This shot of Steve Lappas giving a post-game press conference in the Mullins Center gives me the creeps. (UMassHoops.com photo)The John Calipari era at UMass officially ended last spring when Bruiser Flint got the heave-ho and Steve Lappas left Villanova to take his place. Bruiser landed down the road from me at Drexel. Meanwhile, Calipari is thriving in Memphis.
Lappas is known as an underachiever, tallying consistently mediocre results despite having some stellar talent on his rosters. His reputation and his physical presence just make him awfully easy to dislike. I’ve had it easy as a college basketball fan—front row seats throughout college, tickets to see two of my favorite teams in the ’96 Final Four, and for a year or so I actually got paid to watch some of the best teams and coaches in action.
This past Friday, 3,000 seats went unsold in the Mullins Center as UMass squeaked out a 66-60 come-from-behind win over Arkansas-Little Rock. Finding that creepy picture of Lappas from his press conference after that game made me realize I’m gonna have a hard time getting excited about watching UMass this season.
