JOHN CALIPARI
Assistant Coach, 1984-85
Graduate Assistant, 1983
http://gotigersgo.cstv.com/sports/m-baskbl/mtt/calipari_john00.html
http://www.coachcalipari.com/calipari/
Prior to Memphis
Calipari returned to college basketball last year after working the previous
season as an assistant coach with the Philadelphia 76ers and two-plus seasons as
the head coach of the New Jersey Nets.
Prior to moving to the NBA, Calipari built a basketball program from the ground up at the University of Massachusetts (1988-96).
During an eight-year stint at UMass, he took the Minutemen from being a team which had struggled in the Atlantic 10 Conference to being a national powerhouse. UMass went to five straight NCAA Tournaments (1992-96), advancing to the Final Four in his last season. UMass advanced to the NCAA Sweet 16 on three occasions and two Elite Eights. The school became just the second NCAA Division I program to win five straight, regular-season and conference tournament championships.
Calipari compiled a 193-71 record (.731) during his career at Massachusetts, including a 108-44 mark (.684) in Atlantic 10 Conference play.
In addition to five straight NCAA Tournaments, UMass also made two appearances in the NIT during Calipari's eight-year tenure, advancing to the NIT Final Four in 1991. The 1990-91 season was the first of six straight seasons under Calipari in which the Minutemen won at least 20 games.
Calipari’s personal 20-win streak reached the seven-season mark as his first Memphis team won 21 games last year.
In his final season at UMass, Calipari was named the 1996 Naismith National Coach of the Year and The Sporting News Coach of the Year. He was also named the Atlantic 10 Coach of the Year for the third time in four years as well as Basketball Times East Region Coach of the Year.
During the Minutemen's 35-2, 1995-96 season, Massachusetts posted wins over Maryland, Wake Forest, Georgia Tech, Syracuse, Virginia Tech and Louisville. UMass ended the regular season ranked No. 1 in the nation in the final regular season poll after being the top-ranked team for nine weeks earlier in the year. The Minutemen also won their first 26 games of the season, setting a school record for most consecutive wins.
In addition to his national coach of the year honors in 1996, Calipari was a Naismith Coach of the Year Finalist in 1994 and 1995. He was the USBWA District I Coach of the Year in 1993.
Calipari's accomplishments are made even more impressive when you consider what he started with at UMass. Prior to his arrival, UMass had suffered through 10 straight losing seasons.
At 29, when he was named head coach, Calipari began to build a program from the ground up, going 10-18 his first season before posting a 17-14 record his second year and receiving a bid to the NIT. UMass made a late season run in 1991, advancing to the NIT's Final Four.
The Minutemen won their first A-10 championship in 1992, posting a 30-5 record, including a 13-3 mark in league play. With a 77-71 overtime win over Syracuse in an East Regional second-round game, UMass made its first Sweet 16 appearance.
Off the court, UMass’ graduation rate for its basketball players was close to 80 percent.
Calipari left UMass in June of 1996 to become Executive Vice President of Basketball Operations and Head Coach of the New Jersey Nets. He led the Nets to a second-place finish in the NBA’s Atlantic Division and the playoffs in 1998, ending a five-year postseason drought for the franchise with the club’s highest league finish. The Nets’ 17-game turnaround from the previous year was the best that season in the NBA.
He joined the Philadelphia 76ers coaching staff in 1999, rejoining Philadelphia coach Larry Brown, who Calipari was an assistant for at Kansas.
Calipari began his coaching career at Kansas as a volunteer assistant under Ted Owens. In 1983 he was hired as the recruiting coordinator at the University of Vermont but was swayed back to the nation’s heartland when Brown was hired as head coach at KU. He spent three seasons at Kansas (1982-85) before another three-year stint as an assistant coach to Paul Evans at Pittsburgh (1985-88).
The 42-year old native of Moon, Pa., lettered two years at North Carolina-Wilmington before transferring to Clarion State. He was the starting point guard at Clarion during the 1981 and 1982 seasons, leading the team in assists and free throw percentage while averaging 10 points per game. The Eagles were ranked in the Division II Top 20 both years and participated in the 1981 NCAA Division II Tournament.
Calipari and his wife Ellen have two daughters, Erin Sue and Megan Rae, and a son, Bradley Vincent.
Year-by-Year As A Collegiate Head Coach
Overall Conference Season Team W-L Pct. W-L Pct. Accomplishments 1988-89 UMass 10-18 .357 5-13 .278 1989-90 UMass 17-14 .548 10-8 .558 NIT 1990-91 UMass 20-13 .606 10-8 .558 NIT Final Four 1991-92 UMass 30-5 .857 13-3 .824 A-10 Champions; NCAA Sweet 16 1992-93 UMass 24-7 .774 11-3 .786 A-10 Champions; NCAA 1993-94 UMass 28-7 .800 14-2 .875 A-10 Champions; NCAA 1994-95 UMass 29-5 .853 13-3 .813 A-10 Champions; NCAA Elite Eight 1995-96 UMass 35-2 .46 15-1 .938 A-10 Champions; NCAA Final Four 1996-97 NJ Nets 26-56 .317 1997-98 NJ Nets 43-39 .524 NBA Playoffs 1998-99 NJ Nets 3-17 .150 2000-01 Memphis 21-15 .583 10-6 .625 NIT Final Four 2001-02 Memphis 27-9 .750 12-4 .750 C-USA Division Champions; NIT Title NCAA Totals 241-95 .717 113-51 .689 5 NCAAs, 4 NITs NBA Totals 72-112 .391
In six seasons as a collegiate assistant, teams in which Calipari was on the staff were a combined 125-63 (.665) and made four NCAA Tournament and one NIT appearances.
Source: gotigersgo.ocsn.com
Calipari's Roots at KU, Phog.net, 4/7/2008
Calipari Served Well in early years at KU, Tennessean News Services, 4/7/2008