the SAT. Whether he did or did not, how is Calipari to blame for what happened in Detroit over two years ago? Was he monitoring the test? No. Did he pay someone to take the test for Rose? No.
Other coaches have had to vacate NCAA Tournament appearances. Some are well known and beloved by many. Other coaches have ran afoul of NCAA regulations and are seldom criticized.
Calipari, though, has been a lightning rod for innuendo and rumors. Why? Maybe because he wins so much rivals have to find a way to justify losing to him.
I’m not naive enough to think that coaches don’t break rules or find loopholes to avoid rules. It happens daily.
But I’m not going to throw stones at any coach, including Calipari, who still has not been found guilty of wrongdoing by NCAA investigators who surely have spent many, many hours looking for something. Call me old-fashioned, but I still like to have proof before I pass judgment.

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