John Calipari sends message to Keldon Jonson after huge contract extension

Kentucky Wildcats head coach John Calipari is a fan of all of his players, both past and current. And recently, the Wildcats head man sent a message of high praise and congratulations to his former player, San Antonio Spurs forward Keldon Johnson. Johnson recently agreed to a contract extension with the Spurs for $80 million over four years. Calipari couldn’t be happier for him.

“Congrats to Keldon Johnson on his new 4yr/$80 million contract with the Spurs,” exclaimed Calipari via Twitter. “Draft night was tough to sit through, but I told him that night that it was a blessing that he went to the Spurs…and it has been! Just talked to his dad Chris today and couldn’t be happier for them!”

For Johnson, the wait on draft night was longer than anticipated. Although many viewed him as a lottery pick, he found himself waiting until the end of the first round to be drafted. That wait included watching teammates P.J Washington and Tyler Herro go in the lottery portion of the draft going 12th and 13th overall. But that wait appears to be well worth it as he landed in the hands of one of the NBA’s best developmental franchises who also have a rich winning tradition.

Since joining the Spurs, Johnson has seen an increase in productivity each year. Last season the former Kentucky star averaged 17.0 points, 6.1 rebounds, and 2.1 assists per game. His scoring efficiency took a dive, but he’s still shot better than 46% from the field and nearly 40% from beyond the arc.

This season, he’s likely to assume the role of a star player on the Spurs after they traded away All-Star point guard Dejounte Murray. And with his increased responsibilities came a nice increase in pay, and Calipari is all for it.

Calipari reveals his thoughts on Big Blue Nation engagement, occasional vitriol

As part of his campaign to give back to fans, Calipari and members of the Kentucky team, including Player of the Year Oscar Tshiebwe, are touring Krogers across the state to meet fans and help raise money for the commonwealth.

During one of the stops, media members caught up with Coach Cal to ask him about his experience with the fans, who came from far and wide to meet the coach and some of the players throughout their little tour.

“Everybody said…you’ll be amazed at how engaged the fans are. And [Coach Joe B. Hall] said that there’s always that one percent, and don’t let them faze you. There’s gonna be that. But this is my 14th year and that hasn’t hit us much. So I guess people waiting in the wings to do it. So I wanted to know: who’s this one percent they’ll talk about? I haven’t seen them. We’ve been here.”