Players First: Coaching from the Inside Out 1st edition by Calipari, John, Sokolove, Michael (2014) Hardcover

by John Calipari

SIGNED BY THE AUTHOR, JOHN CALIPARI! In Players First, John Calipari relates for the first time anywhere his experiences over his first four years coaching the Kentucky Wildcats, college basketball's most fabled program, from the doldrums to a national championship, drawing lessons about leadership, character, and the path to personal and collective victory. At its core, Calipari's coaching philosophy centers on keeping his focus on the players--what they need to get the best out of themselves and one another. He is beloved by his players for being utterly honest with them and making promises that he always keeps, no matter what. He knows that in this age, they come to Kentucky to prepare for the NBA; every year he gets players who in a previous era would have gone directly into the pros from high school but now have to play college basketball for one year. Calipari has fought against this system, but he has to play within it, and so he does, better than anyone. The result is an extraordinary leadership every year Coach Cal gets a handful of eighteen-year-old kids who have been in a bubble for the previous four years at least, filled with hype about their own greatness, and they come to Kentucky feeling sure that they will play for their coach only for seven months before they go on to greater glory. Every year, he has to reinvent his team. After his 2012 NCAA championship, it was particularly dramatic; he lost his first six players in the first round, meaning that someone who couldn't even start for Kentucky was a first-round draft pick. The overall record at Kentucky, and for his career, puts Calipari in the pantheon of the greatest coaches in the history of the game. Bold, funny, and truthful, like Coach Calipari himself, "Players First" is truly the first deep reckoning with the meaning of his experiences and the gifts of insight they offer.

Hardcover

Published January 1, 2014

About the author

John Vincent Calipari (born February 10, 1959) is an American basketball coach. Since April 2009, he has been the men's head coach at Kentucky. He was the head coach of the Dominican Republic national team in 2011 and 2012.

Calipari is the former head coach of the University of Memphis Tigers, the University of Massachusetts Minutemen, and the National Basketball Association's New Jersey Nets. Calipari has officially been to 3 Final Fours, all three with Kentucky (2011, 2012, 2014). He had previously led UMass in 1996 and Memphis in 2008 to the Final Four, but those appearances were later vacated. Consequently, Calipari is the only head coach to have Final Four appearances vacated at more than one school, although Calipari himself was not personally implicated by the NCAA in either case. As a college coach, Calipari has 20 (19 officially) 20-win seasons, 8 (7 officially) 30-win seasons, and has been named National Coach of the Year 3 times. Calipari is widely regarded as one of the best recruiters in college basketball history.

In the 2011–12 NCAA Division I men's basketball season, Calipari led Kentucky to its 8th NCAA Tournament Championship, and the first of his career.

From 1982 to 1985, Calipari was an assistant at the University of Kansas under Ted Owens and Larry Brown. From 1985 to 1988, he was an assistant coach at the University of Pittsburgh under Paul Evans. From 1988 to 1996, he was head coach at the University of Massachusetts. From 1996 to 1999, he was head coach and Executive VP of basketball operations for the NBA's New Jersey Nets. During the 1999–2000 season, he was an assistant coach for the Philadelphia 76ers under coach Larry Brown, before moving on to his next position at the University of Memphis. He was inducted into the National Italian American Sports Hall of Fame in 2004.

In his 21 official seasons (22 seasons overall, 21 official, with one entire season later being vacated) as a collegiate head coach, Calipari's record is 548–171 (.762). His record in the month of March is 98–37 (.726). His record in the NCAA tournament is 38–13 (.745), and in the NIT is 15–6 (.714). His teams have made 14 NCAA tournament appearances (12 official, due to 2 later being vacated), including reaching the Sweet Sixteen 11 times (9 official, due to 2 later being vacated), the Elite Eight 9 times (7 official, due to 2 later being vacated), the Final Four 4 times (2 official, due to 2 later being vacated), the NCAA Championship Game twice (once officially, with the 2008 Championship Game appearance while at Memphis being vacated by the NCAA), winning the NCAA Championship at Kentucky in 2012.

As a college coach, Calipari has 19 20-win seasons (18 official) and 8 30-win seasons (7 official). He has also coached 6 teams to the NIT, winning the NIT Championship at Memphis in 2002. He is one of only four coaches in NCAA Division I history to direct three different schools to a #1 seed in the NCAA Tournament.

Reviews

[Evan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I picked up this book reluctantly, growing up as a fan of literally any other college program you are taught to hate Calipari. You’re told he’s a cheat, a used car sales man and that he’s not a good coach. Reading this book has completely changed my outlook on coach. He obviously leans into his roll as the bad guy in college basketball but his unwavering support of his players, his focus on not only making them better players but making them better people. Also making sure they are treated with the respect they deserve. His early voice of reform to the NCAA has now given players of all programs a chance to get a piece of the pie. I’ll be rooting for you in Arkansas, coach!

[Trenton · Rating 3 out of 5]

7.0/10