UMass unveils new John Calipari statue

DrewFranklinKSR

UMass unveiled its new John Calipari statue outside the Mullins Center, the home of UMass Basketball. The Calipari statue joins statues of other UMass greats Marcus Camby, Julius Erving, and Jack Leaman, who are all honored and commemorated in statue form for their contributions to basketball in Amherst.

@KentuckyMBB gave its followers this first look Friday afternoon:

Legendary 😼 pic.twitter.com/Z86ba4vgUB
— Kentucky Basketball (@KentuckyMBB) September 10, 2021

@FrederickHill has video of the unveiling:

John Calipari unveils his UMass statue pic.twitter.com/4plQhQdO4q
— Frederick Hanna III (@FrederickHIII) September 10, 2021

The statue’s inscription reads:

John Calipari put UMass Basketball on the map during his eight seasons in Amherst, transforming the program into a national powerhouse. Calipari led the Minutement to five straight Atlantic 10 regular season and tournament titles and NCAA Tournament appearance from 1992 to 1996, including a Final Four appearance during the 1995-96 season during which his Minutemen went 35-2 overall and spent 10 weeks ranked No. 1 in the nation.
Following the 1995-96 season, Calipari was named the National Coach of the Year.
Dedicated on September 10, 2021.

Calipari: “It’s kind of neat.”

Asked about the statue earlier this week, Calipari replied, “It’s kind of neat. I tried to get Ellen to come. She says, I see you enough. I’m not looking at you in a statue. So, she’s not going to go, I don’t think.

“But to be there with Julius; with a coach that I respect like I respect Coach Hall; Jack Leaman; and then Marcus Camby, who I’ve told over and over again that what you’ve done for me and my family, I could never repay. And he always follows it, ‘Coach, what you did for me, and I love you.’ I mean, to be there with that is kind of unique and special. “

Calipari is also excited to join his 1996 UMass team as they’re collectively inducted into the UMass Hall of Fame this weekend as the only Final Four team in school history.

Calipari is UMass’s all-time winningest coach with an overall record of 193-71 in eight seasons from 1988-1996.