Calipari moves up, Kentucky Basketball Notebook

By: LARRY VAUGHT




Moving up: John Calipari is now 171-37 in six seasons at Kentucky and after Saturday’s win over South Carolina has a slightly better winning percentage (82.2) than Adolph Rupp, who won 876 games and four national titles in 41 years at UK.

“He lasted 40 years in this seat. How he did that, I have no idea,” Calipari said Saturday. “And you’re saying that to me that I didn’t know, but I’ll say this: I gotta go back, we’ve had 19 draft picks in five years. This year’s team, who knows, depending on how we do.

“When you have that many good players — you won’t believe this – you’re going to win a lot of games. And so, how about this? I’m proud that 20 percent of the NBA’s starting lineup in the All-Star Game played for us (John Wall and Anthony Davis). May have two or three more guys in the game. May have five out of the 12 may have played for us. Maybe six. I’m really hoping (Rajon) Rondo gets his opportunity because he deserves it. But, when you have good players — craziness— but you win a lot of games.”

Kentucy’s 19-0 start now also equals the way Calipari’s first team at UK opened the season. That run ended with a 68-62 loss at South Carolina in 2010. That team featured Wall along with current NBA stars Demarcus Cousins, Eric Bledsoe and Patrick Patterson but was knocked out of NCAA Tournament play by West Virginia in the Elite Eight.