Sports are not “pure competition,” where results are determined solely on merit. We’d like to think and feel that way, but it’s just not so. Nothing in life is actually a pure meritocracy. Athletics is a business, and it’s just like the rest of the business world (or just life in general) where it’s all about who you know. Connections always help.
Lots of coaches’ sons, across all sports, play for their fathers, and it’s a wonderful tradition. Brad Calipari will be the next when he suits up for his father’s team, the Kentucky Wildcats, this fall.
With that said, I’m looking forward to coaching my son.
— John Calipari (@UKCoachCalipari) June 6, 2016
A school press release made it official today, Brad Calipari, the offspring of UK Men’s Basketball Head Coach John Calipari, will be a freshman at Kentucky in 2016-17 after completing his final season at the MacDuffie School in Massachusetts. The 6-foot, 180-pound point guard played the last two seasons at MacDuffie after starting his high school career with Lexington Christian Academy.
He’ll compete for playing time in a reserve role at one of the three guard spots. Three McDonald’s All-Americans will start. Malik Monk steps in for Jamal Murray at shooting guard. Isaiah Briscoe will start on the wing.
De’Aaron Fox will run the point. Behind those three five-star recruits, two seniors, Mychal Mulder and Dominique Hawkins will see some minutes.
.@bradcalipari Welcome home, Brad! pic.twitter.com/3c1JDBLW57
— Kentucky Men’s Basketball (@KentuckyMBB) June 6, 2016
After those five is where Brad Calipari will likely find himself on the depth chart, whether he’s given scholarship or walk-on status. The school did not specify which it would be, and the Kentucky SID told an ESPN report that Calipari’s status will be determined when the season starts.
“I’m very excited to be a part of this special group of guys coming in,” Said Calipari the Younger via school official statement.
“It’s truly an honor to finally be with the Big Blue Nation. I’m very lucky to have this opportunity and won’t put it to waste.”
Calipari shot 47 percent from behind the 3-point line this past season. He averaged 15.3 points last season, 3.6 assists and 2.6 rebounds per game, his senior year.
“I’m excited for Brad to join the team,” Calipari the Elder said in the statement released by the school.
“I’m so proud of how hard he’s worked to get to this stage and prepare for this moment. Brad chose to go to prep school on his own and it ended up being a great decision. It was also his decision to be a part of this team.”
“He knows he’s walking into a program with really good players, that he’s going to have to earn everything he gets, and that he’s going to have to strive to be his best. I’m looking forward to coaching my son,” the Coach Cal statement concludes.
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank.net, partnered with FOX Sports Engage Network. and News Now. Banks, a former writer for the Washington Times, currently contributes regularly to the Chicago Tribune’s RedEye publication.
He also consistently appears on numerous talk shows all across the country. Follow him on Twitter and Instagram