Pre-Summer "State of the Cats" from Coach Calipari

Pre-Summer "State of the Cats" from Coach Calipari

I’ve got a few things I’d like to discuss before the holiday weekend and the official start of summer. As you know this off-season has been rife with speculation, rumor and more than a few slings and arrows

I’m okay with all of that – it’s the price of success and it comes with the seat I occupy and being part of the program we all love.

• First, I want to tell you how proud I am of our five departing players who took part in the NBA’s Chicago Combine last week. I continue to receive calls and texts from executives, coaches and friends who cannot praise John, DeMarcus, Patrick, Eric and Daniel enough. Not only did they represent themselves and their families well, they represented our University with the same class and dignity they displayed all year long. I can’t wait until June 24th in New York (The NBA Draft) to see where our guys wind up and with whom they will begin their professional careers.

• We have just received our Spring semester grades for the team and I’m happy to say there has been improvement in our overall GPA to a 2.18. One of the issues we face in basketball, especially during a period of transition, is that with such a relatively small number of athletes, a bad semester from one or two kids can bring down the GPA significantly. A GPA just under 2.2 is not what we hoped for. But for the most part, every player improved from the fall semester and most finished strong. With all that was swirling for this team and all the scrutiny and pressure, our guys buckled down and did what they had to move our GPA in the right direction. But our improvement does show we are headed in the right direction and that our guys understand their priorities need to be in the classroom before they can turn their attention to the basketball court.

I come back to what my job as a coach is, and that’s to get young people from a wide background of academic experiences to change, to think differently, to grow academically and to develop a love of learning.

I’ve always seen my job as a vehicle to develop young people and help them earn their degrees and prepare them for whatever their professional aspirations are, whenever they choose to chase those goals.

We will still maintain one of the country’s best APR’s as we did last year. How can that be? Well, our young men were loyal to the program, to their families and themselves and most of them finished the term as expected.

I fully expect the next wave of criticism will be directed at the APR and the haters will say, “If Kentucky doesn’t lose scholarships then the APR isn’t working.” That will be their rallying cry. I’m just not sure they’d feel that way if it were another school. But again, that is the expectations that come with being at the greatest basketball program in the history of college basketball.

• Recruiting: We are just about done with our current class and I am so excited to get these young men on campus and begin to show them what it means to be a Kentucky Wildcat. Once again, our learning curve for EVERYthing is going to be enormous. This is going to be very difficult and I have to ask that you not compare our recruiting classes from year to year because it’s not fair for any of the kids involved – past or present.

Let’s not expect these players to come out and be a Top 5 team from the outset. It took us a while to figure out our 2009-10 team and for the players to figure out each other. This year will be similar. Do you all remember the Miami (OH), Sam Houston State and Stanford games? We all seem to have forgotten how challenging those early games were for our team as they grew and matured together.

Coming out of the gate, Maui may be the most difficult challenge any team I have ever coached will have. But we all look forward to the challenge of blending our new players with the returnees and continuing to build on our 35-3, Elite 8 and SEC Championship season.

Let’s enjoy our growth and stay in the moment and not think about March.

• Lastly, I have some personal news to share with you and I hope you will understand why I am doing so. I always try and am as transparent and forthcoming as possible with the Big Blue Nation and this is no exception. My mom, Donna Calipari, is battling cancer and I’m going to spend some time these next few days trying to figure out the best course of action for her medical care. At some point here in the near future, I will tell you all about my mom. For now, please know this is the woman who gave me my drive and my mindset to dream big dreams. She is a fighter and an incredibly strong woman.

Right now my family’s focus is on getting her the care she needs. I hope you understand this will take me away from Lexington and my focus will shift away from basketball and to providing support, help and comfort for my mom. Anyone who has gone through this knows it’s devastating for all involved.

It would mean so much to our family if we could get the prayers and thoughts of the BBN directed to my mom as she bravely fights her battle with this dreaded disease. I hope you all understand and I thank you for your compassion and well wishes.

Let’s all have a super – and SAFE – summer. Before you know it, we’ll all be gathering (somewhere!!!) for Big Blue Madness and the start of another incredible journey with your Wildcats. GO BIG BLUE!!!

-RTL-