Brad Calipari is Kentucky's new "sprint coordinator"

The 2021-22 Kentucky Wildcats have been built to run, run, run. Head coach John Calipari has harped on that idea since the preseason and it’s translated onto the hardwood. UK has one of the lowest average lengths of possession numbers in the country, as every offensive set places a major emphasis on beating the opponent down the floor.

It’s no coincidence that Kentucky’s best players have been the ones always ready to run the court, either. Sprinting is actually something that the staff studies after games, to the point where someone’s job is to figure out who was sprinting and who was not.

That person is none other than Brad Calipari, the son of John and a former Wildcat from 2017-19. The younger Cal, who is now a graduate assistant on staff under his father, has been taking over responsibilities as the team’s “sprint coordinator”.

“I think one of the best things we’ve done is we have a sprint coordinator,” John Calipari said on Tuesday. “And you say ‘well what is a sprint coordinator?’ Well, at the end of every game, he evaluates every sprint. An opportunity from defense to offense or even offense to defense. How many times did he sprint when he had an opportunity as an A, a B, or a C, or a d? It’s graded.

“And the guys–it’s crazy–with the best numbers in the sprints per game are the best players on our team right now. So I would tell you, if you’re not playing to the level you want to play, SPRINT! Just sprint! Because the guys that are sprinting are playing the best.”

While we don’t have access to these secret sprinting grades, we can at least say from the outside looking in that Calipari is telling the truth. The team’s best “sprinters” are the likes of Oscar Tshiebwe, Sahvir Wheeler, and Jacob Toppin. Even the guys not known for superior speed/athleticism such as TyTy Washington, Davion Mintz, and Kellan Grady have shown a willingness to sprint every possession.

Holding players accountable for that sprinting mentality will be critical in maintaining it throughout a grueling stretch of Southeastern Conference play.

So how did Brad get this new side gig? Ironically, by being the slowest member of the coaching staff.

“I could outrun Brad,’ Calipari jokingly said. “Now if there were a bear chasing us, I’d just look at Brad and say all I got to do is outrun you because I’m not outrunning anybody else. So what I did was, whoever the worst sprinter was became the sprint coordinator, so yes it is Brad.”