UMass man

Sporting News, The, March 18, 1996 by Michael Gee

"Tired?" Camby said quickly when asked if he was worn clown. "No, I'm not tired at all." (His voice and body language conflicted with his usual calm.)

For a middle-aged reporter, it was somehow reassuring to know there was a topic that could make Camby ill at ease. He does not however, brood about his health. Camby tenses at the notion he can wear out because, a) that was the rap against him during his freshman and sophomore seasons, and b) he doesn't want anyone, especially NBA anyones, to think that his medical problem has left him damaged goods.

"I just came back and worked extra hard to prove there was nothing wrong with me, that I was the same player I was in the Kentucky game."

The Kentucky game set UMass in motion toward immortality -- an undefeated season, something that hadn't been done since Indiana in 1975-76. Tile Minutemen shocked many by defeating the Wildcats by 10 points in November. But that was a prelude of things to come, as UMass proceeded to play nine ranked teams and beat eight. But the Kentucky contest was a watershed event. That was the game the Minutemen discovered they may be special. That was the game where Camby proved he already was.

UMass has been at or near the top of the rankings so long that it has almost forgotten the preseason prognosticators had pegged it several flights from the top, including The Sporting News, which ranked UMass 15th. The Minutemen were downgraded because they had lost Lou Roe to the NBA. The backcourt of Carmelo Travieso and Edgar Padilla was an unknown quantity. And the Minutemen were just plain lousy in several preseason exhibitions.

It is Calipari's habit to schedule the most brutal December matchups he can wangle. This was a necessity when UMass was an unknown program on the make. Now Calipari plays non-conference steel-cage death matches because, well, he likes it.

"I think we play our best when we're afraid we could get blown out," Calipari says. So, for the second consecutive season, UMass opened against the preseason consensus No 1. (The Minutemen beat Arkansas in 1994-95. In 1993-94, UMass downed No. 1 North Carolina in the Minutemen's third game.)

There must be something to Calipari's theory on the motivational power of fear, because UMass beat Kentucky, 92-82. The game marked yet another Camby growth spurt, the hard passage from potential to actual star.

Camby torched the Wildcats for 32 points, 9 rebounds and 5 blocks. He was a revelation on the floor, and in his quiet way, he was one off the floor, too.

With five minutes to play, Calipari was aggressively criticizing Padilla for committing a turnover. Camby caught the coach's eye and said, "Hey, relax. we're going to win this game."

Calipari is a martinet, but not a tyrant. If his players do what he wants, he's happy to let them think for themselves. And, after all, few coaches dislike expressions of confidence from their most important players.

"I looked in his eyes, and he was right," Calipari says. "And after that, he made every big play."