Sports briefs
By NewsPress Now
John Calipari departs Kentucky after 15 years
LEXINGTON, Ky. | There were too many people for John Calipari to thank by name, and too many moments to single out from one of the most fulfilling chapters of his career.
He used this moment to say goodbye.
Calipari stepped down as Kentucky’s men’s basketball coach after 15 years on Tuesday, saying that the “program probably needs to hear another voice” amid reports that he’s closing in on a deal with Arkansas to take over that Southeastern Conference program.
Calipari posted a video on X, formerly known as Twitter, in which he said that after talking with his wife, Ellen, he decided a change was needed. He added, “We’ve loved it here, but we think it’s time for us to step away and step away completely from the program.”
Calipari leaves a Wildcats program he guided to the 2012 NCAA championship among four Final Four appearances. He went 410-123 in 15 seasons. The past few seasons have been disappointing by Kentucky standards, with a 1-3 mark in its last three NCAA Tournament trips, including first-round losses to No. 14 seed Oakland last month and No. 15 seed Saint Peter’s two years ago.
The Wildcats’ most recent loss set off immediate calls to fire Calipari before athletic director Mitch Barnhart said days later that Calipari would return next season. Firing Calipari would’ve triggered a buyout of more than $33 million under the terms of a 10-year, so-called lifetime contract signed in 2019.
Barnhart said in a statement that Kentucky would work diligently to hire “a proven, highly dedicated coach who embraces the importance of this program to our fans and the state of Kentucky.”
The AD added: “We’re appreciative of John Calipari leading our program for the last 15 years, adding to the legacy of championship success at Kentucky. We’re grateful to John for his many contributions to the university, and our state, both on and off the court.”
The list of possible candidates includes Baylor’s Scott Drew, who guided the Bears to a national title in the 2020-21 COVID-19 season. UConn’s Dan Hurley, who guided the Huskies to their second consecutive NCAA championship, also been mentioned along with Chicago Bulls coach Billy Donovan, whose Florida squads were the NCAA’s last back-to-back champs before UConn.
Calipari didn’t specifically mention the Arkansas opening he has been linked to since multiple reports surfaced Sunday night about negotiations with the school. The Hall of Famer simply said, “There have been opportunities that have been presented to us, so we’re discussing them as a family.”
However, Calipari’s announcement certainly clears the way for him to go to the SEC rival he got very familiar with while coaching the Wildcats. The 65-year-old would replace Eric Musselman, who left after four seasons to become the coach at Southern California.
The Board of Trustees of the University of Arkansas has scheduled a special meeting Wednesday morning to consider “a salary in excess of line item maximum” for its Fayetteville campus.
Calipari established a legacy in Lexington upon arriving in 2009 with an impressive annual influx of stellar freshmen who came to be known as “one-and-dones” for playing one season before entering the NBA draft.
One of his top scorers from this year’s 23-10 squad, dynamic guard Rob Dillingham, announced on ESPN Tuesday that he would enter the NBA draft and forgo his remaining college eligibility. He is projected as a top-five selection on several draft sites.
Kentucky thrived with Calipari’s approach in the first half of his tenure as the Wildcats regained their blueblood status and he developed the newcomers into draft picks. The first-round total is 35 alone among 47 overall selections, with No. 1 overall choices in John Wall (2010), Anthony Davis (2012) and Karl-Anthony Towns (2015). Opening-day NBA rosters featured 26 Kentucky players, including two-way and inactive.
Pro teams’ interest in Kentucky players spawned preseason combines — sometimes televised — featuring scouts from all 32 NBA clubs. While the youth movement helped Kentucky win games and fill 20,500-seat Rupp Arena, some fans and media argued that Calipari became too focused on sending players to the next level instead of winning championships.
Meanwhile, the youngsters’ inexperience began to show in losses to more seasoned opponents, some stocked with veterans through the transfer portal. Calipari himself used the portal to fill roster voids — including 2022 consensus national player of the year Oscar Tshiebwe — and continued winning. But not enough to please a demanding fan base that expects nothing less than a deep tournament run toward a ninth national championship.
The advent of name, image and likeness (NIL) endorsement opportunities for college athletes has added another challenge, which Calipari addressed with last month’s launch of the La Familia fundraising collective focused solely on basketball. It has raised just over $50,000 with a goal of $1 million.
Sitting on a couch in his Lexington home, Calipari thanked players and their families in his video for the privilege of coaching them. He also thanked staff, supporters and others for everything achieved and for “lifelong” friendships built during his tenure.
“Hopefully, it was an experience with your kids that you can look at and say, ‘Man, this is something that we’ll remember the rest of our lives together,’” Calipari said. “Those memories and what we were able to do together is what this is all about.
“Again, it’s been a dream, what we’ve been able to do for 15 years. Time for another voice. And you know I’m always going to be a fan. Thank you.”
