John Calipari got his 800th win when UK beat Mississippi State Tuesday night. (Vicky Graff Photo)
Not only did Tuesday’s overtime win against Mississippi State keep Kentucky within striking distance of Auburn in the Southeastern Conference race, it also gave Kentucky coach John Calipari his 800th career win. He’s now 355-97 in his time at Kentucky but 800-237 overall as a college head coach at Mass, Memphis, and Kentucky. Only Adolph Rupp (972), Roy Williams (1,012), and Dean Smith (1,029) have reached 800 wins in fewer games than Calipari (1,037).
Calipari didn’t want to make a big deal out of his achievement after improving his record against Mississippi State to 16-1 at UK — he’s also 165-52 in SEC play at Kentucky.
I asked Calipari what reaching 800 wins meant to him.
“It means I’ve been doing this a long time. I’ve had a lot of good players,” Calipari said. “Publicly, I’d like to thank all those players from UMass, all those players from Memphis, and all those players here that have won all these games.
“When you’re coaching good kids and when families entrust you with their sons, you’re blessed. And to be in this job with this fan base, I am blessed.”
Then he had to poke a little fun at himself.
“I’ve been doing this a long time, like 30-some years,” Calipari said. “I’m 56 now, but I started young. I was 18 when I first got my first job.”
