Report: Calipari undecided about future with Dominican Republic team

University of Kentucky men's basketball coach John Calipari, who brought the Dominican Republic National Team to the brink of its first Olympics berth last week, says he has not yet decided whether to continue coaching the team when it tries again next summer to qualify.

Calipari led the Dominicans to a third-place finish in the FIBA Americas tournament in Argentina, but only the top two teams earned spots in the 2012 Olympics in London.

"The goal was to get them to the Olympics,'' Calipari told ESPN.com college basketball writer Andy Katz on Tuesday.

The Dominican team, led by NBA All-Star Al Horford, will have one more chance to qualify in a tournament next July that will determine three entrants.

According to the ESPN report, Calipari said he recently spoke with the Dominican Republic delegation about whether he would continue coaching the team, but no decision was reached.

"I don't know," Calipari told Katz. "At this point, I just got through this. This was challenging."

Calipari said he would try to help the team any way he can, even if he is no longer coaching them.

"The dates may not work out," he said. "It may not be something I choose to do. But the appeal is to get them to the Olympics.''

Calipari also told Katz that he picked up a few ideas while coaching against foreign competition that he might be able to use this season at Kentucky.

"The dribble-drive is more European than anything else and the way they use their (power forwards) is something we can do,'' he said. "We've got Kyle Wiltjer and Anthony Davis, who might be two of our best shooters. Now we can do some pick-and-rolls like these Europeans do. It was good watching and learning and I've got some great ideas to come back with.''

This story was originally published September 13, 2011 at 6:09 PM with the headline "Report: Calipari undecided about future with Dominican Republic team."