ROSELLE, N.J. — During a 45-minute coaching clinic session in front of 250 coaches at Roselle (N.J.) Catholic on Friday afternoon, Kentucky coach John Calipari told several entertaining anecdotes and gave the coaches an inside look at his involvement in his players’ NBA decisions.
“I’m not holding these kids back,” he said at one point. “I tell kids that shouldn’t go, ‘You shouldn’t go.’ Well, what if that kid says, ‘But, I’m going anyway.” How would you deal with it? Would you go bury the kid to the NBA, say none of you should pick him, he stinks? Or would you go lie and say he’s unbelievable, he’s the greatest kid. What would you do if he were your kid? I’ve had probably four kids absolutely should not have left and left.”
He added: “This basketball stuff is great but it’s a means to an end for all of us and what we do as teachers and coaches. It’s about developing young people. When we go back, every decision I make is how is this going to work for these individual players? How do I get them to be the best version of themselves?”
After I Tweeted his comment, Twitter went abuzz with fans guessing who those four players might have been. Speculation centered on some combination of Daniel Orton, Archie Goodwin, Dakari Johnson, Marquis Teague and Doron Lamb.
In seven seasons at Kentucky Calipari has this resume: four Final Fours, two NCAA championship games, one national title, 25 NBA Draft picks, 19 first-rounders, 13 lottery picks and three No. 1 overall selections.
Calipari also reiterated that he wanted former Kentucky players to eventually make up half of the NBA All-Star game.
“You know what my goal is, and you’re going to think I’m nuts,” he told the coaches. “Right now we have four guys in the All-Star game, four of my players. I want to get eight more so we have half the All-Star-Game with guys I coached.”
Kentucky actually had three guys in the All-Star Game — DeMarcus Cousins, Anthony Davis, and John Wall as reserves — while Karl-Anthony Towns (the likely NBA Rookie of the Year), Trey Lyles and Devin Booker were in the Rising Stars Challenge.
Already this off-season, freshmen Jamal Murray and Skal Labissiere and sophomore Tyler Ulis have declared for the NBA Draft, while former Roselle Catholic star Isaiah Briscoe has yet to announce his intentions. Calipari has said his entire team — including walk-ons — will test the NBA Draft waters to get feedback.
Calipari joked to the coaches that Briscoe would say during the season, “I’m open all the time,” to which Cal responded, “Isaiah, that’s not a good thing.”
Briscoe, the most recent player Calipari has recruited out of New Jersey, is currently projected as the No. 43 pick in 2017 by DraftExpress.com.
The other coaches at the clinic included Kansas’ Bill Self, SMU’s Larry Brown, Rutgers’ Steve Pikiell, Monmouth’s King Rice, Syracuse’s Mike Hopkins, South Carolina’s Frank Martin and Hofstra’s Joe Mihalich.
Calipari did not take questions from reporters at the clinic and hurried out the door to make a flight to Los Angeles to see Ulis accept the Bob Cousy Award.
He left an impression on the coaches, though.
“Cal often gets dismissed because of the amount of talent he constantly has bit there is something that is always evident when you hear him speak and that is how much he cares about his players,” Passaic Tech coach Mike Boorman told SNY.tv. “And he always reminds me that it is about them and not us. Coaching some of these kids are challenging and they will test us but when they realize you are there for them that’s the moment you start getting through to them.
“Cal walks that walk. Cal’s phlosophy of letting players make plays is essential coaching in high school 2016. If you are constantly calling out every play and not emphasizing their skills, again you lose them. His X’s and O’s from yesterday (dribble drive & PNR) I have been around a lot. His defensive stuff is actually dynamite especially in pick-and-roll situations.”
Said RC coach Dave Boff: “We truly appreciate all of the coaches who volunteered their time to come speak at the NJ Coaches Clinic yesterday. Having Coach Cal there was special because he’s a great coach, a recent Hall of Fame inductee and one of the most widely recognized and respected coaches in the country.”
NDuring a 45-minute coaching clinic session in front of 250 coaches at Roselle (N.J.) Catholic on Friday afternoon, Kentucky coach John Calipari told several entertaining anecdotes and gave the coaches an inside look at how he runs things in Big Blue Nation.
