John Calipari shares pride in son Brad coaching at Vanderbilt, jokes about added motivation

Head coach John Calipari and the Kentucky Wildcats ended their two-game losing streak with a win on the road against the Vanderbilt Commodores.

After the game, Calipari was asked if he was motivated by last year’s loss to Vanderbilt in this game. He wasn’t. Instead, he pointed out his son Brad Calipari coaching at Vanderbilt adding motivation as well as a sense of pride he has in his son.

“No, my son being on that staff was,” John Calipari said to laughter. “I’m just proud of him,” Calipari said. “He did it on his own. Jerry [Stackhouse] and I never talked about it.”

John Calipari gave Brad a smooch in the handshake line. 😘 pic.twitter.com/OEFt7mTk9O

— KSR (@KSRonX) February 7, 2024

“He, you know, I just said, I’ve got to stay clear. I wish he was on my staff and I told him all you’re doing is adding value, being positive, being there for those kids. That’s what you do in that position. And he’s done great.”

Brad Calipari is currently in his first season as the Director of On-Court Player Development. He previously worked in the same role at Long Island University in Brooklyn. There, he worked for Rod Strickland. Before that, he was at Kentucky as a graduate assistant. He played for the Wildcats and Detroit Mercy.

Even with his son on the other side, John Calipari didn’t take it easy on Vanderbilt, watching his Wildcats make 15 three-point shots and win 109-77.

“I told him, he came in, looked in [and said], ‘You all made 12 threes in a half.’ I said, ‘I know.’ I mean we played — but how many teams do this and play like this against us? Like play out of their minds? So, isn’t it nice that we play out of our minds one time?”

Kentucky will be back in action on Saturday with a non-conference game against Gonzaga.

Gary Parrish on John Calipari-Kentucky relationship

CBS Sports’ Gary Parrish shared his thoughts on where John Calipari and Kentucky currently stand in their relationship.

“And at Kentucky, when you watch the NBA All-Star rosters come out and there’s like seven Kentucky players who were NBA All-Stars this, and then you look at it and you go, ‘Why don’t we have more Final Fours and more national championships than we have?’” Parrish said.

“Now, UK fans are frustrated. And I think John is burned out a little bit and it’s just, it’s an awkward situation, now. I don’t think there will be an opening at Kentucky, regardless of how the season ends. But I also would not rule it out, because if they bomb out in the NCAA Tournament, it could just get so ugly where Kentucky says, ‘Even if this is going to cost tens of millions of dollars, we gotta do it.’ But it’s in an uncomfortable place right now, there’s no getting around it.”