UK coach John Calipari has repeatedlystated he runs a “Player’s First Program.” His goal as a collegecoach is to put players in the best situation possible to set them upfor success in life. He doesn’t throw players under a bus, and whenplayers like Darnell Dodson get into trouble and dismissed from theteam, Cal tries as hard as possible to make sure that player leaveswith no bad labels on him. No one still really knows why Dodson waskicked off the team, because Cal would never say. Now Dodson has achance to play at another college that he may have not gotten had Calrevealed what led to his dismissal.
Cal also looks to get his playersdrafted and make millions of dollars. He allows players to play theirgame and doesn’t conform them to a system or hide them on the benchso they don’t get good draft grades, and are thus forced to return toschool. He wants every player he coaches to have a successful life,and is the true definition of a player’s coach. The same cannot besaid for many coaches around the nation, who only care about how manywins and championships they have. Take Kansas coach Bill Self forexample. Former Jayhawk play J.R. Giddens had some revealing remarksabout his former coach when Giddens was injured by a stabbing to thepoint he may not make a full recovery, and thus became expendable toSelf:
I thinkthat’s why they made me leave Kansas. The doctor said I would walkwith a limp for the rest of my life. He said I was going to come back50% and I wasn’t going to be able to play basketball anymore.
I’mnot saying Kansas threw me out like a battery. But they getMcDonald’s All-Americans every day. They weren’t going to let mestay around campus and be Moulaye Niang.
Micah Downs was comingin. Bill Self used to always tell me, “Micah is coming in and he’sbetter than you.” He would just say little stuff like that and Iwas like, “Dang, man, you’re not even for me, are you?” Iwanted to stay at Kansas but I felt like they just pushed me out thedoor, especially after getting stabbed. I was like, “I’m sittinghere worrying if I’m ever play basketball again and you guys areover here talking to me in an inappropriate manner? I’m 19 yearsold. You guys are supposed to my college coaches. Instead, at thefirst sign of trouble, you guys are turning your back on me?” Ifelt like it was everyone from the coaching staff to the people upthere in the offices. As a 19-year-old who was immature and didn’tunderstand life, I took that really hard. I left the office in tearswhen I knew I was leaving.
I remember that day really well. Iwalked out of there on crutches, crying. I’d been interrogated forabout seven hours for three days straight. Then those guys did thatto me? A few weeks before that, I had to move out of my dorm at theTowers. I and was staying with Josi Lima, my girlfriend at the timewho played volleyball. Bill Self was telling my teammates not to haveany contact with me. Darnell Jackson and Jeremy Case were two of mybest friends, and they weren’t even allowed to talk to me. AaronMiles was done playing so he came over. He was the only person whocame and saw me. I was like, “Dang, I’m 30 feet from where I usedto stay and you guys can’t even come over here and see me?” I’mstabbed and laid up and don’t even know if I’m going to playbasketball again. That was very kind of Kansas basketball and BillSelf, to tell people to stay away from me like I was a team cancer.”
Idon’t care how much of a trouble Giddens may have been to the Kansasprogram. That’s simply no way to treat any human being. Imagine ifCoach Cal told Jon Hood to hit the road since he tore his ACL andwill probably never be a big contributor at UK. How easy would it have been to get rid of DeAndre Liggins, who know one in the program wanted. He doesn’t do what’s popular. He does what’s best for his players. Of course with theway Cal coaches, we see a lot of turnover from year to year and not alot of upperclassman-heavy teams, but his players are getting thebest opportunity to live good, prosperous lives. He treats hisplayers like his own children, and not like expendable bodies. That’sthe definition of a players first program, and I’m proud to say UK isjust that.
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