Kentucky’s Calipari helps fund Clarion basketball. ‘He’s done so much.’

When Kentucky plays Clarion on Sunday night, John Calipari will have a vested interest in both teams.

In addition to coaching UK, he donates financial support to the basketball program of his alma mater.

“Coach Cal is probably one of our biggest benefactors,” Clarion Coach Marcess Williams said. “He’s done so much.”

Calipari and his wife, Ellen, have funded the equivalent of three scholarships for several years. They asked that the money for two full scholarships go to players from Pennsylvania, which, of course, Calipari once was.

“They were very specific,” Clarion Athletic Director Wendy Snodgrass said. “They are absolutely fantastic in their support.”

The players receiving the two scholarships this season are Justin Dobbs, who is from Pittsburgh, and Cameron Grumley, who is from Johnsonburg, Pa.

The scholarships are named for Calipari’s coach at Clarion, Joe DeGregorio, and his high school coach, Bill Sacco. Other players benefiting from scholarship money donated by the Caliparis this year are Jamal Bailey and Jamari Pierce.

Clarion, which also played an exhibition at Kentucky before Calipari’s first season as UK coach, will receive a $20,000 guarantee. That money will help pay travel expenses, plus boost recruiting and scholarship budgets, Snodgrass said.

Snodgrass called the Caliparis’ generosity invaluable for Clarion basketball. “It is where it is today because of them and their support,” she said.

Never forgotten

John Calipari’s high school coach, Bill Sacco, and his college coach, Joe DeGregorio, plan to attend the UK-Clarion game.

When asked what it meant to be included, Sacco said, “It’s beyond words sometimes. He’s just always been very good to me. Whenever he’s in Pittsburgh, he always makes a call or stops by. ‘Coach, can you go with me? I’m going to go look at a player.’”

DeGregorio also appreciated Calipari’s invitation to come to the game. “Some guys forget,” he said. “He’s never forgotten.”

Clarion call

The UK-Clarion game presents a chance to retell the oft-told story of how John Calipari rebooted his college career. He originally went to North Carolina-Wilmington.

“Right before Christmas break, he called and said, ‘Coach, I need to think about leaving here. Can you help me?’” said Bill Sacco, who was Calipari’s high school coach. “I said, ‘One second. Let me make a call for you.’”

Sacco called Clarion Coach Joe DeGregorio, who had shown a recruiting interest in Calipari.

“Joe, I got a guard for you,” Sacco said. “Joe was always pursuing John to come to Clarion. He said, ‘As long as it’s Calipari, send him.’

“So I called John back and told him to go right to Clarion, where to report and how to get there. From there, it’s been pretty much history, I guess.”

Zelig?

When it comes to John Calipari, Clarion Coach Marcess Williams has a Zelig-like quality.

Kentucky played at Robert Morris in the 2013 NIT. “I was there,” he said. A high school friend, Matt Potter, was one of the referees and got him a ticket.

When Calipari was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame last year, Williams attended the ceremony. “I got a chance to meet him,” he said.

Calipari’s mention of Terry Francona at a news conference Thursday caught Williams’ attention. He attended the same high school, New Brighton, as Francona.

One of Williams’ mentors, Alvin Gibson, played in the same Clarion backcourt with Calipari.

“So there are a lot of ties,” the Clarion coach said. “And I don’t even know if he knows all the ties. I didn’t know I had all these ties to him until I came here.”

Clarion?

Clarion is a Division II school in Clarion, Pa., which is about 75 miles northeast of Pittsburgh. It’s state funded with an enrollment of about 6,000.

Among its alumni are former major league pitcher Pete Vuckovich, former pro football lineman Reggie Wells, pro wrestler Kurt Angle and mixed martial arts performer Frankie Edgar.

Travel plans

Clarion distributed its allotment of 100 tickets to the families of players, university administrators and athletic donors.

The team was scheduled to bus six hours from Clarion to Lexington on Friday. Athletic Director Wendy Snodgrass said she would be driving on Saturday in hopes of watching that evening’s practice in Rupp Arena. A fan bus was scheduled to make the trip Sunday.

