Cultivating Yourself: John Calipari’s NBA Burden

With Kentucky’s trek to college basketball immortality picking up steam, the future of coach John Calipari is once again flooding headlines. This happens yearly, though it tends to heat up whenever the Wildcats are challenging for an NCAA title. And it’s always in relation to Calipari’s old antagonist: the NBA.

Calipari coached the New Jersey Nets from 1996–99 and was also an assistant under Larry Brown at Philadelphia in 99–00. His time in Jersey was less than stellar. Though he did lead the Nets to a one-and-out playoff appearance in 97–98, Calipari was eventually fired after a 3–17 start to the 98–99 season. He left East Rutherford with a 72–112 overall record.

Calipari’s NBA stint was followed by an illustrious nine years with the University of Memphis before he finally made his way to Kentucky, where he’s overseen an incredibly successful operation. In addition to guiding the college careers of now-NBA mainstays like DeMarcus Cousins, John Wall, Eric Bledsoe, and Brandon Knight, his 2012 national title-winning side — featuring future league superstar Anthony Davis — is considered one of the most talented college teams ever. Now with Calipari’s second NCAA triumph imminent, the sycophants of the sports media universe seem to be tugging the 56-year-old back towards the ledge.

Steve Popper reported Wednesday on NorthJersey.com that Calipari could be headed back to the association. Popper cites an unnamed NBA front office official, who claims, “He desperately wants it.”

“The NBA is the only place he’s ever failed and it drives him nuts. He’s not the same guy he was then. He came to the NBA and wasn’t ready. He’s ready now.”

I often wonder what lies in the hearts of these college coaches. With the conflicting salaries, the campus idolatry, and the constant rumors of professional elevation upon success, what could possibly drive these people anymore? Most of the time, the answer is probably money. But that can’t be all of it. The notion that dollars replace humanity once they get above a certain number of zeroes is patently false. Money doesn’t inherently change people, though it is a gateway to power and control; and those things are corrupters of the highest order.

So, is Calipari’s journey fueled solely by more money, more power, and more control? Does his personal failure with the Nets haunt him so profoundly that he’s been unable to find true happiness within his own life? Maybe, although he’d just be another sad case study at that point.

I’d hope that Calipari is different than “he was then.” I’d like to believe that he has been replenished during his time at Memphis and Kentucky. That the steady stream of wildly talented and vulnerable young people has impacted not only his mind and soul, but his ambitions. The gift that so many of these collegiate coaches are awarded because of their paternal/maternal nature should be treated with reverence, not derision. Mother Teresa didn’t use her mission in Calcutta as a stepping-stone to the upper rooms of the Vatican. She treated it as her life’s work; the prize of being able to help people. There was no fatter check or a bigger head at the other end. The work was the reward.

I understand that the bridge from Catholic missionary to basketball coach might be too far for many, but it’s about principle. Calipari, in his current post, helps boys become men. For some of those boys, he’s the first and only man to ever do so. That task is exclusive and immense and one of the most pivotal psychological transformations that can occur in human life. Is that not good enough for Calipari? Does that not make him feel alive? If not, that’s okay. I’m sure there’s a job in the NBA with his name on it. But if those things truly matter to him, then his path should be clear.