John Calipari pitches summer basketball, discusses timeline at Kentucky

College basketball talking season is about to ramp up and John Calipari has his stump speech. In a conversation with Kyle Tucker, Calipari made the case for summer college basketball, specifically two to three exhibition games against Division I opponents in July and August. Think of it like the NBA Summer League, but for college hoops.

Calipari has already pitched the idea to the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) and has the support of Dan Gavitt, who oversees college basketball for the NCAA. The games could be televised, which means more revenue for conferences, and the added exposure could create more NIL opportunities for players. Calipari even hinted that it could be a good chance for Kentucky to play in-state foes that otherwise wouldn’t be on the schedule (cough, Murray State, cough). There’s a ways to go before the idea becomes a reality, but get ready to hear more about it in the coming months.

What does Cal want to accomplish before he leaves UK? Mainly, "future-proofing" the program.

But also: "I’d love to (win another title) for the state, the university, all our fans. Hell yeah, I’d love to do it. I’d love to win three more, four more."

✍️https://t.co/T6Im697QaX pic.twitter.com/xwrHuTAlaC

— Kyle Tucker (@KyleTucker_ATH) October 12, 2022

Calipari not ready to talk retirement

Calipari’s lifetime contract at Kentucky allows him to step down as coach and become an ambassador to the university after the 2023-24 season, a position that will pay him almost $1 million each year. With a preseason top-five team this year and a monster recruiting class coming in next year, the growing thought in the BBN is that Cal will hang it up in 2024 with hopefully another title under his belt. He scoffed at that today.

“Now I want to know any normal human being that would give up a $9 million job for a $1 million job? Who would do that? I’m not doing it, OK?” Calipari said, laughing. “If something happens with my health or I don’t feel like I’m up to it, that is like an insurance thing for me. That’s all it was. Now, if they want me to stop and pay me $9 million for the next five years, I’d probably consider it. But I would say, ‘What am I gonna do? I gotta do something.’ ”

John Calipari to The Athletic

More from a reenergized Calipari over at The Athletic if you have a subscription.