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Here's the real issue with Haith:
A basketball coach can be successful in two ways: The first is by mastering X's and O's. The other is by motivating players.
Phil Jackson used an archaic system that failed whenever other coaches tried to implement it (Jim Cleamons, for example). He succeeded because he had tremendously talented players, but he was also able to motivate incredibly difficult teammates: Jordan, Rodman, and to a lesser extent, Kobe, Shaq, and Lamar Odom.
Rick Carlisle is a great X's and O's coach who has had extensive success because of that.
Frank Haith is neither one of those. Truthfully, almost no college coaches are, but he's even less of one. Calipari just tries to out-athlete other teams. Same thing with Roy Williams. That's why they can't win without elite elite talent.
Many college HCs, who are incredibly deficient in scheme mastery are at least able to motivate players. That's why last year's team was so good--they motivated themselves via their hatred of Mike Anderson.
This year's team lacked that cohesive motivation and Haith couldn't give it to them.
And if you can't motivate players or scheme, you shouldn't be a head coach.
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"When the Know-Nothings get control, it will read 'all men are created equal, except negroes, and foreigners, and Catholics.' When it comes to this I should prefer emigrating to some country where they make no pretense of loving liberty – to Russia, for instance, where despotism can be taken pure, and without the base alloy of hypocrisy.”--Abraham Lincoln
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