A biography for John Caliparihasn’t been written yet.
“So kids that have pro potential and want to take a loan so that their families don't have to deal with it, why can't you?”
“The problem with my guys, all my guys, they come in and improve themselves so fast in college: they go from 'He's this and this' to 'That kid is the first pick or second pick. Four. Five. Seven.' Tell me about those teams: not great. So my guys are walking into bad situations.”
“All my best players have been really good guys, which means I can coach them.”
“The best food I've had in Lexington is Orange Leaf Frozen Yogurt. It's non-guilt ice cream!”
“He helped my career, helped me basketball-wise and every other way. I'm a big fan of Thibs.”
“The guy who started on third base and gets home and acts like he hit a homer - that guy doesn't impress me.”
“I'd love to be coaching kids three or four years. You kidding me? That's what I used to do.”
“When your best players are really good guys, it's the best.”
“John Wooden's books are great.”
“Some of the best kids I coach were raised by a grandmother who was so firm that they understood.”
“We should not go to a baseball rule. If a kid goes to college and, after a year or two, wants to go to the NBA and is good enough - and he grew, he got bigger, he got more confidence - let him go. Why would you now force a kid to go two years?”
“If I have the choice between experience and talent, I'm taking talent every time.”
“Every kid will tell you that they want you to be real, but that's until you keep it real with them. Then they don't want it real.”
“I call it, 'The Kentucky Effect.' Guys from Kentucky are usually drafted higher, and their shoe contracts are worth more. They're in more demand overall because they played here.”
“What our kids learn to do is fight. So when you watch a Devin Booker, you look at Tyler Ulis - they fight.”
“I think I'm overrated as a recruiter.”
“The thing I can tell you about coaching is that we make decision and career moves when your nerves and emotions are still raw, right after the season. It's the worst profession for that.”
“Don't encourage 8th-, 9th- and 10th-graders to forgo education just to go to the G League.”
“I want to thank the people at UMass, Memphis, and Kentucky for giving Ellen and I an opportunity to coach at three great institutions.”
“I have bobby pins everywhere.”