John Calipari and Kentucky MBB leading the way in NIL era

John Calipari is always trying to find new ways to stay ahead of the competition. The once ridiculed (and still to this day) one-and-done tactic, popularized by Calipari during his time at Kentucky, is now commonplace in college basketball. And for the most part, it’s been successful.

Heading into a new era, where the NCAA holds less power than it ever had before, the one-time transfer rule and name, image, and likeness (NIL) laws are going to shape the landscape of what’s to come. Calipari wasted no time taking advantage of the overflooding transfer portal, adding Oscar Tshiebwe (West Virginia), Kellan Grady (Davidson), Sahvir Wheeler (Georgia), and C.J. Fredrick (Iowa) to his 2021-22 roster.

He’s doing the exact same thing with name, image, and likeness, too. From the time an executive order allowed NIL deals in the state of Kentucky, Calipari told UK fans that “no one” should be able to benefit more from the rule changes than the ‘Cats.

So far, he’s been right on track.

“Kids come here because of the culture, because of the basketball,” Calipari said during Kentucky’s Media Day on Wednesday. “They want to be coached up. They want to compete. They’re not promised the world. They don’t come here because of name image and likeness, but let me say this: To this point, our players have the most transactions on our campus, and there’s only really 10 of them taking advantage, and they have the most transactions on this campus. 

“They are benefiting by this.”

Making NIL moves

TyTy Washington, Kentucky’s freshman point guard who has made quite the offseason impression on the coaches, fans, and media, is already cashing in on NIL deals with a statement. He was gifted a brand new Porsche earlier this week.

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But it’s not just Washington. Dontaie Allen signed a deal with Bojangles. Davion Mintz is making a killing on Cameo. Most notably, though: The entire team has signed individual deals with ProCamps so every eligible player on the roster can take advantage of the spotlight that comes with playing basketball in Lexington.

(Remember the Fans First Fan Fest? We do.)

The program is constantly teaching all of the university’s student-athletes about the complexity behind signing deals; things such as reading over contracts and paying taxes. Aspects of playing basketball in 2021 that college athletes hadn’t had to consider in the past.

“And the other thing is financial literacy,” John Calipari added. “They’re coming across money for the first time. I ask some of you, how many of you knew anything about taxes when you graduated from college? How many of you knew anything about looking at a contract? How many of you even had a credit card? How many of you had a credit card? Did you know anything about stocks and bonds, mutual funds? 

“Well, this is life skills through this. But I say it again, they don’t come here because of that, but ours would be the best, based on what this program is about in men’s basketball and the culture we’ve built in men’s basketball, the aura of men’s basketball.”

Team chemistry a non-issue

Egos are nearly unavoidable in competitive sports, especially at a Power 5 level. Throwing money into the equation could reasonably disrupt team chemistry if not monitored diligently. A few players could get paid while the rest don’t. Jealousy might seep into a locker room.

However, so far, that has not been the case at Kentucky. The energy and excitement around the players have proven that.

“Our kids, no effect on the locker room,” Calipari said. “As a matter of fact, I asked them one time, went through and individually, not as a group, and they all were like, ‘Is this having any effect on (you)?’ They went, ‘What? No, we’re all happy. We know some are going to do better than others, but Coach, we’re all involved in this.’ Our walk-ons are involved in it. That’s how you get to the number of transactions that we have, and still, three or four companies have already called about doing more.”

John Calipari has added another recruiting weapon to his deep arsenal of tactics through NIL. New competition in professional routes such as the G League, Overtime Elite, and NBL (Australia), made the challenge of recruiting elite prospects more difficult than it was a decade ago.

NIL has leveled the playing field, and Kentucky is already out in front.