John Calipari Quotes & Sayings

If I walk in a home and a kid disrespects a woman, his mother or grandmother, then I am out ... I wont recruit them — John Calipari

The best teams I've had had a little bit of swagger. — John Calipari

A great defensive effort. The one thing we have to do is make it hard for people to beat us. We're not worried about winning and losing, we just have to make the game hard — John Calipari

You want perfection, go to a bowling alley! — John Calipari

The guys that make game winners are
the guys that are not afraid to miss them. — John Calipari

When you're trying to build or change a culture, what do you do? I always say to take players from state championship teams because they only know one thing
winning. — John Calipari

It's not just about working hard, it's about working together. You have to care more about the team than you do about yourself — John Calipari

You have to lose yourself in the team and you have to lose yourself in the game — John Calipari

What type of teammates do you want to play with? Be that teammate yourself — John Calipari

There's no other state, none, that's as connected to their basketball program as this one. Because those other states have other programs. Michigan has Michigan State, California has UCLA, North Carolina has Duke. It's Kentucky throughout this whole state, and that's what makes us unique. — John Calipari

You understand, you do not invent stuff on this team. Guys that invent stuff will not play for me. Make the easy play — John Calipari

I'm playing the guys who are going to fight. If you're not into this, I'm going to someone else — John Calipari

It's not about how far you fall, but how high you rebound. — John Calipari

Practice gotta be harder than the games and it never is unless you want it to be as a player. The coach can't drive that — John Calipari

What do you do to help us win when you're not scoring baskets? — John Calipari

A successful person never loses ... they either win or learn! — John Calipari

I know I'm not a saint, but I'm not the guy I'm made out to be by others. — John Calipari

You've gotta learn to love the grind. Because life IS the grind. — John Calipari

I need people who look at adversity as a challenge and failure as a learning opportunity. — John Calipari

The biggest day in the history of Kentucky's program. — John Calipari

The only thing I pay attention to with free throws is what a guy does in the final four minutes of a game. If you can improve players' self-esteem and confidence, get them to relax, teach visualization and routine, they will shoot as well, or better, with the pressure on. — John Calipari