John Calipari vs. Other Major Coaches

[caption id="attachment_153269" align="alignnone" width="600"] Mark Cornelison/ AP[/caption] There's no denying it; these past two years have been incredibly frustrating. In back-to-back seasons, Kentucky has gone from a preseason favorite to win the title to a lower-tier tournament team in early March. In looking for an outlet for this confusion, many fans have turned toward the man at the helm of the program - John Calipari. While few rational fans have called for a coaching change, numerous people  have questioned Calipari's recruiting philosophy and his ability to lead the team. How warranted is this criticism? Let's take a look at Coach Cal's resume in his time at Kentucky compared to some of college basketball's other premiere coaches. What follows could restore your potentially waning faith: John Calipari  Tenure: 5 years Record: 145-34 (81%) Conference Titles (reg. season): 2 Tournament Appearances: 3 Final Fours: 2 National Titles: 1 Rick Pitino (Louisville) Tenure: 13 years Record: 334-116 (74.2%) Conference Titles (reg. season): 3 Tournament Appearances: 10 Final Fours: 3 National Titles: 1 Roy Williams (North Carolina) Tenure: 11 years Record: 305- 86 (78%) Conference Titles (reg. season): 6 Tournament Appearances: 9 Final Fours: 3 National Titles: 2 Jim Boeheim (Syracuse) Tenure: 38 years Record: 946-318 (74.8%) Conference Titles (reg. season): 11 Tournament Appearances: 30 Final Fours: 4 National Titles: 1 Tom Izzo (Michigan State) Tenure: 19 years Record: 461-185 (71.4%) Conference Titles (reg. season): 7 Tournament Appearances: 16 Final Fours: 6 National Titles: 1 Bill Self (Kansas) Tenure: 11 years Record: 322-66 (83%) Conference Titles (reg. season): 10 Tournament Appearances: 10 Final Fours: 2 National Titles: 1 Coach K (Duke) Tenure: 34 years Record: 907-244 (78.8%) Conference Titles (reg. season): 12 Tournament Appearances: 29 Final Fours: 11 National Titles: 4 Billy Donovan (Florida) Tenure: 18 years Record: 443-168 (72.5%) Conference Titles (reg. season): 6 Tournament Appearances: 13 Final Fours: 3 National Titles: 2 -- As you can see, Calipari's numbers at Kentucky rival many of college basketball's elite coaches. Despite consecutive disappointing seasons, only Bill Self has a higher winning percentage at his current school than Coach Cal. Calipari's two final four appearances are similar to most of the premiere coaches - and they've been at their respective programs much longer. While some of his approaches need to be evaluated in the offseason, our coach has done enough in his short time at Kentucky that he should not be on the hot seat any time soon. Perspective is a good thing; let's use it.