Calipari wants you to know he didn't fire Jai Lucas, who was introduced at Duke today
As you probably know by now, Kentucky Basketball assistant coach Jai Lucas is off to Duke to join Jon Scheyer’s coaching staff over his comfortable spot of two seasons on John Calipari’s coaching staff in Lexington. Shortly after Lucas’ departure went public last week, Calipari released a statement to say, “Yesterday, Jai informed me he was taking a promotion at another school. I asked where and when he told me Duke, he expected me to be mad. I support what he thinks is best for his family. He’s been loyal, terrific on the road, and great for our players, and I want what’s best for him. So, I’m good with it.
“I am not surprised that there was interest in Jai because there is always interest in our staff. This year, all of our assistants have been approached about other opportunities. You have a great staff, that’s what happens!”
Today, Calipari addressed the Lucas situation again during a guest radio appearance with Mike Pratt and Dan Issel in Louisville; although, this time he needed to clear the air on how Lucas left. Oddly, it seems Calipari believes there is clutter out there suggesting he fired Lucas because when he was asked about his timeline to fill the job opening, Calipari replied, “Well, first of all, I did not fire Jai and I did not force him out and I wish him well. This is what he thinks is best for his program and I absolutely wish him well, and we all should.”
Later in the interview, Calipari was asked about the people saying he fired Lucas, to which he said, “I don’t read it or hear it, but if there’s something out there that I need to deal with, someone will come in and sit down and say this is out there. So I don’t want anybody saying I fired Jay or that I said you got to leave, you know, so that, I felt I had to talk to you guys about and let our fans know.”
Soooooooo there you have it, fans, straight from the source: John Calipari fully supports Jai Lucas’ move to Duke, and in no way did he fire Lucas or push him out the door. If you’ve been saying he did, you should stop immediately, whoever you are.
Calipari on his next move
Also from Calipari’s radio comments about Jai Lucas, he revealed what he is looking for in the candidates to replace Lucas on Kentucky’s coaching staff.
“Now as we start talking about staff, because the name, image, likeness and the transfer portal, it’s even more vital,” Calipari said, emphasizing player development. “So whoever it is, they got to add value. They got to show me how they’ve added value to players. Our stuff here is results.”
Lucas officially introduced in the same position at Duke
Although Calipari called it a promotion in his original statement on Lucas switching teams, on Monday the former Kentucky assistant was officially announced as a member of Jon Scheyer’s staff at Duke. In the announcement, Duke Basketball noted Lucas “will hold the same position on Scheyer’s inaugural staff.” That’s a bad look for Kentucky.
In the same news release, Lucas said, “My family and I are excited to be joining the Duke University family. The opportunity to come to Duke and be a part of Jon Scheyer’s first staff was something I felt I could not pass up. I look forward to building on the foundation established by Mike Krzyzewski and the former Blue Devils, while helping Coach Scheyer usher in a new era of Duke Basketball. Durham is a special place for me, and I’m thrilled to get to be around so many of my family members.”
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