Sergio Kerusch is blessed with a Scotty Pippin run-the-floor body, a smile worth a million bucks, and maybe, ideally, a Larry Bird play-all-day love for the game.

The 6-5, 225-pounder stepped up his game to Pippin-like numbers too at Western Kentucky last season. But this isn’t about Kerusch’s 15.6 points, 7.9 rebounds, and 44 turnovers in 992 minutes (32 games).

Likely Kerusch won’t hear his name called June 23 at the NBA Draft in Newark, yet he is a good prospect to shop on the free agency market or contract to the NBA’s D-League.

This isn’t about that either. It’s about a photograph in the College Heights Herald earlier this month. Taken at WKU’s Spring Commencement in Diddle Arena, a tall kid in red cap and gown sitting an aisle seat, 15-or-so rows back from the platform. Kerusch is turned and beamed a smile, presumably at family and friends. The glow said “Hey, I made it!” A college graduate (Recreation).

We hope Kerusch is the next Courtney Lee (Houston Rockets). Makes a few nest egg dollars playing a kid’s game as long as his legs hold up. If not, then I hope Kerusch becomes the best Director for Parks and Recreation in America.

He has finished one life phase at head of his class.

The golden item that belongs to Kerusch and will grow dearer with time and wherever a career takes him, is the college experience. He’s had one. Priceless.

America. I love this place.

OVERPAID COACHES?

The headline reads: Kentucky’s John Calipari is a very good coach, but good enough for $4 million a year? We say no.

Writing for Forbes Magazine, Tom Van Riper said “A coach at a major conference basketball program has one mission, at a bare minimum: taking his team to the NCAA tournament. A school in the upper echelon feels pressure beyond that: making the Final Four and winning a national title, at least once in awhile. The pressure makes for an intensely competitive market for top coaches, close to 40 of whom now earn seven-figure annual incomes, according to research by USA Today.”

Interesting conclusions, yes?

Following Calipari on the Forbes overpaid list are Travis Ford at Oklahoma State and Oliver Purnell at DePaul, both make $1.8 million a season.

The Forbes view is splashy and provocative, but lacks substance and thus, merit.

In fact, in two seasons at Kentucky Calipari has delivered on court. His teams won 64 of 76 games (35-3 and 29-9). At Rupp Arena fans made UK first nationally in attendance again. And Wildcat fans have watched their team win 33 in a row at home.

And, these facts …

• A Rupp Arena record crowd 24,479 in January 2010. Kentucky defeated Louisville.

• Dec. 21, 2009, UK was first program in college hoops history to reach 2,000 wins.

• Leader in all-time wins extended: Today, 2,052 (76%), 14 ahead of Kansas, 19 more than North Carolina.

• Counting Brandon Knight and DeAndre Liggins, seven Kentucky players have been or will be drafted into the NBA. All were underclassmen, five one-and-doners.

Fans want wins, bragging rights and glow of celebrity and the more vocal element don’t care about graduation rates. They’re getting all that from Calipari’s persona and mercenaries he attracts.

And, Cal is making all right moves – signing McDonald all-stars, giving money and time to the Jim Valvano V Foundation, signs autographs, kisses babies and fawns over blue-coiffed ladies dressed in blue and gone ga-ga.

His schedule includes an over promoted camp tour. And, he’s been politically savvy enough so far to not mention Richie Farmer.

Forbes’ analysis on this one is baloney.

NEXT BIG THING

Play for pay? Big Ten commissioner Jim Delaney and league directors of athletics are discussion compensation for student-athletes. And NCAA president Mark Emmert has endorsed studying the idea.

Players would receive $2,000 to $5,000 a year for books, board, tuition and add-ons transportation, clothing and incidentals.

If the Big Ten votes the idea in and the NCAA approves, America’s Big Money league, the Southeastern Conference, will be forced to follow or risk ceding the best prospects to Big Ten schools.

Free enterprise and a competitive market. America. I love this place!

SEC SCRAP DIVISIONS?

When SEC directors of athletics meet in Destin, Florida this summer, Commissioner Mike Slive wants a scheduling review and possible abolition of the league’s East and West divisions. And, a basketball league schedule change from 16 to 18 conference games.

Why eliminate divisions?

The only reason presented so far that I’ve seen is about money naturally and a weak one. With Alabama basketball in mind, a Birmingham sports writer opined: “… when SEC West champions don’t get an NCAA (Tournament) bid three times in five years it’s time to scrap the divisions.”

The Crimson Tide should have gotten the NCAA bid that went to woeful Tennessee. Yet, Alabama’s early schedule was comically weak and the Tide sputtered to the SEC finish line losing three of its last five games.

Stay tuned.

WORTH REPEATING

When Kentucky coach John Calipari attended the V. Foundation fete in Florida last week his wife Ellen stayed home to see son Bradley play in an AAU basketball game.

The coach explained at the banquet, “I can watch (Bradley) play, or you talk about yourself. What do you think I’m going to do?”

Comment: One of the residuals of being married a long time – self effacing humor.

PARTING SHOT

NBA-bound Kyrie Irving promised his father he will return to Duke and complete his college degree work in five years.

“Everybody in my family has gotten our degrees, our master’s,” Irving Senior told a New York Times reporter recently. “We value the education aspect of it with Kyrie.”

Writer Pete Thamel added this: “Had they not, Kyrie would have been with John Calipari at Kentucky last season, where the godfather, (Rod) Strickland, works as an assistant coach.”

And so it goes. Sports In Kentucky appears in community newspapers across Kentucky.