The pinnacle of any coach or player’s career is to be inducted into the hall of fame. This is where the very good coaches and players are separated from the great ones.
Former Memphis Tigers basketball coach John Calipari will join the exclusive Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame club which was announced on Monday.
"This is going to be hard for people to understand, but I'm at a loss for words," Calipari said at his hall of fame introductory press conference. “As a coach, this award means that many parents entrusted you with their sons and many players entrusted you with their careers. That's why this award has happened for me, and I'm indebted to all of them—all of the staffs and all of the administrations that have helped me build these programs."
The now hall of famer coached the Memphis Tigers from 2000-09, and when he left in 2009 Calipari was the program’s all-time leader in coaching victories with 252.
At one point, Calipari could do no wrong in Memphis. Between 2006-09 he led Memphis to the most wins in a four-year span (133) than any other team in NCAA history.
In those four years, postseason success would also follow him and Memphis. Memphis made two Elite Eight appearances (2006 and 2007), a Sweet Sixteen (2009) and the National Championship game in 2008.
Before of all his success with the Tigers, Calipari had already built up an impressive coaching resume. He was the coach of the University of Massachusetts from 1988-96, and led them to an Elite Eight and Final Four in his final two seasons with the Minutemen.
However, UMass would be stripped of their 1996 Final Four banner, because UMass star Marcus Camby accepted over $28,000 from sport agents trying to lure him to the NBA during his sophomore season.
After leaving UMass, Calipari would move to the NBA where he became the coach of the now Brooklyn Nets for three seasons. He only made one playoff appearance in three years, and was fired midway through his third season.
Cal’s next stop would lead him to become the coach of the Memphis Tigers in 2000, and helped revitalize a program that had lost its way in recent years.
Success would find Calipari once again as he led the Tigers to the NIT Championship in 2002, and their first NCAA Tournament appearence in seven years in 2003. Over his nine seasons at Memphis, Calipari and the Tigers never missed the postseason.
In 2009, Calipari and Memphis broke up as he left to become the coach of the Kentucky Wildcats. Before he even coached a game for the Wildcats more controversy would find its way to coach Calipari.
The Tigers’ 2008 season was vacated due to Memphis star Derrick Rose having someone take his SAT test for him, making him ineligible. Calipari has the dubious honor of being the only coach to have two NCAA Final Fours vacated.
On the court, Calipari once again turned around a program that had been in the slumps. Kentucky hadn’t been to an Elite Eight since 2005, and a Final Four since 1998.
In his first year at Kentucky, he would lead the Wildcats to an Elite Eight appearance, and two years later he would win the elusive national championship in 2012 with a team led by freshman sensation Anthony Davis.
Over his three college coaching stints, Calipari’s coached 31 NBA players, including 10 Memphis Tigers including Chris Douglas-Roberts and Tyreke Evans. Proving his is more than worthy of his title as one of the best recruiters in the history of the NCAA.
Officially, Calipari has been to seven Elite Eights, four Final Fours (all with Kentucky), two National Championship game appearances (winning one) and named Naismith National Coach of the Year five times.
The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame enshrinement ceremony will be held on Sept. 11 in Springfield, Massachusetts.
