Kentucky Head Coach John Calipari Appears to Take Bold Shot at Coach K and Duke in Tweet
By Michael Luciano
The college basketball season may not start until Nov. 5, but John Calipari and Kentucky have wasted no time trying to antagonize their fellow blue bloods.
After tweeting a seemingly benign video showing the 2019-20 Wildcats at practice, Calipari seemignly took a thinly veiled shot at Mike Kryzyewski and Duke, claiming the Blue Devils "promote two guys and push everyone else to the curb," while Kentucky values teamwork and personal growth.
We don’t promote two guys and push everyone else to the curb. This is about all these kids becoming their best version. As this team succeeds, we all become our best version. BIG TEAM, BETTER ME. And yes, we trademarked that.
— John Calipari (@UKCoachCalipari) June 25, 2019
Does Calipari have a point? Is Coach K eschewing winning and developing these star prospects as athletes and individuals? Or is he still bitter that the three-headed monster that was Zion Williamson, RJ Barrett and Cam Reddish single-handedly embarrassed Kentucky?
???♂️ pic.twitter.com/dICX44ihK7
— Mark Meder (@marky_422) June 25, 2019
It's entirely possible that Calipari is trying to rip Jay Bilas, who replied to an article claiming that Kentucky "produces" more NBA stars than any other program by saying that Calipari merely "recruited" his best players and offered minimal help in developing them.
Interesting article on college programs with the most pros. One thing: college programs don't "produce" pros, they recruit them. Good coaches at every level help players improve, but don't "produce" pros. Which NBA team "produces" the most NBA All-Stars? https://t.co/YhKYGvV0qp
— Jay Bilas (@JayBilas) June 17, 2019
While Bilas is as good as it gets as far as college analysts go, this take seems a bit out there, as Calipari's coaching acumen can't be doubted at this point. Whatever the reason for Calipari's subtweeting, it's good to see a little animosity between two of the biggest programs in the sport.