PITTSBURGH — John Calipari’s blue-collar roots still run deep.
Even now, nearly 40 years after the Calipari left western Pennsylvania for good to begin a head coaching career that’s made him a millionaire many times over, a national champion and a Hall of Famer, the lessons instilled in him at a young age growing up in Moon Township remain.
“You were taught, there’s nothing in this world that’s going to be given to you,” the longtime Kentucky coach said Wednesday. “You’re going to have to go take what you want, and if you don’t work, you will not eat.”
That inner hunger remains. Even now, six weeks past his 65th birthday, Calipari insists the drive that’s made him a somewhat rogueish winner wherever he’s gone remains fresh.
The trick these days is finding a way to impart that ethos down to a group of talented college kids who practice in top-flight facilities and are awash in name, image and likeness opportunities, some of them using Kentucky as a stopover on their way to the NBA.
Calipari insists the third-seeded Wildcats (23-9) — who open the first-round on Thursday against 14th-seeded Oakland (23-11) — have the work ethic required to navigate the next three weeks. Maybe just as importantly, he believes his team has the depth too.
Seven different Wildcats have topped 25 points this season, giving Calipari perhaps the most vital tool in a coach’s motivational aresenal: options.
kentucky head coach John Calipari speaks with reporters before NCAA college basketball practice at PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh, Wednesday, March 20, 2024. Kentucky faces Oakland in the first round of the NCAA Tournament Thursday. Credit: AP/Gene J. Puskar
“For a couple years, if one or two players played poorly, I didn’t have subs, you left them in and you end up losing,” Calipari said. “And I’m not just talking the NCAA tournament. Other games. With this group, if these two or three are not playing well, I’ll just play these five or six, and we’ll run…
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