Orwell had 1984; Cal has 1985

New UK Coach John Calipari has come a long way since his first visit to Rupp Arena. That came in 1985 when he attended the Final Four.

His seat location befitted a novice coach beginning his career at Kansas.

“I was nothing,” he said on Saturday after an appearance at UK’s Student Center. He sat two rows from the top of the upper arena.

When led to his seat, the young Calipari had a question for the usher.

“I was, like, these are bleacher seats. How do you know which is yours.”

To which the usher told those already seated to pull in their knees as Calipari moved down the row.

The memory made Calipari recall that his grandfather immigrated from Italy and worked in the coal mines of West Virginia. His parents’ education ended with high school diplomas.

“And I’m coaching at Kentucky,” Calipari told the crowd. “Are you crazy? That would never happen.”

But it did.

At another juncture of his talk, Calipari tried to dampen the expectation of him as a savior. This fit the theme of his new book, Bounce Back, which advises readers on how to deal with adversity.

“Your coach makes mistakes, too,” he said. “Your coach sins, too. I’m a normal human being. Don’t think I’m going to walk on water.”