The team plans to bus back after the game, a scheduled arrival in Clarion about 5 a.m. Monday.

Coach Marcess Williams said the game was originally scheduled to start at 4 p.m. When the SEC Network chose to telecast the game, the tip was moved to 7.

With the players missing class on Friday because of the trip to Lexington, Williams said he did not want the players to also miss class on Monday.

‘Shock the world’

UK Coach John Calipari offered a cautionary note about Sunday’s game. He recalled one of his Memphis teams getting an exhibition scare against Christian Brothers.

In 2004, Christian Brothers led Memphis 40-34 at halftime. Memphis trailed 45-36 early in the second half before rallying to win 81-70.

Two years ago, Memphis lost to Christian Brothers in an exhibition game.

During a telephone conversation Friday, Clarion Coach Marcess Williams did not concede.

“We’re going down to compete,” he said in a friendly tone. “We know who it is and we know what everybody thinks is going to happen. But till it happens, you’re not going to tell me we’re not going to come out and put our best effort into competing and try to win the game.

“At the end of the day, whatever happens happens. But they’re going to know, hey, Clarion played hard. They never quit.”

Clarion, which had a 14-16 record last season, is picked to finish eighth in its nine-team West Division of the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference. BJ Andrews, a 6-4 guard, was named preseason all-conference.

“We like to pressure,” Williams said. “We like to get after teams.”

Williams pointed out that another Division II team, Le Moyne, won an exhibition game at Syracuse in 2009.

UK’s dependence on freshmen and Clarion’s veteran roster (five seniors and six juniors), gives Williams reason to believe.

“Hopefully we can shock the world,” he said, “and make real big news, man.”

Standard answer

Joe DeGregorio has a standard answer when asked how good John Calipari was as a player.

“He was not our best player,” he likes to say. “But he was our smartest player.”

Pronunciation guide

Clarion Coach Marcess Williams pronounces his first name Mar-KESS (rhymes with Hess).

Williams was sort of named after a former UCLA star.

“My mom loved Marques Johnson,” he said. “She wanted to make my name a little different.”

‘It’s very sad’

The Knight Commission wants athletic programs to operate within the bounds of the colleges’ educational mission. Its retiring chair, Brit Kirwan, has deep ties to UK.

His father, A.D. Kirwan, was Kentucky’s football coach (1938 to 1944) before being succeeded by Paul “Bear” Bryant. The older Kirwan briefly served as UK president. The younger Kirwan graduated from UK in 1962.

Brit Kirwan finds much about intercollegiate athletics dismaying. A financial model that is unsustainable for many schools, he said. Commercialization run amok, he said.

The wealthy few rake in so much money they must invent ways to spend it?

“Exactly,” Kirwan said last week. “That’s the point. It doesn’t go back to the institutions except in dribs and drabs. …

“They have to spend it on something, so they spend it on salaries and facilities. It’s very sad.”

Exhibition seasons?

UK Coach John Calipari floated the idea of exhibition seasons. Maybe teams could play two games, home-and-home, as tune-ups.

“I think that would bring more excitement,” he said.

Brit Kirwan said the Knight Commission does not comment on specific proposals. But he pointed out the trend in college athletics is for reducing the time demands placed on athletes. A majority of athletes who responded to an NCAA survey supported a reduction in time devoted to their sports.

“The Knight Commission would be opposed to any effort to lengthen the playing season in any sport,” he said, “and (exhibition seasons) would be completely counter to what we heard from student-athletes. They don’t want the season lengthened.”

Happy birthday

To Aaron and Andrew Harrison. They turned 22 on Friday. … To Devin Booker. He turns 20 on Sunday (today). … To former SEC commissioner Roy Kramer. He turns 87 on Sunday (today). … To Michael Parks. He turns 46 on Sunday (today). … To former LSU coach Dale Brown. He turns 81 on Monday. … To former UK assistant coach Gale Catlett. He turns 76 on Monday.

This story was originally published October 29, 2016 at 5:09 PM with the headline "Kentucky’s Calipari helps fund Clarion basketball. ‘He’s done so much.’."