Calipari asks Kentuckians to do something nice for someone else on Thanksgiving

UK Coach John Calipari strayed from the topic of a question during Wednesday’s press conference following the Wildcats’ 86-67 victory over Fort Wayne to talk about being thankful and giving back.

On the night before Thanksgiving, he said he spoke very little of the game that had just been played. Instead, Calipari had an off-the-court message for his Wildcats, most of whom are freshmen in their first full season with the UK basketball program.

“I just said to the team, ‘How many of you in this room understand how thankful you need to be?’ I hope you understand,” he said. “I mean, ‘How did you get that body you have? You haven’t done anything for this. It’s been given to you.’”

Calipari, whose fund-raising efforts and other philanthropic activities have been well-documented during his time in Lexington, talked about the city’s homelessness statistics — “I’m not trying to get on a soapbox,” he said, “even though I am” — and reminded reporters of his program’s involvement with various charitable endeavors in the past.

He also mentioned his former players’ continued off-the-court work in those areas during their post-UK lives. For many of those players, the giving back started at Kentucky.

“This is a good time for a young team because these kids — most of their life to this point — what have they thought about? Themselves,” Calipari said. “What did they dream about? Themselves. Now all of a sudden you’re put in this position where you can have an impact.”

The UK coach and his players plan to spend Thursday serving food as part of the annual Salvation Army Thanksgiving Day dinner in Lexington.

Calipari said he wanted his players to see firsthand the impact they can have on the community, and the holidays often provide such opportunities.

He also expressed his own thankfulness to be UK’s basketball coach, asking those in the room to make the most of Thursday’s opportunity to give something back.

Calipari said he would repeat his appeal on his post-game radio show to those listening around the state.

“I will tell you all to have a great day tomorrow,” he said. “If you’re having Thanksgiving dinner, there’s got to be someone in your community that you know is alone. Either bring them food, knock on their door, or have them come to your house and eat.

“It’s a great thing about this state. I’ve never been anywhere that people have bigger hearts and make it about community. They don’t talk about a city; they talk about a county. That’s what it is.

“I would suggest to all of you, if you have a chance, bring somebody in your home. Make somebody else’s day. Take them food. Do something neat.”

This story was originally published November 23, 2017 at 12:13 AM with the headline "Calipari asks Kentuckians to do something nice for someone else on Thanksgiving."