That’s not the only artist that Calipari is associated with, either. It’s no secret how close Drake is to the program. The rapper has said publicly that the family atmosphere around the Kentucky program inspired him to return to school and get his GED. He received a 2012 national title ring. He’s even being used as a recruiting tool by Calipari. Drake was an honorary coach at UK’s alumni game and spoke with top recruit Julius Randle while at the game. That had enough of an effect on Randle that he wrote about it in a blog for USA Today, which isn’t surprising: Randle admitted that Drake was one of his top three favorite rappers.
Jay-Z is No. 1.
Let’s ignore, for a second, the fact that Calipari’s reputation at Kentucky is to take elite recruits, get them better during the course of a season where they are idolized by an entire state, and then push them out the door and into the NBA Draft — turning them into instant millionaires — as soon as possible to make room for his next batch of superstars. Let’s also ignore the fact that, in three seasons at the helm in Lexington, this style has resulted in trips to the Elite 8 and the Final Four in addition to last season’s national title. Thus, we’re assuming here that spending a year on a pedestal while getting put onto the fast-track to the NBA and biding time by competing on college basketball’s biggest stage isn’t enough to convince the best players in the country to attend Kentucky.
Now Calipari is giving his players the chance to get to know their favorite rappers while under his tutelage. Not just meet. Get to know.
That’s what makes him the absolute best in this profession
As a pure basketball mind, Calipari is smart, but he’s not Bob Knight. He’s not Dean Smith or John Wooden or Pete Carrill. He’s not the kind of hoops tactician that is going to revolutionize the game. Think about it like this: if your team is in a one-game playoff and you can pick the guy who is coaching them, where does Calipari get ranked out of all the active coaches? Behind Tom Izzo, Brad Stevens and Mike Krzyzewski, for sure. Probably behind Bill Self and Billy Donovan as well. And then there are guys like Shaka Smart and Roy Williams and Rick Pitino. What about a Thad Matta or a Bo Ryan?
Simply put, Calipari’s strength is not his ability as an in-game strategist. It’s his ability to connect with kids and attract them to his campus. He understands what these kids want, and he’s not afraid to build and promote his program around that. He does things that impress 18 year olds that some of his coaching competition wouldn’t even think of doing or have the connections and moxie to pull off.
Rubbing elbows with Jay-Z and Drake will have that effect.