I was reading on another Maryland website how Kevin Huerter and Immanual Quickley were finalists for the U19 USA Basketball team that is being coached by John Calipari this year. As it relates to Quickley, who is also a target of Kentucky for its 2018 incoming class, even if one believes that Calipari is doing things above board, the idea that he could select Quickley to the U19 team represents a clear conflict-of-interest that shouldn't be allowed to continue. It's not fair to him in that it creates a cloud of doubt as to whether his choice for the team is influenced by his recruitment of Quickley for the Wildcats. It's also unfair to all of the other college coaches who are recruiting Quickley including Mark Turgeon. While I recognize that other college coaches have been granted greater access to the team this summer, it does still not represent an equal opportunity to continue to develop the relationship with the player(s). I think a fairer alternative is to have a panel of coaches and other representatives of USA Basketball each get one vote with regard to the final composition of the squad...including Calipari. This would remove any bias he might have and actually serve him well. For example, if Quickley is cut, Calipari could tell the player that he only had one vote. He could continue to recruit Quickley for Kentucky then on a level playing field without any questions regarding a built-in bias stemming from the U19 selection process.
All of the above suggests that Calipari is operating here under what is best for U19 USA Basketball. However, if he is operating also with his Kentucky hat on, the result could be to select certain players to the team who are unworthy in order to improve his chances of signing a player(s) to Kentucky's 2018 incoming class.
All of the above suggests that Calipari is operating here under what is best for U19 USA Basketball. However, if he is operating also with his Kentucky hat on, the result could be to select certain players to the team who are unworthy in order to improve his chances of signing a player(s) to Kentucky's 2018 incoming class.
