Jeff Houchin Photo
With the NBA playoffs turning into what seemed like an infomercial for John Calipari’s Kentucky basketball program, national attention got focused on what goes on at UK to help players like Anthony Davis, Tyler Herro, Bam Adebayo and Jamal Murray play so well.
“He (Calipari) really runs his practices and that program like an NBA program. Obviously, he coached in the league, so he knows what it takes to get there,” Davis, a NBA all-star, said. “I think that’s an advantage for all players who go to Kentucky.
“He’s able to get you ready in one, two years, and most of the time you are going to be successful. I think going there and having a coach who coached in the league, and having a great assistant coaching staff around him, it’s like no other. When I was there Rod Strickland was there as well. So a guy who played in the league, who was very successful.
“He brings in the right guys, he’s a great coach, and like I said, he runs his program like an NBA program. It makes it a lot easier for that transition.”
Adebayo earned his first All-Star status this season in his third year with the Heat. He blossomed into an even bigger star during the NBA playoff bubble. Like Davis, he credited Calipari for his development.
“In Kentucky, when you play against rival schools, it’s kind of like their Super Bowl. So whoever we play away or at home, they’re going to give us their best game because they want to beat us so bad,” Adebayo said.
“You can’t be scared to be in those moments that define you, define your team. You can’t be scared to live up to those moments. I feel like that’s the biggest thing that helped me get to where I am, living in those moments.”
Calipari also believes playing at Kentucky prepares players for the spotlight they need to embrace in the NBA. He noted how UK does social media training when players arrive on campus and then also do media training.
“Then their first game is done and they walk out and there is 50, 60 of you (media) standing there. There’s a whole group of televisions up there and then they go and break down into little groups to do media after going up there,” Calipari said. “I mean, that’s every game we play here. You’re not going out there and there’s one media member. There’s 50 after every single game, sometimes it’s 100.
“So, I think they get the picture here and they understand that they’re not only speaking for us and Kentucky, they’re speaking for them and their own name and brand. They get that and our kids have been good here. They really have. And our staff has done a great job at preparing them.”
