Cal and Camby getting statues at UMass (also Erving and Leamen)

E5 Yaz

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For the love of God.

Camby was a teenager, but Cal is an epic cheat and sleaze. This is embarrassing.
What the hell?

Maybe they can do a statue of the Ciaglo barn roof with its "Don't Leave Cal Marcus" message

A permanent reminder that the most famous team in school history had its efforts expunged
 

SumnerH

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I 'm not saying we have to pretend the Cal era wasn't insanely fun, but the man doesn't deserve a statue. We don;t have to pretend it wasn't super fun, but we don't need to give him a place of honor.
Just label it “The only coach to reach the Final Four for the first time three times.”
 

jose melendez

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SuperManny

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It was a few years before my time at Umass so I don't have strong feelings about either of them but like you said, Camby was a teenager in college who took money. It seems to be fairly common in the sport but he got caught and there were penalties. Is there more to that incident or other incidents at Umass with Calipari? The article is light on actual reasons why honoring Calipari is such a bad idea given that he is a hall of fame coach.

Wow. Maybe the Celtics should put a statue of Rick Pitino in front of the Garden, rewarding Pitino for taking the Celtics presidency away from Red Auerbach.
This was one of the lines in the article which reminded me how much I dislike Shaughnessy.
 

E5 Yaz

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I would argue that none of the four honored individuals deserve a statue on the UMass campus, but Erving is a much more reasonable choice than the others.
Curious why you think Erving more than Leaman?
 

mauf

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Curious why you think Erving more than Leaman?
None of them had statue-worthy accomplishments at UMass. Leaman was a good coach, but I’m guessing 217 career wins is the fewest by far for a college basketball coach who is honored with a statue on campus.

I personally wouldn’t put up a statue of Erving either, but it’s legit to honor him for what he did after he left UMass. And that kind of thing isn’t unheard of — there’s a statue of Shaq at LSU, for example.
 

Cellar-Door

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College coaches don't deserve statues. Being a coach at a major basketball or football program is an inherently immoral thing and the people who do it are loathsome people who should be shamed and denigrated not lauded.
 

Kenny F'ing Powers

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College coaches don't deserve statues. Being a coach at a major basketball or football program is an inherently immoral thing and the people who do it are loathsome people who should be shamed and denigrated not lauded.
Well. Thats definitely a take.
 

Cellar-Door

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Well. Thats definitely a take.
The make millions of dollars off unpaid labor, any person who makes tons of money (more than a professional often) expressly because the people doing the work don't have to be paid and has no problem with it cannot be anything but a deeply immoral person.
 

Kliq

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The make millions of dollars off unpaid labor, any person who makes tons of money (more than a professional often) expressly because the people doing the work don't have to be paid and has no problem with it cannot be anything but a deeply immoral person.
Hey, if there is one thing about Cal it is that he makes sure his players are getting a cut of things. Maybe he SHOULD get a statue?
 

E5 Yaz

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The make millions of dollars off unpaid labor, any person who makes tons of money (more than a professional often) expressly because the people doing the work don't have to be paid and has no problem with it cannot be anything but a deeply immoral person.
While true of Cal ... it has nothing to do with Jack Leaman
 

shaggydog2000

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The make millions of dollars off unpaid labor, any person who makes tons of money (more than a professional often) expressly because the people doing the work don't have to be paid and has no problem with it cannot be anything but a deeply immoral person.
Even worse, coaches at major college teams in revenue generating sports know that this system is not only unfair, but corrupt. They know that when there is a large amount of money riding on the current and future performance of unpaid athletes, some of that money will find it's way to those athletes. But instead of enforcing the rules they are given or advocating for the payment of their athletes, they maintain the current sham of a system because they know that forcing the money under the table gives them a bigger cut. So they set up their processes so that there are assistant coaches as fall guys and plausible deniability for themselves. The control freaks who dictate every second of their player's lives on and off the court suddenly just don't know what is going on when an agent or booster is slipping a kid cash, or when recruits get plied with booze and strippers. They make a fortune, their ADs make a fortune, their schools make a fortune, and their athletes are left unpaid or underpaid, and usually either without a degree or with a sham degree in whatever major was easiest instead of useful. They are inherently scumbags.

(But I'm sure your favorite coach or the one at your favorite school are the exceptions that do it right.)
 

Humphrey

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Jack Leaman and/or UMass didn't make a bloody dime off of Erving; no one in 1970 did, especially a school playing in Curry Hicks Cage with no TV contract. Just sayin'. Cal and Camby, that's another can of worms.
 

shaggydog2000

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Jack Leaman and/or UMass didn't make a bloody dime off of Erving; no one in 1970 did, especially a school playing in Curry Hicks Cage with no TV contract. Just sayin'. Cal and Camby, that's another can of worms.
I'm about as casual of a fan of college sports as a person can be, and even I know about Sam Gilbert financing the Wooden Dynasty at UCLA starting in the 60's. He was both a criminal, and a player agent, so he's kind of the prototype for the modern corruption of sports. So I don't know that everybody was cheatin back then, but I know at least some people were. Add in organized crime and the point shaving scandals that go back to the 50s (including that MA area one at BC in the 70's), and you've got a lot of corruption in the sport dating back pretty far. But of course coaches had no idea. They never do.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sam_Gilbert_(businessman)

https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2010-jun-08-la-sp-0609-wooden-gilbert-20100609-story.html
 

teddywingman

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UMass needs a statue of Henry Saint Claire Fredericks before they put one up for either of these two. He got a degree.
I am 100% behind this. The man has contributed more to world culture than Camby, Calipari, Ewing, and every other member of the UMass basketball program combined.

Fun fact: a fake ID I used for a time in my teens had the name Henry Fredericks.
 

Ale Xander

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I knew the Ewing theory was kinda out there, but this is a bit further than I could have imagined.
 

cornwalls@6

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Greg Carvel should get one before Cal does............. I'm perfectly fine with both Camby and Dr.J. Not an alum, but enjoyed the hell out of the early/mid 90's Umass teams. And I don't expend too much moral outrage over college athletics in general. But Cal is a uniquely sleazy guy. A statue seems a bit much.