Did John Calipari play college basketball? Taking a look at Kentucky HC's playing career

John Calipari is one of the most celebrated coaches in college basketball. Calipari has had quite an interesting coaching career, which has seen him coach both college and professional basketball teams. Since his first coaching role as an associate assistant at Kansas, he has risen to become one of the highest-paid coaches in college basketball. With much about his coaching career known, a lot of fans may be wondering what kind of playing career he had. Or if he had any at all.

Did John Calipari play college basketball?

John Calipari played college basketball. He suited up for the UNC Wilmington Seahawks during his first two years of college. Calipari was a letterman at UNC Wilmington. However, he transferred to Clarion University of Pennsylvania, where he completed his college basketball career as a point guard. He spent 1981 and 1982 at Clarion and led the Golden Eagles in assists and free throw percentage.

Calipari graduated from Clarion with a degree in marketing in 1982. Immediately after his college playing career, Calipari accepted a role on Ted Owen’s coaching staff at Kansas. He was an associate assistant coach and remained at Kansas to work under Larry Brown after Owen’s departure.

Calipari has reflected on his time at Kansas, and the importance of the lessons he learned on the job in his career:

“I was blessed to have the chance. Can you imagine being 22, 23 and your first opportunity to be around the game is at a program like Kansas?”

Calipari left his role at Kansas in 1985 to become an assistant coach for the Pittsburgh Panthers, first under Roy Chipman and later Paul Evans. These first two jobs served to prepare Calipari for his long career as head coach in top basketball programs and the NBA. His first head coaching job came in 1988.

He was hired to coach the UMass Minutemen, and he held the role over the next eight years. A period in the NBA followed, during which he coached the New York Nets from 1996 to 1999. The following season, he was an assistant coach for the Philadelphia 76ers.

Ahead of the 2000-01 season, he became the coach of the Memphis Tigers, and for the next nine seasons, he led the team to national prominence. Since 2009, he has been coaching the Kentucky Wildcats and is under one of the biggest coaching contracts in college basketball.