UK’s Calipari, Celtics’ Stevens advise potential transfers to look before leaping
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Coffee with Cal
University of Kentucky men’s basketball coach John Calipari is hosting a weekly show on Facebook Live called “Coffee with Cal” in which he interviews influential individuals from the worlds of sports, media, politics and beyond. The shows are designed to benefit COVID-19 relief and draw attention to the Black Lives Matter movement. Click below to read the Herald-Leader’s stories recapping previous shows.
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When the conversation turned to the NCAA’s consideration of allowing players to transfer once without having to sit out a season, John Calipari and his guest on Monday’s “Coffee With Cal” Facebook show could call on a wealth of personal perspective.
Calipari and Brad Stevens had coached at the mid-major level, which might fear a mass exodus each year: Calipari at UMass and Stevens at Butler. Both now coach at destination programs: Calipari at Kentucky and Stevens with the Boston Celtics.
Both could also identify with a player struggling to deal with a lack of playing time: Calipari at UNC Wilmington (he transferred to Clarion State) and Stevens (who he said stuck it out at DePauw despite a steadily diminishing role over four seasons).
“I understand there’s never a perfect way to this,” Stevens said of basketball aspirations. “There’s never a perfect route. I hope kids look at their programs as something bigger than themselves. And when they get there, they want to work to make it as good as it can be.
“And realize that not every day is going to be easy. And that’s OK. That’s part of the journey. Part of the experience.”
With the benefit of hindsight, Stevens welcomed not playing as much as he wanted as a college junior and senior.
“It helped me in coaching to be the guy who didn’t play,” he said. That experience was “maybe more impactful than any meeting or film session I ever sat in on.”
Calipari echoed the sentiment.
“You have to fail some to see what you’re about,” he said. “It can’t always be the next step up. My worry is that kids, at the first sign of trouble, will run.”
The UK coach said he hoped the NCAA would put “guard rails” on any easing of the transfer rule.
As for the NCAA allowing a player to profit off his or her name, image and likeness, Stevens said he could see that change benefiting players not good enough to rate an NBA salary.
Calipari spoke of the coaching challenge created if a team’s most valuable player could reap the most money from endorsements.
To which, Stevens said such a hypothetical reflected “the way life is.” In other words, life can be unfair. Plus, in the NBA, a player can reap his “true” value in his next contract.
Lexington connection
During Stevens’ six seasons as coach, Butler played in the NCAA Tournament five times. Butler advanced to the Final Four in 2010 and 2011.
“We had super talent, but we had super savvy,” Stevens said. “We knew how to play. We found ways to win because we had guys committed to winning. It was like the perfect storm.
“And we got lucky.”
To explain the good fortune, Stevens said, “Nobody thought Shelvin Mack coming out of Bryan Station (High School) in Lexington was a pro. Nobody thought Gordon Hayward was a pro.”
The Butler teams had players “totally under the radar and late bloomers,” he said. “Young guys with late birthdays who ended up pretty good.”
Safety first
The preference to play basketball while trying to safeguard against COVID-19 infection was repeated.
“They all want to play,” Stevens said of NBA players. “I’ve heard nobody say they didn’t want to play. But safety is a priority.”
A moment later, Stevens acknowledged the risk in playing.
“I think safety has been the priority and will continue to be the priority,” he said. “But that doesn’t make anybody less antsy to play.”
Calipari sounded antsy to have a 2020-21 college season.
“The team I have coming back I’m feeling really good about,” he said. “So I want the season to happen.”
Later, Calipari noted how college basketball shut down a day after the NBA did likewise in March.
“We’re going to follow the NBA’s lead . . . ,” he said. “I want you to play in the worst way. But I want everything to be safe, too.”
Desired traits
Calipari asked Stevens to name three or four traits that can translate into a long NBA career.
The Celtics’ coach said ultra commitments to winning and improving. He also repeated something he said he learned from San Antonio Spurs Coach Gregg Popovich.
“You have to realize you’re not perfect and you have to be able to laugh at yourself,” Stevens said. “You have to move on to what’s next and stay in that frame of mind. Whatever happened today, I’m going to get better tomorrow.”
This story was originally published May 18, 2020 at 3:57 PM.
