John Calipari

“People, on their bucket lists, are saying, 'I want to see a game at Rupp Arena.' Magic Johnson will call and say, 'I want to come to the game tonight. I want to see John Wall or Anthony Davis or Michael Kidd-Gilchrist.' It's become fashionable to be seen here, because people want to be seen and associated with success.”

“More than half the G League is going to be high school kids that are trying to make it. I hope I'm wrong. I absolutely hope I'm wrong.”

“There are certain people I do want to absolutely dislike me. And I want them to paint me as their enemy. Because I want nothing to do with them.”

“I want to thank all the assistants and staff who have worked for us over the years, as well as the people in the community who have added value to our lives.”

“I've had transfer students who have never seen the inside of their previous coach's house.”

“People want to see how we get teams to come together so quickly. They want to see how we get young guys to play so hard and so unselfish. I'm fine with that. I have no problem sharing that.”

“If you win the conference tournament, it doesn't mean anything.”

“If I'm up at 4 in the morning, it's because I'm just coming in.”

“You're not gonna do what we do better than we do it. Even if you're doing what we do, you're not gonna do it better. I'm absolutely convinced of that.”

“If you recruit a kid, and you're promising him the world, how in the world are you going to coach him in that short a period of time to do that?”

“When you're coaching at Kentucky, you're held to a different standard, and like in politics, there is a core group that absolutely loves you, and everyone else is trying to unseat you in any way they can - anything to trip you up; that's what it is. If you're not up to that, then don't coach at Kentucky.”

“I refuse to go in a home and paint a picture saying things like, 'If you come with us, you'll be taken care of for the rest of your life by the program and by our alums,' even though you may only be in school for a year or two. How preposterous does that sound?”

“We play for March.”

“My life, even as a college student, has all been through the NCAA, and I'm telling you there's so much good that comes out of it.”

“If they're out of high school, and they can go directly to the NBA and get drafted and get millions of dollars, I'm for it 100 percent. Just let's not devalue education. Let's just not devalue it.”

“I majored in business/marketing because I was going to be a teacher and a high school basketball coach.”

“In most cases, in this sport, for guys to advance in this sport, you gotta fight. If you don't fight, you're not making it, because it's too competitive.”

“LeBron and I are friends.”

“The problem with the NCAA - it's slow-moving.”

“I'm just trying to be the best I can be. I try to surround myself with people who are strong in areas I'm weak. Which is why I have such a big staff.”