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Kentucky players, from left, Terrence Jones, Darius Miller, Anthony Davis and Marquis Teague were all part of a special group that UK¿associate athletics director of basketball operations Chris Woolard said made his first year at UK ¿enjoyable¿ from start to finish. ¿All the guys were so great that it just turned into a memorable season with them winning the championship and everyone in the state embracing the team the way it did,¿ Woolard said. (AP Photo / July 29, 2012) |
Chris Woolard knew when he came to Kentucky as associate athletics director of basketball operations to work with coach John Calipari that he had a chance to be part of something special. However, even Woolard admitted he was not quite expecting a 38-2 record and national championship like the Wildcats achieved in his first season.
“This was one of the best years of my life. I came in on a very special season, but the expectation when you come to Kentucky is to have success like we have had the last three years,” Woolard said during a talk at the Ohio UK Convention last weekend in Franklin, Ohio.
Woolard had been associate commissioner for sports services at Conference USA since 2008 and had been an assistant coach at Murray State from 1997-2003, when the Racers made three NCAA tournament appearances.
He says he quickly realized after getting to Kentucky that Calipari was perfect for the UK¿job.
“Hands down, coach Calipari is the best in the country. He gets it and embraces this job at Kentucky. No one else could have come in and wanted to give as much as he does,” Woolard said. “He does that because he feels a responsibility in his role as head coach at Kentucky to do that. I have heard him say he could sit in his office and watch film and do recruiting stuff but that would be a disservice to this program. He wants to give back.
“Some others on the staff spend most of their time recruiting. Others spend more time with players working out. Everything is in place for this program to be successful every year, and that’s the way he’s going to keep it.”
Woolard touched on a variety of subjects from Calipari’s schedule to next year’s team to the recent White House visit:
Calipari’s schedule
Woolard was brought in by Calipari to “oversee basketball and make sure everything was going the right direction” from compliance to travel to scheduling. Woolard says he works daily with UK compliance officials to “make sure we are fully compliant on everything.”
However, he says his most challenging job is helping to determine Calipari’s schedule.
“That is the one thing I was not prepared for coming in. I thought I knew what to expect, but I did not realize how in demand his time would be, and this was before he won the national championship even,” he said. “We get 15 to 20 requests daily for coach Calipari to attend an event. It might be a fundraiser, charity dinner, speaking engagement, birthday party, graduation and on and on.
“Coach wants to give back. He wants to say yes to everything. Unfortunately, he can’t do that with his coaching responsibilities and trying to spend time with his family. We sit down daily and go through the requests.¿It’s one of the most time consuming parts of the job, but it is so rewarding because I see how important his job is to Kentucky fans.”
Team play
Woolard said team play defined Kentucky’s championship more than anything to him.
“Everybody was skeptical when Cal got here about could you develop a team when players are leaving after a year or two (for the NBA). In most cases, you can’t. It’s really hard with guys coming in that have been stars, coddled and given so much in terms of playing time and shots,” he said. “They are used to being stars. How do you break some of those habits and get guys to come together in a year or two to be a team?
“I don’t think many coaches can do that. One coach who can do it is John Calipari. He is thinking about his team and thinking basketball and how to win a championship 24 hours a day seven days a week. When I was with Conference USA and he was coaching at Memphis, I would get calls at midnight from him and then at 7 a.m. the next morning.¿His mind never stops with ideas about how to become better.
“We had great practices last year, but even more than on the court, what defined the team’s success and the reason we won the championship was every day in the film room before practice when he met with the team. From day one his message never changed. It was all about teamwork and all about coming together and sacrificing for each other and winning the national championship. When one guy would get off course, he would bring him right back the next day.”
Woolard said Calipari told point guard Marquis Teague the same message day after day from day one.
“It never changed in the film room. He told him, ‘If you want to get to where you want to go and lead the team to national championship, you have got to buy in to what we want you to do.’ By the end of the year, he was one of the best point guards in the country,’” Woolard said.
“This was one of the best years of my life. I came in on a very special season, but the expectation when you come to Kentucky is to have success like we have had the last three years,” Woolard said during a talk at the Ohio UK Convention last weekend in Franklin, Ohio.
Woolard had been associate commissioner for sports services at Conference USA since 2008 and had been an assistant coach at Murray State from 1997-2003, when the Racers made three NCAA tournament appearances.
He says he quickly realized after getting to Kentucky that Calipari was perfect for the UK¿job.
“Hands down, coach Calipari is the best in the country. He gets it and embraces this job at Kentucky. No one else could have come in and wanted to give as much as he does,” Woolard said. “He does that because he feels a responsibility in his role as head coach at Kentucky to do that. I have heard him say he could sit in his office and watch film and do recruiting stuff but that would be a disservice to this program. He wants to give back.
“Some others on the staff spend most of their time recruiting. Others spend more time with players working out. Everything is in place for this program to be successful every year, and that’s the way he’s going to keep it.”
Woolard touched on a variety of subjects from Calipari’s schedule to next year’s team to the recent White House visit:
Calipari’s schedule
Woolard was brought in by Calipari to “oversee basketball and make sure everything was going the right direction” from compliance to travel to scheduling. Woolard says he works daily with UK compliance officials to “make sure we are fully compliant on everything.”
However, he says his most challenging job is helping to determine Calipari’s schedule.
“That is the one thing I was not prepared for coming in. I thought I knew what to expect, but I did not realize how in demand his time would be, and this was before he won the national championship even,” he said. “We get 15 to 20 requests daily for coach Calipari to attend an event. It might be a fundraiser, charity dinner, speaking engagement, birthday party, graduation and on and on.
“Coach wants to give back. He wants to say yes to everything. Unfortunately, he can’t do that with his coaching responsibilities and trying to spend time with his family. We sit down daily and go through the requests.¿It’s one of the most time consuming parts of the job, but it is so rewarding because I see how important his job is to Kentucky fans.”
Team play
Woolard said team play defined Kentucky’s championship more than anything to him.
“Everybody was skeptical when Cal got here about could you develop a team when players are leaving after a year or two (for the NBA). In most cases, you can’t. It’s really hard with guys coming in that have been stars, coddled and given so much in terms of playing time and shots,” he said. “They are used to being stars. How do you break some of those habits and get guys to come together in a year or two to be a team?
“I don’t think many coaches can do that. One coach who can do it is John Calipari. He is thinking about his team and thinking basketball and how to win a championship 24 hours a day seven days a week. When I was with Conference USA and he was coaching at Memphis, I would get calls at midnight from him and then at 7 a.m. the next morning.¿His mind never stops with ideas about how to become better.
“We had great practices last year, but even more than on the court, what defined the team’s success and the reason we won the championship was every day in the film room before practice when he met with the team. From day one his message never changed. It was all about teamwork and all about coming together and sacrificing for each other and winning the national championship. When one guy would get off course, he would bring him right back the next day.”
Woolard said Calipari told point guard Marquis Teague the same message day after day from day one.
“It never changed in the film room. He told him, ‘If you want to get to where you want to go and lead the team to national championship, you have got to buy in to what we want you to do.’ By the end of the year, he was one of the best point guards in the country,’” Woolard said.
