As the pioneer of the one-and-done, Calipari speaks on basketball recruitment
Kentucky head coach John Calipari yells at the wildcats during the Kentucky Cares Classic charity game against Morehead State at Rupp Arena on Monday, October 30, 2017 in Lexington, Ky. Kentucky won 92 to 67. Photo by Arden Barnes | Staff
November 8, 2017
A staple of being a top high school basketball recruit in America is getting a scholarship offer to play at the University of Kentucky. Top overall NBA Draft picks like Anthony Davis, John Wall and Karl-Anthony Towns were recruited by head coach John Calipari before heading to the world’s biggest basketball stage.
Even at Big Blue Madness, top recruits getting their first look at the Cats fan base were treated to a warm welcome by the fans. Highly touted high school seniors like Zion Williamson and Bol Bol were asked to sign a fan’s basketball at the Blue Carpet before the event took place.
This year is no different, as top recruits like Kevin Knox and P.J. Washington suit up in the blue and white to represent Lexington like so many before them.
At the team’s Media Day, Calipari was asked about his recruiting process.
“Well, there have been families that want their child to shoot 25 times a game, and they think that’s the best way for them to become a pro,” he said. “I wish them well. You’re not going to do that here. It’s not how we play.”
Calipari emphasizes team-first basketball, even with the best individual young players the country has to offer. He doesn’t want any one player dominating the team.
“Looking at a pen, there’s a bunch of dogs in that pen. You want to jump in there. You want to jump in there, that’s what this is. This isn’t just you in there pushing everybody around. You’re jumping in a pen. You got to want that,” Calipari said at Media Day.
The Hall of Fame coach also said that he doesn’t offer scholarships to extremely young high school players because of the uncertainty surrounding their game. Only seven or eight scholarships are offered by the Cats per year, according to Calipari, despite what some younger players may say.
With players like Devin Booker and Tyler Ulis, UK waited a long time to offer them their scholarships. Calipari said that he “had to see more” and “meet with the family.”
As the pioneer school of the one-and-done recruiting style, UK is certainly expected to keep the recruits coming until at least the end of Calipari’s tenure.
