Speaking on a SEC teleconference Monday, Kentucky Coach John Calipari stuck with his contention last week’s NBA Draft marked the greatest day in UK basketball history. UK had an unprecedented five players taken in the first round.
Some people, including former UK players, argued that winning a national championship would surpass any NBA Draft day. Of course, Kentucky has won seven national championships.
“It was the biggest day in Kentucky basketball history,” Calipari said in comments he made before taking questions from reporters. “I wasn’t talking about the past. I was talking of the future.”
Calipari said the NBA Draft represented “a two-hour infomercial for our league and the University of Kentucky and will speak volumes for five years.”
Calipari again said that UK was a “players-first program.” He suggested that the publicity of having players drafted can attract future players to the program. “Players will win us national championships,” he said.
Jerry Tipton of the Lexington Herald- Leader has covered Kentucky basketball since the 1981-82 season. That time includes five coaches, five Final Fours, four athletic directors, two interim athletic directors and many memories. Before coming to Lexington, Tipton worked eight years for the Huntington (W.Va.) Herald-Dispatch. He covered Marshall’s basketball team for two seasons before coming to the Herald-Leader.
