John Calipari Denies Contacting Knicks About Team President Vacancy

Kentucky Wildcats head basketball coach John Calipari stressed he is not heading to the New York Knicks on Thursday:

Calipari's message comes after Ian Begley of ESPN.com cited league sources who said the Kentucky coach "reached out" to New York "through intermediaries" to express interest in the team president position after the team parted ways with Phil Jackson.

"Presumably, Calipari would want to coach as well if he took over as president," Begley wrote.

Begley clarified the Knicks aren't interested in Calipari for the time being, while Ramona Shelburne of ESPN.com reported they were in contact with former Cleveland Cavaliers general manager David Griffin for the position.

Calipari is in Egypt for the FIBA World Cup and continued, "Even in Egypt I can't escape the rumors. Are you kidding me?! It's 5 in the morning here and this is what I wake up to?"

While the Kentucky coach hasn't served in an NBA front office, he coached the New Jersey Nets from 1996 to 1999 and accumulated a 72-112 record. He wouldn't be in a favorable position to improve upon that mark if he was given the coaching job in New York considering the Knicks are coming off four straight losing seasons with questions about Carmelo Anthony's future hovering.

Calipari said he will be the coach at Kentucky for quite some time, which makes sense given the juggernaut he has built.

The Wildcats are 249-53 with four Final Fours and a national title under his direction and are annual championship contenders because of his recruiting ability.