John Calipari sends strong message to Aaron Bradshaw ahead of NCAA Tournament

Ahead of the NCAA Tournament, Kentucky Wildcats head coach John Calipari sent a strong message to forward Aaron Bradshaw.

Calipari made a point to show his Kentucky players a video of highlights from the season. In it, he highlighted players like Reed Sheppard and Aaron Bradshaw, with Bradshaw’s potential being one of the most impressive things he noticed.

“What they saw today, after bowling, they had a tape of themselves on their iPad and us being unbelievable defensively,” John Calipari said. “Because, you have to admit, there have been games where we’ve been unbelievable defensively. So, what’s happening here when we’re not? Then, they saw themselves in that video. Today, I wanted to have them see us, and how we played, how we passed, and the plays we made and the hard plays we made.”

Late in the season, there were several moments that stuck out in particular to John Calipari.

“Reed’s shot against Mississippi State. I mean, there were other plays. Arkansas, I didn’t realize they had us down at home late. I’m watching, thinking, ‘Yeah we blew out Arkansas, what?’ They were up eight late and we came back and made play after play.”

At that point, Calipari moved onto praising Bradshaw, in particular as it relates to his ability to take Kentucky to the next level.

“The other guy that I saw that looked really good on there was Aaron, and I told Aaron, ‘You do exactly what I told Reed to do. If I take you out because you’re not getting rebounds, you just say, Coach, stick with me and I’m gonna put you right back in the game. You tell me that.’ Because he looked good on the tape. Like, we’re that guy from being, woo.”

John Calipari snaps back when asked about pressure facing Kentucky in the NCAA Tournament

Kentucky hasn’t made it past the Round of 32 since 2019. The Wildcats are hoping to change that this season, but when John Calipari was asked about the pressure facing the team this NCAA Tournament, he snapped back.

“I don’t feel that. C’mon now. C’mon – I’ve done this how long? And what’s the worst that could happen? It’s already happened to me. What’s the worst? [Getting fired] is the worst? I’ve already been through that. I mean this ain’t about me. This is about these kids,” Calipari said.

“So, that’s the reason I try to take all the pressure off them… Now, there are people that can do that – ‘If they don’t do this and they don’t do that!’. They’re not fans of this program or these kids. What they’re trying to do is put more pressure on them so they don’t play well so they can double down on what they’ve said. I don’t buy into it. My job is to get them fresh, loose and then be focused and locked down when we practice. Then let’s see where it goes. Let us just play this tournament and let us all have fun. If anybody has those things – ‘What if?’, ‘What if?’? They’re not a fan and they’re trying to get this off point.”