John Calipari makes a point during the team's Media Day Thursday at Memorial Coliseum.
It’s a new beginning for John¿Calipari. That’s become standard procedure under his watch as coach of the Wildcats.
The Kentucky coach simply reloads with another crop of recruits similar, if not better, than the previous season. The remarkable thing is the fact that each of Calipari’s first three freshmen classes climbed the ladder of success before last year’s team reached the peak and captured the school’s first national title since 1998. Calipari’s first team lost in the regional finals, while the next one reached the Final Four and lost in the national semifinals.
Last year’s group took it one step further and finished the season on top.
If he had his choice, Calipari would be coaching John¿Wall, Branden Knight and Anthony Davis this season and really wishes he “had the whole team coming back” from last season.
“I wish I had teams for three and four years, but that’s not the way it is,” he said. “I've talked enough about how I can’t stand this one-and-done stuff, but it is what it is. I’m not going to cheat the kids. I’m not going to have kids stay that need to leave.”
As he insisted when he took the Kentucky job more than three years ago, he puts the players first and doesn’t ask questions. If they leave fine, if not, it’s equally OK with Calipari.
“If kids should stay and they choose to leave, that’s their family’s decision,” he said during his team’s Media Day Thursday at Memorial Coliseum.
“I’m not going to argue with that. We just deal with what's left. It’s funny. We’ve had kids leave every year, and our teams have been good, if not better. So they’re chasing their dream and it's not hurting us.”
If anything, it’s more of a challenge for Calipari to figure out a way to blend his freshman classes together and get to know his team in such a short period of time, knowing that another heralded freshman class is waiting to enter the Joe Craft Center.
“I’m still trying to figure it out and not get too much anxiety about how we’re going to have to play,” he said. “Because until I get on the court I’m not — we’ll do some things, and whatever works, we run with.”
Despite the unknown factor, Calipari remains loyal to his roots and when it comes to choosing experience and talent, Calipari takes talent every time.
“This is a talented group,” he said. “I don’t know how talented until we start playing, but we’ve got good size. We’ve got length. We’ve got some slashers, got a couple shooters.”
A¿year ago, Calipari wasn’t sure about his team’s toughness, but in the end, it proved to be better than his two previous teams. This time, he’s still not sure if his squad has what it takes to repeat last year’s feat.
“We were worried about our toughness a year ago, and I would tell you, I’m a little worried about the toughness of this team — I’m probably more worried this year,” he said.
Despite his concerns, last year’s worries proved to be a waste of time. It remains to be seen if this year’s version will leave Calipari feeling at ease by the end of the season.
