John Calipari and Rick Pitino

ESPN.com



It ain't easy being John Calipari.

Oh, I know: Every coach in the country would volunteer his left pinkie for the star-studded lineup Calipari assembled this season, a glittering collection of NBA lottery talent. And most coaches would love to be the Official Governor of Big Blue Nation, spurred on by the devoted love of a state full of dedicated basketball maniacs. Calipari sits atop one of the few thrones in the sport, and he has worn the crown with style and pomp. Life in the Commonwealth is most definitely good.

But that doesn't mean it's easy.

In fact, the advantages of Calipari's job can frequently double as its drawbacks. That insane talent only raises expectations, expectations that create in fans not hope but demands: win or else. Every move on this team is scrutinized by a local media corps year-round, 24/7, 365. The position Calipari has put himself in with this team is enviable, sure, but it is also tenuous; there is absolutely no margin for error.

Which only makes the coaching job he's done this season all the more impressive. First, Calipari had to assemble this juggernaut. (Recruiting is often overlooked in coach-of-the-year discussions, but why?) Then, he had to solder disparate talented parts -- the kind of top-end AAU stars who might easily bristle against diminished roles -- into a basketball team even better than the sum of its parts. Then, he had to guide that team through the maelstrom that is basketball season in Kentucky, particularly a basketball season in which nothing but a national title can be considered a success.

The Wildcats are very nearly there. Does Calipari have the best talent in the country? No question. Are Calipari's problems of the high-class variety? Oh yeah. But high-class problems are still problems, and no coach in the country -- through the media, through point-perfect long-view guidance, through in-season adjustments designed to maximize each player's ability -- manages them better than the governor of BBN.

Sure, sure: Saying Calipari's job is hard is like saying driving a Maserati is too stressful. But the driver still has to hit his turns, and Coach Cal hasn't missed one.

-- Eamonn Brennan

Rick Pitino insisted that, outside the birth of his three children, no day in his life was better than this past Saturday, when Louisville topped Florida to make it to the Final Four.

It sounded like adrenaline-fueled hyperbole, but Pitino makes a valid point. On a résumé dotted with impressive results, this season just might be the most miraculous and magical, not to mention the best coaching job in Pitino's illustrious career.

Louisville is going to New Orleans thanks to a 2-guard who drives his coach crazy, a point guard who ranked 175th in assist-to-turnover ratio and a big man who, up until a year ago, didn't have a single offensive move in his repertoire.

Louisville is going to New Orleans despite a roster that read like an NFL injured reserve list -- Mike Marra (done for the season, ACL injury), Rakeem Buckles (done for the season, ACL injury), Stephan Van Treese (done for the season, patellar injury), Wayne Blackshear (out 25 games, shoulder injury), Peyton Siva (missed three games, ankle injury, concussion), Kyle Kuric (missed three games, ankle injury), Jared Swopshire (missed two games, groin injury).

But mostly Louisville is going to New Orleans because a would-be (should-be) Hall of Fame coach pushed every right button at every critical juncture. When injuries decimated his roster, Pitino slowed things down, and when everyone finally got healthy, he went back to his roots, pushing the tempo and turning a team that is short on offensive savvy into a defensive swarm.

No one will even try to argue that this is among Pitino's top-five (top 10?) talented teams, but what the Cards may lack in skill, they make up for in gumption. They are relentless, a team that never seems to accept the fact that it can't or shouldn't be able to come back.

In a high-end Final Four, Louisville is the only real underdog, a team that limped into the postseason, losing four of its final six regular-season games.

Yet Louisville is going to New Orleans because one of the most successful coaches in the game did the best job of his career.

-- Dana O'Neil