John Calipari says investment in basketball starting to pay of for Southeastern Conference programs


By Keith Taylor
Kentucky Today

Kentucky has always been the team to beat in the Southeastern Conference, but that trend has changed in the past few years, which doesn’t bother Wildcats coach John Calipari.

“I’ve said this over and over for 30 years — basketball coaches win games and administrations win championships because they invest in it,” the Kentucky coach said. “You think of what happened in this league. Mike Slive got this TV deal done and you had a choice of where you can put all that money. Put it into one sport or you can say basketball needed it.”

Most of the programs in the conference made an investment in basketball, which is starting to pay off, especially for schools such as Tennessee. Kentucky (12-2, 2-0 SEC) are one of three teams ranked in the Associated Press Top 25 poll. The Volunteers are fifth, followed by the Wildcats in sixth, while Auburn is No. 16.

John Calipari yells to his team during Kentucky’s game against Missouri (Photo by James Crisp, AP, via Kentucky Today)

“Many of the schools said we are invested in basketball and invested in baseball and we are doing this and we are going to upgrade football stuff,” he said. “Now all of a sudden they got unbelievable facilities, they got the top coaches in the country and they are able to go recruit.”

He added that coaches in the conference now have the tools in place to recruit on a higher scale than in the past.

“Everyone in our league is in a private plane moving around,” he said. “To recruit … If you think you are going to fly commercial during the year and do this job and recruit and then stay overnight and get a 5 o’clock flight back. You better be 30 years-old.”

Heart and Soul

Following his team’s 90-77 loss to Kentucky Tuesday night, Missouri coach Dennis Gates offered praise for the Wildcats. Last season, the Tigers dealt Kentucky an 89-75 setback in Columbia and Gates noticed a different look with this year’s squad.

He called Rob Dilingham “the best isolated player in college basketball and added that Justin Edwards’ “best basketball is in front of him.”

While going up and down the roster offering compliments, Gates singled out the leadership of senior Antonio Reeves.

“You look at his emotional intelligence, although he had nine field goal attempts, he was probably cheering louder for Rob (Dillingham) than anybody,” Gates said. “When you have that connectivity, and you’re able to play a style that opens the court up a little bit, Oscar Tshiebwe is a dominant player but he also requires the ability to take up the space in the middle. Now, there are five out, you have (Aaron) Bradshaw with the ability to make a jump shot, but they have versatility. They take care of the basketball, they are a three-point threat.”

Reeves is one of five Kentucky players averaging double figures this season. He leads the team in scoring (18.6 points prr game) and has made a team-high 36v 3-pointers this season.

Dillingham is second on the team (14.4 ppg), followed by Tre Mitchell (13.2 ppg), D.J.Wagner (12.4 ppg) and Reed Sheppard (11.9 ppg).

Best of the Best

Calipari offered praise for Alabama football coach Nick Saban, who retired Wednesday after 17 seasons with the Crimson Tide. Saban, 72, won seven national titles – six at Alabama — and compiled a 297-71-1 record in the college ranks.

Calipari spoke to Saban by phone on Wednesday night after the former Alabama coach announced plans to retire from coaching.

“He may be the best or one of the best at what we do,” Calipari said. “He was at a place where winning wasn’t always enough and he handled it with grace. I admire his focus, but more importantly how he got his teams to focus, on one objective: to win championships. Tremendous run by one of the best to ever do it! Congrats, Coach Saban.”


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