The Legacy Coach John Calipari Will Leave Behind

Lexington, KY (WTVQ) — John Calipari has been the head coach at Kentucky for 15 years. He started in 2009 after he was hired away from Memphis. Calipari replaced Billy Gillispie, and when Calipari came to UK he turned the program around right away; going 35-3 in his first season.

Calipari led the wildcats to a national championship in 2012, national runner-up honors in 2014, and final four appearances in 2011 and 2015. After his 2014-2015 season, Calipari was elected to the Naismith memorial basketball hall of fame.

Calipari has also sent a lot of talent to the NBA during his time at Kentucky, 47 players to be specific. 35 first round draft picks, 23 lottery picks, and three No. 1 overall draft picks; John Wall; Karl-Anthony Towns, and Anthony Davis.

However, the fans want more than just NBA prospects, they want championships; that is where Calipari has faltered the last few years.

Kentucky hasn’t been to the sweet 16 since 2019. They were upset by double-digit seeds in the first round of the tournament twice in the last three years; including this year to 14-seed Oakland with a team he promised everyone was “built for march.”

In 2019, Calipari agreed to a lifetime contract with Kentucky. Under the terms, he could have been owed 33 million if Kentucky had dismissed him. But there was no buyout if Calipari left for another job, which is now the case as Calipari is set to be Arkansas’ new head coach.

Calipari finishes his time at UK with an overall record of 410 wins and 123 losses, or a 76.9% winning record. He is second winningest coach in UK basketball history behind Adolph Rupp.