John Calipari isn't going to hear that Kentucky players are spoiled, points to blue-collar mentality
Kentucky head coach John Calipari has led the Wildcats to the 12th NCAA Tournament appearance of his tenure in Lexington. Bringing yet another young and extremely talented team with him to March Madness as they’ll face Oakland on Thursday in their first-round matchup.
It’s no secret that Calipari has had a knack for acquiring some of the top high school prospects in the nation, many of which go on to the NBA, with this season being no different. But sometimes the narrative on the talent of his teams can overshadow the hard work and dedication of his players, which Calipari cleared the air on ahead of this year’s NCAA Tournament.
“Well, most of them are fighting for their families. That’s why you come to Kentucky. Can I do some humble brag up here?” Calipari asked.
“So 70 percent of the players who accept a scholarship with us get drafted. 70 percent. Of that, 73 percent get to second contracts. The guys in the league right now have made over four billion, not million, billion dollars,” Calipari said. “And when you talk Bam [Adebayo], [Tyrese] Maxey, Devin [Booker], De’Aaron [Fox], Shai [Gilgeous-Alexander] is going to make 400. I mean, it’ll be six billion in the next two years. You come to Kentucky to prepare yourself for the rest of your life. You don’t come for NIL, even though you saw our managers got NIL deals. So yeah, it’s all neat, but that isn’t why you come.”
There’s no doubt that there are plenty of perks to playing for Kentucky, where players are provided with some of the best facilities and resources in the country, along with a high likelihood of making it to the next level. But through it all Calipari believes that his players learn valuable lessons throughout the process even if they spend just one season with the Wildcats, highlighted by the importance of teamwork and above all hard work.
“And you learn to be a great teammate. You know why? You gotta share. You’re not going to be told you’re going to start, how many minutes, how many shots. That’s why there are kids that will never come here because sometimes they think there’s an easier path. There is no easier path. And these kids live in the gym,” Calipari explained.
“We have a machine called a Noah machine that’s over top our baskets. Ours is a training facility, not really a basketball practice facility. It’s a training facility. When they walk in, their face recognition, we all know how many shots they’ve taken, when they’re missing, why are they missing. And they come in there and they live in there. Tyler Herro lived in the gym. He lived in there. So did Shai. They were, again, fighting for their families.”
Calipari has a robust list of current and former NBA players, with players on this year’s Kentucky team likely adding to the group as well. Boasting the No. 1 recruiting class in the nation last offseason comprising of four of the top 20 players in the nation according to the On3 Industry Recruiting Rankings. Which doesn’t even include who many evaluators are tabbing has his current top NBA prospect Reed Sheppard, 7-foot-2 Zvonimir Ivisic, and transfer portal addition Tre Mitchell.
But what all Kentucky players past and present know is that when March rolls around, they have a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to perform at the highest level on college basketball’s biggest stage. Showcasing the culmination of their elite talent and hard work.
“And in these kind of tournaments they understand you’re fighting for each other. You fight for each other. You do this together. But if anybody comes here and then tries to get soft, you don’t play,” Calipari said. “And the guys that live in the gym, that played for me, those guys, of the Michael Kidds, the Anthony Davises, those guys, the Brandon Knights. I can go on and on. Living in the gym. They’re the ones that busted through. Most of it, they made it happen.”
“We have a stage for you to go show what you are, but they’ve gotta do it. I tell them all the time, I don’t have a magic wand. It isn’t that. It’s the culture. It’s the process. It’s being a great teammate.”
Kentucky’s high-level talent and culture will soon be tested yet again with high expectations in this year’s NCAA Tournament, as they tip off against Oakland on Thursday at 7:10 p.m. ET in a matchup airing on CBS.