Mitch Barnhart on the state of Kentucky basketball

By LARRY VAUGHT

INDIANAPOLIS — During Kentucky’s time at the Final Four in Indianapolis, Kentucky athletics director Mitch Barnhart took time to talk about the basketball program and coach John Calipari.

Calipari was selected for induction into the Naismith College Basketball Hall of Fame Monday, about 36 hours after Wisconsin ended UK’s unbeaten season. The Cats were still the first college team to start a season 38-0 and one of only three teams in college basketball history to finish with 38 wins in a season.

Barnhart, who is one of four nominees for Athletics Director of the Year presented by the Sports Business Awards, offered his insights Saturday before the Wildcats had their national championship hopes ended.

Question: Do you feel that John Calipari belongs in the Naismith College Basketball Hall of Fame?
Barnhart: “I think absolutely. I think all the things he has contributed to the game and all the things he has contributed to young people ... I think he has proven himself to be a dynamic leader and outstanding basketball coach. And he has proven his love for the game with the way he has contributed in so many different ways. Part of being a Hall of Famer if you are trying to find criteria is how you move the needle for other people and John has done that in a variety of ways whether it is in the communities or universities he has worked or young people he has been with.
“I think the greatest testament is the young people and the young people that continue to come back to be around him who are appreciative of all the contributions he has helped them achieve. I think that is the greatest mark of Hall of Famers. I don’t care whether it is basketball, football or whatever. It is how you move the needle to help people and John does that as well as anybody.”

Question: Why did so many people have a perception of him as a good coach when you hired him, but did not understand all the things he brought to a total program?
Barnhart: “I think the platform is bigger. When you are some places that are smaller in terms of stature in the national spotlight, sometimes you don’t get credit for the things you do well. John does so many things well. When we hired him from Memphis, there were some people in Memphis that told us you are going to get a guy who will pour into the community. I didn’t know what that would mean in terms of John but he has come in and done that. They said he would be a university team player and would really help other areas of the university. I had heard that before. But he does that.
“When he says that he does care about other programs and he will work really diligentally as part of the deal, I have heard that before. But he does it. He does not lack for energy. He does not lack for ideas. He does not lack for passion. You put all those things together and it is a very unique package. I always tell people there is book smarts and street smarts. In his world there is basketball smarts. John is blessed to be highly gifted in all three of those areas. He is extremely intelligent in all facets of his job. He is one of the most well read people I have ever been around. Highly intelligent. From a basketball perspective he has very few people that would exceed his intelligence in that area. And with street smarts, he understands people. You put those things together and you have a guy that is going to be very, very successful in whatever walk of life he is going to be in.”

Question: How special is Calipari having four Final Four teams in five years, something only Adolph Rupp of Kentucky and Mike Krzyzewski have done before?
Barnhart: “It’s an amzing run. I told our staff the other day that there are many people I know who have been in this business a long time who have never been to one Final Four. I don’t want anybody to have this lost on them how fortunate we are to have been to four in five years. What Cal has done is remarkable. I don’t even know how to get your arms around it to be honest. It’s very special.”

Question: How much have you enjoyed this team?
Barnhart: “It is an incredibly easy, no that’s probably not the right word, group. Probably a comfortable group to be around. They have been terrific. They check their egos at the door. They don’t care who gets the credit. They just want to play. You can joke around with them. You can challenge them intellectually and they have been good friends to other programs. I will look up and see them at softball games. I will look up and see them at soccer or football games just standing there watching. They won’t be college kids forever but I think there is a piece of them that enjoys being college kids, and that has been fun.
“The bulleye that they have had on them all year, I can’t fathom that when I was 20. It’s really hard. To say that they have done well would be the undestatement of the year.I don’t know if someone will get to 38-0 again. They may. Maybe not in my lifetime. I think it will be really hard. It takes an incredible blend of talent and maturity, and these guys found that blend. They are a very talented group, but they are mature. Even for young guys, they grew maturity wise and I think it will take a lot of both of those to get to a spot like we are in.
“You can’t just walk into the arenas we have walked into and the environments these kids have walked into and have to be on your A game every night is hard. Even when they weren’t on their A game, they found a way to sort of get through it and that’s where maturity comes through. Sometimes you can win it on talent. Sometimes you have to have maturity and experience. They have been remarkable and handled it with composure. I think there have been times people have tried to bait them into being outside their game if you will, but they have just handled it well.
“I think that they have been classy. They have cared about others. I look at what Willie and Karl and some of these other guys have done away from the game with young people. I have seen a bunch of our guys go out and do things in the community and it’s really cool. I know everybody has kids that do that and they have their projects, but these kids have been exceptional. They have been good in the classroom. One of the best players went down with a season-ending knee injury and they rallied around him and didn’t really seem to miss a beat. It has been a remarkable run. If you step back and look at it, it has been very special.”

Question: Do you just take the NBA talk and rumors about Calipari as compliment to the program and him?
Barnhart: “It has become an annual deal. There have been conversations like this going every year. Everybody talks about it. We have a very, very special place and what he is doing is putting us in a spot where this program, which has been incredible, can be sustaining because of the way he has done it. I think everybody always wants to be challenged and Cal is no different, but I think he sees his challenge is to continue to provide opportunities for young people to get to that next spot. He talked about how once he got this thing rolling, it would be really hard to stop it. I really agree with him. He has it to a spot now where it is rolling pretty good in terms of process of how you do it and what it takes to be successful and he think he understands how special he is to us and how special it is at Kentucky. This thing can only get better in terms of momentum.”