John Calipari Comments on Kentucky's Recruiting Approach in Online Essay

Kentucky men's head basketball coach John Calipari laid out his recruiting philosophy in an online essay posted Monday.

In Part II of his three-part "Vision of the Program" series, Calipari seemed to respond to what 5-star 2017 guard Hamidou Diallo said after Duke and Kentucky offered him a scholarship in April.

"Kentucky's pitch was just the NBA thing," Diallo said recently, according to the Herald-Leader's Ben Roberts. "Duke's pitch was just like, if you come to Duke you're going to be set for life. It's more than just basketball."

On his website, Calipari appeared to not-so-subtly call out Duke in stating his approach to recruiting:

"

I refuse to go in a home and paint a picture saying things like, 'If you come with us you'll be taken care of for the rest of your life by the program and by our alums' even though you may only be in school for a year or two. How preposterous does that sound? What if I say that same thing and the young man decides to transfer for one reason or another? Does that still hold true that we're going to take care of them the rest of their lives?

"

Calipari has a point. Duke is now a one-and-done program as well. In the last two seasons alone, players such as Brandon Ingram, Tyus Jones, Jahlil Okafor and Justise Winslow have moved on after one season. Duke also has commitments from Harry Giles and Jayson Tatum, two top-three overall recruits who are expected to be taken early in the 2017 NBA draft, according to DraftExpress.

However, Calipari denied he was specifically calling out Duke on Wednesday, per Kyle Tucker of the Courier-Journal: "That post was more in a general sense. It wasn’t geared to one person, one program." 

Given its number of early draft entrants in recent years, Duke reportedly saying its players are "set for life" may be a bit misguided. It seems as though Calipari has found a balance. For instance, he still spends time with his former players in the NBA, such as Karl Anthony-Towns, as he recently tweeted:

It is unclear if Calipari's criticism of a rival program will work for Kentucky, but there could be an answer soon. Marques Bolden, the top center in the 2016 class, is set to choose between the two schools in the near future.

If anyone knows what tactics to employ when it comes to recruiting, it is Calipari. Kentucky has brought in a top-two class in each of the past six seasons, per 247Sports' composite team rankings. The Wildcats are currently ranked No. 1 for the 2016 class as well.

Recruiting information courtesy of 247Sports unless noted otherwise.