John Calipari
On how Anthony Davis was as a coach …
“He stunk. I was hoping they got beat because they were up by 30. And when it got to 60, I was watching them down there like, ‘You like that huh? Coaching’s easy?’ He did great. He’s the greatest kid and all these guys – I mean they all came back to be with family and with the fans and all that and they understand the relationships. They want to be around each other and they know that we look out for one another. And on top of it they raised a lot of money for a good thing. It’s a great thing to do and let me praise North Carolina, obviously some of the guys were not able to come, but they played and Harrison Barnes wants us to go back there next year, which we might do. Maybe we take our team to North Carolina and do the same thing to raise money for charity that way.”
On how this whole weekend felt with the Hall of Fame and the Alumni Game …
“The Hall of Fame stuff was for me the four o’clock reception we had, 200 or 100 some people there, friends and people that have helped. And then our players, it was like ‘Wow.’ And then when I called the players up to take a picture at the four o’clock (reception), there were so many (guys) that I got emotional. There must have been 30 maybe even more, then the UMass guys, said that we’ve got to do this again coach. I said I only do this once. They’re a bunch of great kids and I think the Memphis kids loved being there, the Kentucky kids, they kind of got into groups because they didn’t know each other, but they were together. Then I saw 20 staff members that all came back and some of their parents because we were so young together that their families were all a part of it. That made it, where it was a shared moment. (It) Really made it special.”
On the mosaic UK presented him at halftime …
“I’m just happy (the mosaic) didn’t have a big belly. They must have taken the picture early in my time here.”
On getting DeMarcus Cousins off the floor…
“I knew he didn’t want to come off. I just didn’t know how far he would take it. He took it as far as he could and then he came out. He’s the best. He has a great heart. You saw Eric Bledsoe and he is here with his mom and his little son. Mrs. Cousins is here and Karl’s (Towns) mom and dad were here. The older guys ran this. That is just how it is. The 2010 group, if John Wall was here he would have done the same. It would have been those guys. They all came together and had fun. The North Carolina guys had fun and they knew what it was for and what we were able to do in Coach (Dean) Smith’s name is unique and special and made us all really happy.”
On DeMarcus Cousins’ 3-pointers …
“He was trying to show me to let him go. When I said ‘Raise your hand if you think I held you back?’ I didn’t have to turn around. I asked later if he had both hands up and he didn’t, but he stepped through the crowd, which is hysterical. I knew he would do something. He was like 1-12 from three.”
On the Kings’ front office being at the game tonight …
“Vivek (Ranadive) is speaking to our business school tomorrow. They were in town coming through and said, ‘Do you mind if we come?’ I said, ‘Absolutely, Come in.’ Our students are going to hear him, which is a really good thing. They’re trying to get (the Kings) going. (Rajon) Rondo is going to be running the thing. Rondo is a coach in himself. Rondo is more about giving him room to do his thing and let him make decisions. Those three (Willie Cauley-Stein, Demarcus Cousins, and Rajon Rondo) come together and put another three or four pieces together, (and) then they’ll be fine.”
On having a game where he’s mixing and matching all of his players from different years and what it would be like if most of them were four-year players …
“You obviously couldn’t have stacked all of the classes on top of each other. Even if it were John Wall and that group for four years, or Anthony (Davis) and that group for three years, but the environment now is different. Our whole thing is we’re trying to do right by these kids. I’ll say this. When Anthony is done with this contract, I believe he’s going to be 28. So it’s $25 and $150 million. That’s $175 million. With endorsements, he’s probably at a quarter of $1 billion. He’s 28 years old when he’s done. What’s the next one going to be – $200 million? Had he stayed in school, he’d be 31 or 32. Now tell me what that next deal is. I understand it. If they’re good enough to be prepared and leave, then it’s fine. If they want to stay like Willie (Cauley-Stein) did, then that’s fine. I sat with Darius Miller’s dad. If they want to stay in school, then that’s fine and we’re here for you. This is a family decision. I remember Devin Booker in the Global Games in Washington, D.C., playing four minutes a game on a team with 12 other guys. He wasn’t playing. A year later he’s in the NBA. He looked like one of the better players out there tonight. That’s within a year. He came off the bench and was the 13th pick in the draft. How about that? It’s about a relationship. It’s the personal relationships. They come together and that brings us all together. That’s why they come back and to our events and do the stuff that they do.”
