John Calipari is currently in the same city as two NBA teams that are a combined 7-24, yet he downplayed his future as an NBA coach.
“I’m good,” the Kentucky coach said Saturday at Barclays Center, according to Brett Dawson of Rivals, adding that he’s “never been able to put kids on a stage like” the one he has at Kentucky.
As long as the Knicks and Nets continue to be horrendous, Calipari’s name will be linked to a return to the New York area. As discussed here, he is managed by CAA, which handles about half of the Knicks’ organization, including Carmelo Anthony and J.R. Smith.
Asked if he would think about a return to the NBA somewhere down the road, Calipari said according to Dawson, “If I’m alive,” joking that he might not remain so in his current gig.
Calipari also responded to comments made by Providence coach Ed Cooley in advance of Sunday’s game at Barclays.
“If I was him, I’d be fed up with hearing about Kentucky, too,” Calipari said.
Said Cooley on Friday: “Everybody is asking me about Kentucky. It’s a game. Congratulations, they’re good. They have all these great players. You know what? We have some great players, too. I do not want anybody to look at my team as if we are some step-child hoping to get lucky. We’re going to go down there and we’re going to be confident, passionate and we’re going to play with a lot of pride. I don’t give a damn about Kentucky.”
