I was fortunate to pick up a copy of the book: John Calipari with Dick Weiss and forward by Rick Pitino- at the Westerville library.
Here are a few nuggets I gleaned from the book:
In 1988, when RP, part of UMass's coach search committee, was called and told they had eliminated John Calipari from consideration, he asked them to schedule a special meeting. Rick gave an ardent speech for John Calipari. "They had offered John a $63,000 package. "But", they said, "we don't have $63,000. Would you be willing to kick in $5,000?" So I did.
The book is mainly about Caliparii's coaching days at UMass. He brought them out of the cellar to many wins and into the NCAA semi-final and a close 81-74 loss to Kentucky in 1996.
At the time the book was published, John was head coach for the New Jersey Nets. In the last paragraph of the book, John says:
"When I look back at my career, my definition of success is, did I make a difference? Did I make a difference on this campus? Did I make a difference in people's lives? Are my players better off now than they were when they arrived? Have I prepared them for life? If I can answer yes to those questions, and if I have accomplished those goals, then I've had success."
Of course, John Calipari has since had nine successful seasons at Memphis. We Kentucky fans are hoping he will have that many seasons and more at UK. We hope he will hang more banners. We hope for continued success for Coach Calipari.
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