(Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images)
We all know that John Calipari left Memphis last spring and became the head coach at Kentucky. What we don't know is the man. So, I will be your tour guide during this Coach Cal biography.
Mar. 31, 2009, remember that date.
2000 years from now, Cat fans everywhere will be celebrating this day, the day that Mitch Barnhart landed Calipari. The rest, as they say, is history...well, uh, in this case it's the future.
John Vincent Calipari, (this guy is so good they used his initials for an electronics company) was born Feb. 10, 1959. I'll let you guys do the math on how old that makes him. He is from Moon Township, Penn., which is a suburb of Pittsburgh. His wife is Ellen, and he has two daughters Erin and Megan, and a son Bradley.
J.C. started his coaching career as an assistant at Kansas, and later at Pittsburgh. In 1988, Cal took over as Head Minuteman at UMass. He put that program on the map and was a perennial contender in the Atlantic 10.
The 1996 season was the highlight of his career in New England. That season his team started 26-0, including a win over our own Kentucky Wildcats. UMass, led by Marcus Camby, finished 35-2, and reached the Final Four. The Minutemen had to leave the Big Dance early thanks to those same Kentucky Wildcats.
The Final Four appearance in the Meadowlands was later vacated after the NCAA found out that Camby took money from an agent. Calipari was cleared in the case.
In 2000, or as I say it, 9 B.C. (before Calipari), Calipari tried out the NBA with the New Jersey Nets, before becoming the Big Cat at Memphis. Cal's Tigers won Conference USA countless times as he brought that program to the national spotlight. In 2 B.C., Memphis was national runner up.
That entire season was vacated when the NCAA ruled that Derrick Rose played although he was ineligible. Calipari was again cleared in the investigation.
John Cal has won numerous coaching awards, including the 2009 Sports Illustrated Coach of the Year Award. The complete list can be found on ukathletics.com or coachcal.com, where I found all of this information.
Calipari is 445-140 (.761) during his 17-year career. That is good enough for third on the active coaching list among coaches with at least 10 years experience. Mark Few of Gonzaga and Roy Williams of North Carolina top the list. He has an NCAA tournament record of 25-11 (.694).
J.V.C. was the first head coach to record four straight 30-win seasons. He has six, count 'em, six 30-win seasons all together, which puts him fourth on the all-time NCAA list.
Calipari just co-authored Bounce Back, with David Scott. He also has implemented the Dribble Drive Offense here at Kentucky. This offense feeds on players getting into the paint and beating their man one-on-one.
So, that's your guy John Calipari in a nutshell. He has said all the right things so far, and has even spent the night camping out with fans. Every citizen of the Big Blue Nation is ready for Coach Cal to resurrect Kentucky Basketball and start filling the rafters at "Man in the Brown Suit" Arena.
That being said, let's make some history and get this Caliparty started. I'll see you Oct. 16, at Big Blue Madness.
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