John Calipari stands in a ballroom in a big hotel in downtown Lexington. He's saying a few words at a breakfast for the local Salvation Army to launch its Christmas campaign. The room is full, maybe 500 people, and Calipari is working it. It's tough to say where his act plays better. This stage? Or the one next door, in Rupp Arena?
It's not a criticism to say the Kentucky basketball coach can be 10 pounds in a five-pound bag. Calipari tells the people what they want to hear. More often than not, he delivers, though not without complications. The devil of two vacated Final Four appearances, owing to NCAA rules violations, is never far from Calipari's shoulder.
He wins, though, a lot. The people love him for it, at least while he's there. Calipari's habit of exiting out the back door is well documented. On this day, at least, none of that matters in Lexington, epicenter of Big Blue Nation.
Calipari is talking about obligations and opportunities. The obligations he has to the university, and the opportunity afforded him by the mega-pulpit he occupies as its basketball coach. There is no basketball like UK basketball. It is football in Alabama, hockey in Montreal, sun in Miami Beach. Other things do matter in the Commonwealth. None leap to mind.