On his Facebook page, former Kentucky point guard Saul Smith cautioned the basketball program about running afoul of NCAA rules.
“Bad bad day for my alma mater,” Smith wrote on Thursday. “The UK athletic program will never regain its true champion nature with Businessmen running it. Never, no matter how many so called blue chip players you bring in. You can’t sacrifice your integrity for success. You just can’t do it. I’m an alum and I deserve a clean-ran program, plain and simple. Period, and if anyone disagrees, you, my friend, shouldn’t support the program I played 4.”
Smith now works as an assistant coach for his father, former UK coach Tubby Smith, at Minnesota.
Later in a follow-up interview, Smith said he did not mean to suggest new UK Coach John Calipari used questionable methods.
“Coach Cal is my guy,” Smith said. “I’m close to him.”
Smith said he interviewed for a spot on Calipari’s Memphis staff in 2007.
Of the Memphis allegations, Smith said of Calipari, “I don’t think he knew about it, so he says.”
Smith also said his father refused to “pay” for players as Kentucky coach.
“He had the opportunity to get great players,” Saul Smith said. “But the integrity wouldn’t be there. . . .
“I’m not saying Cal has done that. I’m just saying (Kentucky) can’t afford it. We’ve been down that road.”
The Smiths, father and son, witnessed Rick Pitino’s resurrection of Kentucky basketball after the rules violations and subsequent NCAA penalties of the late 1980s. Those violations included the same academic fraud allegation that Memphis must deal with now.
Tubby Smith was an assistant coach for Pitino. Saul Smith was a ballboy. Saul recalled the UK team not being eligible for post-season play in 1989-90 as part of the penalty for previous rule breaking.
“That was salty, man,” Smith said.
When it was noted that Tubby Smith had not publicly comment about the allegations against the Memphis program and their implications for Kentucky, Saul Smith said, “I’m going to tell it like it is. He has to be politically correct.”
Later on Thursday, Smith took down the previous posting on his Facebook page and replaced it with this:
“Just disappointed that my alma mater is in the news again for negative things. Unreal, how many people follow my facebook status. 2 reporters call. wow. I feel like a rockstar.”
Apparently, there was a negative reaction to Smith’s word of caution.
Later in the day, he made another posting on his Facebook page. It read: “1st of all. Calipari is my guy. UK is my team. Where r u knuckleheads coming up with this crap. All I said was I’m sick of hearing negative about my alma mater(u know the team I bled, sweated, and cried for. U know the program I have 6 SEC titles and 1 national title) in the paper.”
In another posting, Smith elaborated. He wrote: “said i was disappointed to hear about my alma mater again in a negative light. Period. where r u clowns coming up with the rest. The only thing i said negative was referring to the Administration and we all have our own opinions. KOBE!”
12 comments ↓
I wish the reporters would stop digging up every Tom, Dick and Saul that was ever connected to UK to get comments everytime there is a news event. It’s getting tiresome to drag out those that have had therir 15 mins of fame and moved on.
I don’t think Tubby would have had to pay Hansbrough or Brewer, both wanted to come to UK, both went elsewhere because Tubby didn’t want them, and both won NC’s.
Evidently, the kid took his SAT before he was signed by Memphis and was cleared by NCAA to play.
Who cares what Saul thinks. Since when did he become an expert on the subject matter. If the UK Administration said they did their homework, then give the benefit of the doubt and stop assuming anything. Until Calipari is linked to wrong doing, then he is clean and assuming otherwise is fuel to tyhe fire started by the naysayers!
Saul is right on point! He is an example of integrity of course that comes from his upbringing by Mother and Father. Moral, integrity, values and ethics are what makes a man. Not winning or losing basketball games. Don’t hate Saul because he cherishes the university that he graduated from and come on for all of the uk fans that question his time playing basketball there, if you were the coach and you had a son that played, you’d start him too and if you say that you wouldn’t, you are a liar period.
What the UK fans want Saul is Rick Pitino back so they find and hire someone that follows him and want to be like him. They should have hired you or Pelphrey, Ford or Billy Donovan, direct or indirect descendents of Ricky P. I consider you as my brother because the mother and father that you have, I have a mother and father just like him and when my boys get recruited for the round ball in about ten and twelve years, I’m gonna send them to you or Ricky Pitino son. It’s hereditory and in the genes.
UK want to win at all cost and because of that, they won’t go to UK. It’s about winning but more importantly it’s how you play the game. No past infractions, no questionable infractions or anything of such.
Calipari has baggage, the players that he recruit has baggage and those that he didn’t but stay with him will have baggage when they leave.
Calipari is a follower.
One additional thought….who cares about Tubby, Saul, Gillispie, or any of the other persons responsible for the near-death experience of the UK basketball program. Let’s be glad we are rising back up and those days are behind us. At least now, the media wants to talk about everything going on at UK even if it is to make a big deal out of nothing about UK!!
WHY would Memphis offer the moon to Cal if at the time THEY knew THEY may go on probation with the info presented to them by the NCAA? That doesn’t add up for me. WHY would Kentucky talk to the NCAA before giving the job to Caliperi and not be told about the problem by the NCAA? Was the NCAA playing a joke on UK by telling them Cal was clean but knew they were going to lower the boom on Cal during the summer?? Maybe way too much integrity everywhere.
Ya’ll are doggin Saul Smith over his right to defend his statements of HIS alma Mater. Horrific, typical UK trash bashing. When Cal is cutting down the nets it will positive stuff said again. Yeah, he played for his dad, so did Sean Sutton and so on and so on. Saul was a steady, decent point guard. He was a great defender and often took much of the crap for the decent UK teams he was on. Six Conference Titles and One NCAA. Get off his back, he deserves to be able to speak about something he knows about. I bet half of the people bashing him haven’t even suited up in a college uniform, so how do they know the game. Once again people in KY thinking they are the New York Yankees. Get a Grip KY!!!!
If someone like Kenny Walker or Dan Issel made this statement then I might actually consider this newsworthy (except that regardless of who says it, it flies in the face of the facts). However, coming from a guy that wouldn’t have gotten a sniff at being on the team much less starting if it weren’t for dad, doesn’t make cause me a lot of concern. Good luck with the rest of your life Saul, let’s hope Daddy can get you a job after he retires as well.
Well I’m glad little Saul finally got a shot in on Kentucky….we still don’t like you. The reason we weren’t successful during the smith era is players of your caliber starting every game, every year. Which is not because of coach smiths integrity…it’s because top talent doesn’t like his style of play, and players want to go to the NBA, something that players of late have done in SPITE of the coach.
Is this what it’s come to? Parsing every phrase on someone’s Facebook page? C’mon Tipton. Find something more substantial to write about.
Where was all this outrage when Roy Williams left Kansas on probation and pay to play allegations? Just wondering Guess Roy just bought em all a coke like momma and it all went away.
Someone needs to BURN Jerry Tipton’s house down if he keeps digging up shit from the sewer of life he dwells in. Seems like forever I have been wondering what the blank his problem with UK is? Dis they turn him down for a water boy job or something?
WE aren’t in the media for integrity issues, Memphis is. Wake up, Saul.
Also, the nepotism comment is hilarious.
Leave a Comment