You can’t talk about college basketball history without mentioning John Calipari’s name multiple times. If anything, the Arkansas coach is also responsible for helping out countless NBA players.
Calipari became a legend at Kentucky, turning the Wildcats into one of the elite one-and-done programs in collegiate hoops. Needless to say, that also led to plenty of success on the court for him.
That’s why, as great a coach and a mentor as he’s always been, Calipari is well aware of the fact that his players also deserve a lot of credit for what he’s done so far.
John Calipari credits his players for his success
“I’ve been bailed out my whole career,” Calipari said after his team’s 89-87 win over Michigan in the Jimmy V Classic. “I’ve had really good players who have bailed me out. Now we develop, and they go on, and they’ve made over six million in the NBA, but that’s just here and there.”
John Calipari head coach of the Kentucky Wildcats
“But it does drive you nuts, doesn’t it, when I say that? It’s just like, I can’t believe he says it. It’s just what he says, but yeah, I get bailed out a lot. And then, I hope they know that there will be times I bail them out. That’s how this works,” he added.
Calipari won a National Championship with the Wildcats in 2012, led by Anthony Davis, Terrence Jones, and Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, all of which ended up playing in the NBA. Now, as a member of the SEC, he reflects on how long the conference has gone over the past couple of years.
Calipari discusses current state of the SEC
“They’re telling me this is like SEC baseball now, where it doesn’t matter who you play, you can lose,” said Calipari. “They’re top to bottom and that may be the case, but all I know is we’ve got terrific coaches, terrific players, and terrific fans.”
“I remember when I started, we were getting three teams in the NCAA tournament, and I was trying to get a six, seven, and eight … Now you’re talking about top to bottom, you know someone’s going to win seven or eight games, they should get into the NCAA tournament if they won at Miami and Michigan,” he concluded.
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Calipari’s Razorbacks will put their 8-2 record to the test with three more non-conference games. They’ll face Central Arkansas, North Carolina A&T, and Oakland before an SEC matchup with Tennessee.
