John Calipari Sticks it to Steve Forbes by Landing Wake Forest Transfer Olivier Sarr
By Michael Luciano
The head coaching transition from former Kansas star Danny Manning to former East Tennessee State head coach Steve Forbes hasn't gone smoothly for Wake Forest, who recently wrapped up their third straight season under .500.
After Manning was fired, star seven-foot center Olivier Sarr announced that he was going to transfer. He didn't take long to pick his next destination, as Sarr committed to Kentucky on Wednesday. He is expected to take the starting center spot after Nick Richards declared for the 2020 NBA Draft.
New beginnings @KentuckyMBB @UKCoachCalipari #LaFamilia ?⚪️ pic.twitter.com/CBRsXsGgsP
— Olivier Sarr (@sarr_olivier) May 6, 2020
Born in Toulouse, Sarr averaged 13.7 points and 9.0 rebounds under Manning last year.
This has to be a crushing blow for Forbes, who tried to woo Sarr back to Winston-Salem by taking a shot at Kentucky's academics, insisting that Sarr shouldn't ruin his three years at "prestigious" Wake Forest by getting a degree at Kentucky. Sarr had to be ticked off by that, and his move to Lextington flies right in the face of Forbes and the Demon Deacons.
New Wake Forest head man Steve Forbes to Olivier Sarr:
— WKYT Sports (@wkytsports) May 5, 2020
"Why would you go to Wake for three years, put all that time in to get this prestigious degree, and end up getting your degree at a place like Kentucky?” https://t.co/ZMATvSugTU
Undaunted by Forbes' warnings, Sarr gives John Calipari and the Wildcats another mobile rim protector who can get tough buckets inside, which is essential to Calipari's style of basketball. That style, of course, also involves poaching the best from other programs, like Stanford's Reid Travis. If you don't like it, get in line, Coach Forbes.