Kentucky Coach Calipari Puzzled by Knight's Remarks
Mike DeCourcy - SportingNews.com
Dec 18, 2009
Kentucky coach John Calipari said Friday he was puzzled by criticism he received from Hall of Fame coach Bob Knight during a speech Knight delivered in Indianapolis.
Knight did not name Calipari in his talk but lamented a lack of integrity in college basketball and then declared, "We've got a coach at Kentucky who put two schools on probation and he's still coaching. I really don't understand that."
Calipari was not charged with any NCAA rules violations at either Massachusetts or Memphis, although each program faced NCAA sanctions for incidents that occurred while he was coaching there.
"I've always had a good relationship with him," Calipari said of Knight. "I like him as a coach. I have no idea why he said what he said. It doesn't change how I feel about him."
Calipari said that while Knight was coaching at Texas Tech he took his Memphis staff to Lubbock to visit with him, and that they had dinner together and Knight made recommendations regarding the Dribble Drive Motion offense Calipari was adopting.
Calipari's Kentucky team is 10-0 and ranked No. 3 — one season removed from the Wildcats missing the NCAA Tournament. A win over Austin Peay on Saturday would set a school record for the best start by a first-year coach, breaking the mark set by Adolph Rupp, who won his first 10 games in 1931.
Kentucky's most recent victory was 90-73 over Indiana, the school where Knight achieved his greatest coaching success.
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