John Calipari Basketball Quotations

This wasn't about money because if it was I wouldn't be standing here. You're sitting here and you have a staff and their families, and then you have your other family -- those 13 or 14 basketball players. And at the end of the day there are a lot of young people pinning their hopes on what we do. We have a good group of young people, and I'm ecstatic about coaching them.

My stars were stars. They are skilled basketball players, and there's a lot of them, which makes it kind of nice.

That was a high-level basketball game. My hat is off to Tennessee.

That was a high-level basketball game. My hat is off to Tennessee . They played exactly like they needed to play. They are executing how they want to play. They got it inside when they needed to get a couple of baskets.

The zone bothered us more than it should have. Our guard play was very tentative. I don't know why. ... We will have to go look at the tape and take a look at it. But, it was a heck of a basketball game.

This is what Conference USA should be in every game and every building. This is a basketball environment.

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

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

The hardest thing for a basketball player to do is dribble two really hard dribbles. You are flying, and then pull up and shoot a ball from 15, 17 feet. It's the hardest thing in the game.

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.

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

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

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

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.

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

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

You have to lose yourself in the team and you have to lose yourself in the game