Thinking John Calipari publicly dismissing his interest in the New Orleans Pelicans job would be the biggest Kentucky headline this week?
Maybe.
But try this one: Calipari performed a speech and Q-and-A session on Wednesday at Rupp Arena for the Kentucky-based animal crop/livestock/farming/agricultural company Alltech. It held its leadership convention of sorts at Rupp. Calipari spoke, and near the beginning of his speech (audio below), he claimed that getting as many players into the NBA Draft was Kentucky's primary goal this season. It wasn't winning a national title -- it was putting guys into the draft. That was the objective.
"How do we do this? It all starts with players first," Calipari said. "Their dreams become our dreams. Last year we started the season with a goal. You may think that goal was to win the national title! Win all the games! It was to get eight players drafted. 'Well, how can you be about your team if you're worried about players getting drafted?' Well, we kind of work it the other way. What are you dreams? What are you looking for? What are you trying to get out of life? How can we help you with that?"
He also cited getting 26 Kentucky players into the NBA in the past six years, a rate that far outpaces any other college team.
"The winning, the losing, is not personal to me," Calipari added.
This mantra is not new. Calipari famously said the biggest day in the history of Kentucky wasn't winning any national title -- it was when UK put five players into the first round of the NBA Draft back in 2010.
Cal's remarks quoted above begin around the four-minute mark below.
Calipari on not winning the title.
(H/T, Drew Franklin of KSR)
