![]() ![]() Kentucky lost three members of its 2011 Final Four team (two to the draft, one to graduation), but Calipari reloaded with the nation’s top-ranked recruiting class for the third straight season. The Wildcats rode Calipari’s trademark of hard-nosed defense to the 2012 title, finishing the season as the nation’s top-ranked team in field-goal percentage defense and blocked shots. He is one of only two coaches (Rick Pitino) to lead three different schools to a Final Four (UMass-1996 Memphis-2008 Kentucky-2011, 2012, 2014, 2015). Twice at UK (in 2012 and in 2015) his teams have won 38 games, tying his 2008 Memphis team for the most wins in college basketball history.Īt the end of the 2014-15 season, Calipari became the 96th coach to join the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, considered one of the ultimate achievements in the game.Ĭalipari reached the mountaintop in his third year in Lexington, guiding Kentucky to its eighth national championship and his first national title. In advancing to the 2015 Final Four, Coach Cal became one of just three coaches all-time to make four Final Fours in a five-year span, joining Mike Krzyzewski and John Wooden as the other coaches to achieve that feat. A “players-first” coach with a penchant for helping people reach their dreams, John Calipari, a Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Famer, has guided six teams to the Final Four, led one to a national championship and helped 58 players earn selection in the NBA Draft during his 31-year college coaching career.įrom UMass to Memphis and now Kentucky, Calipari’s career has been successful throughout, but his most recent run in Lexington has been the best stretch of his career.ĭuring Calipari’s 14 seasons at UK, no team in the NCAA Tournament has more wins (32), Final Fours (four), Elite Eights (seven) or Sweet 16s (eight).
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