Kentucky Wildcats head coach John Calipari is in the midst of an NCAA Tournament run, but “desperately” wants an NBA coaching job according to reports.
John Calipari is one of the best college basketball coaches in the nation, and is currently coaching in March Madness. His Kentucky Wildcats are widely expected to come up with a championship this season, but he reportedly is looking past the season and is hoping to snag an NBA head coaching job.
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According to a report from Steve Popper of NorthJersey.com, Calipari is “desperately” wanting to get an NBA head coaching job.
“He desperately wants it,” a front office official told Popper. “He won’t say it out loud. 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 he wasn’t ready. He’s ready now.”
Needless to say, this would be a huge move for any NBA team that could pry him away from the college game. Brooklyn appears to be one team that would be interested in hiring Calipari, even though they just hired Lionel Hollins last offseason. They are still in the NBA playoff race this year, but they are in need of making some moves this coming offseason.
It seems strange that Calipari would leave the college game with the dynasty that he has built at Kentucky. He is getting top caliber prospects committing to him each and every year, and has competed for a National Championship appearance nearly every season that he has been with the Wildcats.
During his six-year coaching career at Kentucky, Calipari has a 188-37 record. That shows just how dominant he has been with the Wildcats, and he is in the middle of a season in which he has gone 36-0. A perfect season would completely finish off his college coaching legacy.
Needless to say, it would be intriguing to see what he could do for an NBA team. His experience coaching NBA players at the college level and motivating them to play together and be the best that they can be would likely fit very well at the next level. That being said, he would be hated by Kentucky if he did bail on them after this type of a season to leave for the NBA.
Calipari has a huge decision to make, but it sounds like he would consider walking away from his comfortable job at Kentucky for the right coaching job.
H/T SBNation
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