Heading into the Georgia Tech game on Dec. 6, Kentucky Wildcats coach John Calipari met the media, via Zoom as we always do in 2020, and he provided a very spirited question and answer session. During several stretches of the press conference, he sounded similar to the professional football coach character portrayed by Al Pacino in the 1999 film “Any Given Sunday.”

“If you’re LAST in the gym, NO ONE follow you,” Calipari said quite loudly. “If you’re FIRST to practice, EVERYONE will follow you.” The literal statement also served on a metaphorical level, but apparently, his team still didn’t get fired up enough.

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Ten is the most relevant number to Kentucky Wildcats basketball right now as it’s both their ranking in the AP preseason poll, and the number of new players coming into the squad this season. The John Calipari era at Kentucky has been all about annual roster turnover, and churning is standard here, but this is next level.

How will it all play out in Lexington? What does the sports betting community think of their chances and their odds this upcoming season? Well, it’s the bluest of the blue blood programs, but they’re not the favorites in 2020-21.

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John Calipari has instilled a sense of “La Familia” in his Kentucky Wildcats program, and all the former UK players that strive and thrive in the NBA. Yes, Calipari’s La Familia may just be the most Italian sounding sentence we’ve ever published here on The Sports Bank.

Writing this article puts me in the mood to pour chianti and consume caprese, with Pavarotti playing in the background of course. Because after all this is a major La Familia, The Family in Italian (ditto en Espanol) evening on the calendar- NBA Draft night.

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When DeWayne Peevy introduced himself to the DePaul community yesterday, as the new Athletic Director, he threw down the gauntlet to his longtime colleague and friend, University of Kentucky basketball coach John Calipari.

“That’s going to be the first thing I’m going after,” Peevy responded when asked on a media Zoom call about trying to schedule UK. “Cal, if you’re listening, get the phone ready.” Peevy then made it clear he doesn’t want a home and home series; they have to come to Chicago.

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The University of Kentucky is the most successful NCAA Division I basketball program in history in terms of both all-time wins (2,320) and all-time winning percentage (.765). DePaul University men’s basketball has finished last or tied for last in the Big East in nine of the last 11 seasons.

However, there was a time, and it wasn’t all that long ago, when DePaul was THE winter sports team in Chicago. Four decades ago, they were ranked the the #1 team in the nation. In 1979, they went to the Final Four. In those days, the Blackhawks weren’t televising their home games, so they were still somewhat obscure.

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University of Kentucky Coach John Calipari met the media, virtually, via Zoom this morning for a session that focused primarily on his recently having partnered with the McClendon Foundation.

Calipari will work with other college basketball coaches to help launch the McLendon Minority Leadership Initiative (follow this link for more), but one of the main takeaways from the session was Cal’s thoughts on whether or not we’ll have a college basketball season in 2020, due to the coronavirus pandemic.

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There is always a ton of turnover, every offseason, in Lexington. The Kentucky Wildcats college basketball program, the bluest of the blue bloods, sees its fair share of one-and-done and two-and-toodle loo every year. This year, you have a three-and-flee in there as well.

Factor in the transfer market, which seems to be getting busier by the season, and there’s a record (tied) amount of departures from UKMBB this spring. This past season, shortened by the covid-19 pandemic, saw eight players out the door, tying the 2011-12 and 2016-17 for the most all-time. You also have some incomings to discuss and analyze. Let’s take a look at who is gone and who is coming in to replace them.

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