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Kentucky’s Unprecedented NBA Draft Success With John Calipari

By Mark Vandeusen

Mar 28, 2015; Cleveland, OH, USA; Kentucky Wildcats head coach John Calipari speaks during the trophy presentation after the game against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish in the finals of the midwest regional of the 2015 NCAA Tournament at Quicken Loans Arena. Kentucky won 68-66. Mandatory Credit: Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 28, 2015; Cleveland, OH, USA; Kentucky Wildcats head coach John Calipari speaks during the trophy presentation after the game against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish in the finals of the midwest regional of the 2015 NCAA Tournament at Quicken Loans Arena. Kentucky won 68-66. Mandatory Credit: Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports /
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In May, University of Kentucky Wildcats head coach John Calipari famously made headlines for claiming that winning a national title was not his primary objective.  Via Jeff Eisenberg of Yahoo Sports, Calipari’s exact quotes were:

"“Last year we started the season with a goal. You may think it was to win a national title or win all the games, [but] it was to get eight players drafted. …For me, the mission for me is to be a vehicle to help others reach their dreams, to be the stone that creates the ripple in their lives that goes on and on and on. Now in our state, they want my mission to be, ‘win national titles, win national titles.’ My mission is bigger than that.”"

Based on the success Calipari’s Kentucky players have had in the draft, it’s hard to argue with his statement.

In the decade before Calipari arrived in Lexington, Kentucky had a total of six players drafted from 2000-2009.  This year, Kentucky tied a record by having six players taken in a single draft–Karl-Anthony Towns (No. 1), Willie Cauley-Stein (No. 6), Trey Lyles (No. 12), Devin Booker (No. 13), Andrew Harrison (No. 44) and Dakari Johnson (No. 48).

Amazingly, it was also the second time that’s happened in the coach’s six-year tenure with the Wildcats.

The school never had more than a single player chosen in any of the 10 years before Calipari’s arrival. In 2008, the Wildcats did not have a player selected. In 2009, their lone draftee was second-round pick Jodie Meeks, the 41st overall selection. Since taking the job at Kentucky, Calipari has never failed to get at least two of his players picked in each draft.

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After Calipari’s first season, five Wildcats were drafted in 2010, all of them in Round 1. In 2011, four more Kentucky players were chosen.

The four lottery picks for Kentucky this year ties the most for a single school in one season, set by North Carolina in 2005.  With Towns going first overall, he became the third Wildcat ever to be taken No. 1, tying the record held by Duke.  It should come as no surprise that all three of those Kentucky No. 1s came under Calipari’s watch (also Anthony Davis in 2012 and John Wall in 2010).

Overall, 25 Wildcats have been drafted into the NBA in Calipari’s six seasons, an average of just over four per year. Out of 360 total picks, the 25 represent an astounding seven percent of all players selected.

Next: Draft Lottery Success Doesn't Lead To Championships

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