Some famous philosopher, maybe Shakespeare or Cas Walker, once said “Politics makes strange bedfellows.”

So does college basketball coaching.

Rick Barnes likes almost everybody in the business – well, maybe not Penny Hardaway. Barnes says nice things about almost every opponent, what a great job they do, what obstacles they overcome, how well their teams play.

Barnes had pleasant things to say about Bruce Pearl upon his retirement and optimistic words for Steven Pearl as he ascended to the Auburn throne.

The Tennessee coach even likes officials, those who do and don’t call fouls. He sometimes frets but concedes their task is difficult.

Barnes, 71, nicknamed Deacon behind his back, takes his Christian faith seriously and may even pray for his enemies, if he has any.

Penny? Could be.

I have never studied a serious ranking of Barnes’ friends – best buddy, No. 1 first-team, local, regional, national and foreign. But from what I’ve seen and heard, there is a probability of opposites attracting. John Calipari and Kelvin Sampson are among his favorites.

Kelvin Sampson (University of Houston)

Barnes and Sampson claim a 50-year friendship. Kelvin says sometimes Rick calls just to tell him he loves him.

Barnes and Calipari met, if their memories are accurate, in the summer of 1978 at a basketball camp in Pittsburgh. They were both in their early 20s. They received a few much-needed dollars as counselors coaching grade-school children.

Calipari and Barnes became very fast friends. The relationship grew tighter even as they competed for championships and players who win them. Can you believe friends doing Tennessee versus Kentucky and being sincere in the post-game hug?

“I can tell you I respect John as much as anybody that I’ve ever met in the coaching business,” Barnes said. “If I had a personal problem of any nature … if I needed help, I know if I called John Calipari, he would say ‘What do you need?’”

Here are the curious facts: Rick Barnes has a forever reputation of total honesty, clean as the proverbial hound’s tooth, not just surviving for all these years but somehow prevailing in a jungle crowded with hungry tigers, poisonous snakes and cannibal spiders – and crafty cheaters.

Cheating in recruiting, attempted theft, was the cardinal sin of college basketball before money became legal. It was eighth among the commandments in Barnes’ Holy Book, handed down as a stone tablet: Thou shalt not steal.

Lying is covered in No. 9.

Sampson was coach at Oklahoma when the NCAA descended with a list of recruiting violations. He suffered scars but got out of town before the three-year probation penalty was imposed.

Indiana supposedly did a background check but hired Sampson because he could coach. It overlooked or ignored the NCAA cloud hanging over his head.

Soon and very soon he was accused of doing the same thing with the Hoosiers that he had done with the Sooners. Among the “crimes” were many impermissible phone calls to recruits and lying to investigators and university administrators. Player chaos showed up in court records.

Irony: Sampson had been president of the National Association of Basketball Coaches when it conducted an ethics summit following many high-profile NCAA cases.

The NCAA charged Indiana with four major violations. The infractions committee took it personally. It dropped the hammer – a five-year show-cause mandate, same as Pearl suffered at Tennessee. That meant Kelvin could not coach in college without special dispensation. There was none.

Sampson got a job as an assistant in the NBA. Houston brought him back to college in 2014. He has the second-most victories in Cougars history, behind only Hall of Famer Guy Lewis.

Sampson can coach.

I never thought Calipari was that good a coaching strategist but he can recruit. He is a king among salesmen. Fifty of his former players have been selected in the first round of NBA drafts.

Calipari has been accused of shady operations. There never has been rock-solid, irrefutable evidence that he did any of it. Let’s say he was close to or nearby or somewhere around several scandals.

One critic said John was worse than Rick Pitino but not quite as bad as Jerry Tarkanian. I’ve heard that rivals generally view Calipari with awe or disdain, that he is a master at walking between raindrops.

The 1996 Final Four berth Calipari earned while coaching UMass was vacated because of a tangled web involving Marcus Camby, money, jewelry and hookers. The school took the hit. The NCAA forced UMass to forfeit all 35 victories and give back tournament revenues. It expunged accomplishments from the official record book.

Calipari spent a few minutes as coach of the NBA Nets. He caused a fire drill by calling a reporter a “Mexican idiot.”

Calipari recovered and rebounded to Memphis, a university with a proud history of employing coaches you might not trust to hang up your overcoat.

Most intriguing side story: There was a break-in at an apartment where four Memphis players lived. According to the police report, stolen items included $3,600 in fake fur coats, $6,000 worth of shoes and throwback jerseys valued at $2,150.

This was long before NIL. Did the wealth come from affluent uncles or grandmothers? At least one NCAA investigator wondered.

Next came 2008 and that great season, 38-2, that doesn’t exist anymore. It was voided after charges that somebody else took Derrick Rose’s entry test. Again, it was the school that was punished. It had to pretend there was no Final Four adventure and return a whole sack full of tournament cash.

Coach punishment? Calipari caught a Memphis to Lexington jet just before the sheriff arrived. His first contract as Kentucky coach called for $31.65 million. Lee Todd, UK president, said the school was confident that Coach Calipari was not involved in any unsavory acts.

Kentucky athletics director Mitch Barnhart said “Our commitment to compliance and discipline at the University of Kentucky has always been strong, and that will not change. John’s commitment to compliance and discipline has always been strong, and that will not change.”

Some snickered. I was careful to keep a straight face. John is fun. I enjoy John.

The Wildcats enjoyed many victories. There was a storm or two, including a little issue of academic fraud. Nope, Calipari didn’t do it. All he did was fail to win every game and eventually wear out his Lexington welcome.

After a slow start as Arkansas coach, John enjoyed a surprisingly strong comeback. Barnes extended congratulations. He could have kept quiet and leaned on scripture: Judge not that ye be not judged.

Marvin West welcomes comments or questions from readers. His address is marvinwest75@gmail.com