John Calipari reveals message he reads to himself every night to instill confidence at Arkansas

John Calipari won his first NCAA Tournament game as Arkansas‘ head coach in the Round of 64 over Kansas. He’s finding motivation from unexpected sources, and trying to lead the Razorbacks on an unexpected run as a No. 10 seed.

They’ll need all the help they can get in the Round of 32, with Rick Pitino’s St. John’s Red Storm on the docket. Speaking with the media ahead of the game, Calipari revealed the message he reads to himself every night that instills him with confidence, and could lead to Arkansas upsetting the No. 2 seed in the West Region.

“Every one of us, including me, had doubts. We all had to convince ourselves, ‘We’re going to do this.’ I had a card I read every morning and every night before I went to bed, and it was — I’ve been blessed throughout my life. Forget basketball. I have been blessed,” Calipari told the media. “I have a great attitude. I’m going to enjoy this journey and grow as a coach from it. I am going to make sure I keep an eye on my players. Let’s write our own story. In the end, it says, ‘Have faith.’ I read it in the morning, and I read it when I walked my dog, which I do twice a day. I think he walks me. I think I walk him, but I think it’s the other way. Before I go to bed. I have it with me here. To keep me in that frame of mind. If I want them in that frame of mind, I have to be in that frame of mind.

“How do you hold them accountable? How do you channel them, yet still keep building them up and keep hugging them and loving them? A lot of individual meetings. A lot of that, when they’re throwing balls away and missing shots. ‘Keep playing, you’re fine.’ But for all of us, the first battle you have, including us coaches, is with yourself. That’s the first battle you have. You can’t worry about anybody else. Battle yourself and get yourself in the right frame of mind. I didn’t want the albatross around my neck of my history of coaching. You’re supposed to win every game. No, you’re not. Your job is to be about those kids and wherever the program is at that time. Your job is to keep picking them up and make them better and make them feel good about themselves.

“So I did. There are times I’m like, on my office wall — ‘Be at peace. Wherever we are, be at peace. Don’t worry about where I am in the past.’ That doesn’t have any bearing on what I do right now. The NCAA tournament, talking about wins — it doesn’t matter. National titles, none of it matters. It’s this team trying to get us better, but it doesn’t work unless you have good guys. We have a bunch of good guys.”

As you can tell, Calipari has a healthy outlook on his position in the sport of college basketball. The move to Arkansas has rejuvenated his love for coaching, and it’s evident his confidence is rubbing off on his players.

Will that be enough for John Calipari and the Razorbacks to make a run throughout March? Time will tell, but they’ll have to get through St. John’s to have a chance. That game tips-off at 2:40 p.m. on CBS later on Saturday.