Two-time All-Star Ja Morant acted in self-defense, judge says
MEMPHIS, Tenn. | Ja Morant acted in self-defense when a teenager accused the two-time NBA All-Star of punching him during a pickup game at the home of the Memphis Grizzlies guard’s parents in 2022, a judge has ruled.
Shelby County Court Circuit Judge Carol Chumney cited Tennessee law on when the issue of self-defense can be raised, and she wrote in a ruling issued Monday that Morant “enjoys a presumption of civil immunity.”
The judge wrote that “a provocateur generally cannot invoke self-defense; if you start a fight, then you should be ready to finish it” under Tennessee law. She also noted the only provocateur in this situation was the plaintiff, Joshua Holloway, with everyone else just wanting to play basketball.
Mike Miller, a former NBA player who was at the house when the fight occurred, testified that Holloway hitting Morant “in the face with a basketball ‘kind of started everything,’” the judge wrote in the ruling.
Additional evidence backed up that claim, and none contradicted it, the judge wrote.
The lawsuit filed by Holloway accuses Morant of assaulting him during a pickup game on July 26, 2022. Then 17, Holloway had been invited to play at the private full-sized court of the Morant family. Holloway now plays basketball for Samford.
Morant claimed he was defending himself after Holloway aggressively threw the basketball at him with a one-handed, baseball-style pass that hit him in the face during a check-ball situation. A “check” is a common practice in pickup games in which two opposing players pass the ball to each other to see if their teammates are ready, often before starting a game or after a foul.
Now 24, Morant testified during a December hearing that he was worried about getting hurt after the teen bumped him in the chest, balled his fists and got into a fighting stance before Morant punched Holloway.
Morant’s childhood friend, Davonte Pack, also is a defendant in the lawsuit. Pack has acknowledged punching Holloway once and knocking him to the ground. Morant was not charged criminally, but Pack was charged with misdemeanor assault. That charge was later dismissed.
The December hearing centered on Morant’s motion to dismiss the lawsuit under Tennessee’s so-called stand your ground law.
The NBA player’s lawyers argued Morant is immune from liability under the law allowing people who feel threatened at their homes to act with force in certain situations. The law is used in criminal cases, but an earlier ruling by this same judge cleared the way for Morant’s lawyers to apply it in the civil case.
The ruling also noted testimony that Holloway had been allowed inside the Morant home to watch TV, play video games or help himself to food.
Morant tore the labrum in his right shoulder in early January, a season-ending injury that required surgery to a season that started with Morant suspended by the NBA for the first 25 games for a video of the guard flashing a handgun online.
The video showed Morant sitting in the passenger seat of a car and was posted after he finished serving an eight-game suspension in March for another video in which he displayed a handgun in a Denver-area strip club.
Morant apologized for both videos.
Workers at Philadelphia sports stadium hit picket lines for one-day strike
PHILADELPHIA | Hundreds of food service workers at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia were staging a one-day strike Tuesday as contract negotiations continued with the firm that operates concessions at the stadium.
Roughly 400 cooks, servers, bartenders, concession staffers and other members of Unite Here union local 274 started picketing early in the day in the arena’s parking lot, several hours before the Philadelphia 76ers were due to play the Detroit Pistons in an NBA game. The workers were urging fans to not buy food, drinks or concessions from Aramark and eat elsewhere instead.
The union — which represents people who work at the Wells Fargo Center and neighboring Lincoln Financial Field and Citizens Bank Park, where the Philadelphia Eagles and Philadelphia Phillies, respectively, play — say their wages and benefits are not keeping up with inflation. The union said some staffers who work at all three stadiums make different hourly wages at each site, and union members say they are treated as seasonal workers rather than year-round employees, based on each sport’s season.
Randi Trent, a caterer with Aramark for 23 years, was among those manning the picket lines Tuesday.
“I’m out here fighting for health care for everyone. They need better wages. We all need (better) wages across the board,” Trent said. “I make $8 an hour. We work off of gratuities. Our percentages are low.”
Chris Collom, an Aramark spokesperson, said the company “remains committed to bargaining in good faith to reach a settlement that works for all parties.” He said the firm had contingency plans in place to ensure its services were not interrupted at Tuesday night’s game, but he did not disclose specific details.
Caitlin Clark wins women’s Wooden Award as nation’s best college player
LOS ANGELES | Iowa’s Caitlin Clark won the John R. Wooden Award for the second straight year as the nation’s top women’s college basketball player on Tuesday.
The other finalists were Cameron Brink of Stanford, Paige Bueckers of UConn and freshmen Hannah Hidalgo of Notre Dame and JuJu Watkins of Southern California. All five women have been invited to Los Angeles for the award presentation on Friday.
Clark led the Hawkeyes to their second straight appearance in the NCAA title game, where they lost to undefeated South Carolina. She led the nation in scoring at 31.6 points per game and in assists with an average of 8.9 per game, becoming the first player to finish No. 1 in both categories in consecutive years.
Clark became the career Division I scoring leader for men or women in her final season at Iowa.
—From AP reports
