By JOSH NEWMAN
It will turn out to be a bittersweet weekend for Kentucky head coach John Calipari.
His Wildcats saw their perfect season come to an end on Saturday night at the hands of Wisconsin, but according to ESPN’s Jeff Goodman, the 56-year-old Calipari has been voted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.
The Hall of Fame is set to announce its entire Class of 2015 on Monday prior to the national championship game between the Badgers and Duke. Calipari and the rest of the class will be honored at halftime at Lucas Oil Stadium.
In six seasons, in Lexington, Caliapri has coached Kentucky to four Final Fours, plus his one and only national championship in 2012. A 190-38 record as Kentucky head coach coach gives him a record of 597-177. That includes four NCAA Tournament wins at Massachusetts in 1996 and the entire 38-2 mark he registered at Memphis, all of which were later vacated.
Calipari is one of only two coaches (Rick Pitino) to lead three different programs to the Final Four. His Final Four appearances at UMass in 1996 and Memphis in 2008 were later vacated due to NCAA violations.
Calipari, who received the necessary 18 out of 24 votes for inclusion according to Goodman, could be joined by a star-studded class on Monday. Finalists include Bill Fitch, Tim Hardaway, Dikembe Mutombo, Wisconsin head coach Bo Ryan and Jo Jo White.
Also on Sunday, Calipari was named Naismith Coach of the Year by the Atlanta Tipoff Club at the Naismith Awards Bunch in Indianapolis.
This is the first time Calipari has received the honor with the Wildcats and third overall (UMass 1996, Memphis 2008). He is the first coach to win the award with three different programs.
“A coaching award is a staff award, and we are all celebrating these awards that are coming our way together because of the way these players have allowed us to coach them,” Calipari said via press release. “The Naismith Award is one of the first national coaching awards I received back in 1996 and holds a special place with me. When I heard that I was a finalist, I was excited just because it’s a reflection of how hard this staff and how hard our players have worked. To be able to get this prestigious award at three different schools is an honor, and I want to thank the Naismith committee for this award.”
Calipari’s Naismith Award will sit beside the SEC, Sporting News, Associated Press and NABC Coach of the Year awards he has already received this season.
Photo: USA Today Sports
