Kentucky coach John Calipari didn’t mince words when responding to critics who say his style of coaching and recruiting is hurting college basketball.
“You’re full of crap.”
Throughout his 25 seasons as a college basketball coach, many have accused Calipari of pushing his players to jump to the NBA and abusing college basketball’s “one-and-done” rule.
While critics say Calipari has hurt the game, he’s more focused on the lives he’s changed.
“Many of those kids are generational poverty. Generational poverty,” he said on his podcast that was released Tuesday. “...I care about preparing them for the future. But when a kid has had generational poverty and I can play a part in changing that for the rest of their lives, it makes me happy.”
Calipari also pointed out that while he encourages his players to stay in school if they’re not ready for the NBA, there’s not much he can do to stop them.
“Some of them aren’t ready, but I have to let them go if they want to,” he said.
Calipari made the biting comments during a conversation with Hall of Famer Charles Barkley on the inaugural episode of his podcast, Cal Cast. Calipari and Barkley also discussed the state of NBA, Barkley’s golf game and the Wildcats’ upcoming game against North Carolina.
Listen to the first episode of Cal Cast below, and subscribe to the podcast here.
Alex Hider is a writer for the E.W. Scripps National Desk. Follow him on Twitter @alexhider.
