Brad Calipari his path through Kentucky
Even from his high school playing days, John Calipari has show his commitment to his son, but
no favoritism. Here is footage from coach Cal attending one of Brad’s high school games.
PERSONAL
Born Nov. 11 in Franklin Lakes, New Jersey … Major is communication ... The son of John and Ellen Calipari … Has two older sisters, Erin and Megan … His definition of a true hero is anyone who is a servant leader … Lists SpongeBob SquarePants as his favorite show … His father is the most influential person in his life … Chose Kentucky over UMass.
HIGH SCHOOL
Joined Kentucky after a productive final season at the MacDuffie School in Massachusetts ... The 6-foot guard spent his last two seasons at MacDuffie after starting his high school career at Lexington Christian Academy ... Developed into a sharpshooter during his final season at MacDuffie, where he shot a team-high 47 percent from behind the 3-point line ... Averaged 15.3 points, 3.6 assists and 2.6 rebounds per game as a senior ... Finished his career as a 1,000-point scorer … Was the MVP of the 2016 HoopHall Classic … Chosen for the 2016 Kentucky Derby Festival Basketball Classic, where he scored nine points on three 3-pointers to go along with four rebounds ... In January, played against former UK teammate Wenyen Gabriel and scored 17 points on five made 3-pointers, while leading his team to a 69-61 victory over Gabriel’s squad from Wilbraham and Monson Academy (Massachusetts) … Also played golf … Earned academic honors for art, specializing in drawing.
2016-17
Freshman: Averaged 14.3 points, 6.5 assists and 3.3 rebounds a game in four games during an international basketball trip with Global Sports Academy in Croatia ... Made 15 appearances in his freshman season, scoring eight points with three rebounds and two 3-pointers … Appeared in 12 of the first 15 games of the season … Played five minutes vs. Texas A&M at home, grabbing one rebound … Logged three minutes vs. Valparaiso, hitting one of two 3-point attempts … Made his first career 3-pointer vs. Arizona State in addition to a rebound and an assist in four minutes of play … Played a career-high eight minutes vs. Cleveland State and recorded a block … Registered the first points of his career vs. Canisius at the free-throw line.
2017-18
Sophomore: Averaged 13.2 points and 7.0 assists a game in four games during an international basketball trip with Global Sports Academy in Europe in June ... 2017-18 Winter SEC Academic Honor Roll member ... Appeared in 12 games and recorded three points, two rebounds and an assist … Appeared in the NCAA Tournament second-round game vs. Buffalo … Made an appearance vs. Alabama in the SEC Tournament semifinals … Scored his first bucket of the season, a 3-pointer, in the home victory over Missouri on Feb. 24 … Grabbed a rebound in two minutes at Texas A&M … Played four key minutes in the first half at South Carolina … Recorded three minutes in the home victory vs. Texas A&M … Dished out an assist in the home win vs. Louisville … Played a career-high six minutes and hauled in a rebound vs. Monmouth … Appeared in three straight games from Nov. 20-26 for his first action of the season
2018-19
Junior: Graduated in three years with a degree in communication ... Redshirted the 2018-19 season ... Announced in the summer that he was transferring to Detroit Mercy and will be eligible immediately as a graduate transfer with two years of eligibility remaining ... 2018-19 Winter SEC Academic Honor Roll member.
Bahamas: Appeared in all four victories ... Drained a 3-pointer against the Bahamas National Team ... Had a rebound in three of the four games ... Dished out two assists against Team Toronto.
RUMORS STARTED AND WHERE CONFIRMED QUICKLY THAT BRAD WOULD TRANSFER FROM KENTUCKY
Brad had been a walk-on at Kentucky since the 2016-17 season. I seem to recall him saying that someday he wanted to be a coach, and he felt spending time with his dad made sense. The 6'0" guard redshirted his junior season after playing sparingly his first two seasons with the Wildcats. He appeared in 15 games as a freshman and in 12 games as a sophomore.
Calipari graduated from Kentucky earlier with a degree in communications. He will have two years of eligibility remaining and would be eligible to play at another school immediately after his transfer.
As a senior in high school at MacDuffie, Calipari averaged 15.3 points, 3.6 assists and 2.6 rebounds per game. He finished his high school career as a 1,000-point scorer.
Shortly after the rumors started, John Calipari explained the situation on Twitter.
Brad Calipari, the son of Kentucky head coach John Calipari, entered the transfer portal with the blessings of his parents and teammates.
In three seasons at Kentucky, the younger Calipari has played sparingly. He redshirted last season, meaning he will be a redshirt junior when he resumes playing at another school.
Calipari appeared in 27 games during the 2016-17 and 2017-18 seasons and averaged 0.4 points and 0.2 rebounds in 2.7 minutes per contest.
Given the fact that Kentucky tends to bring in one of the top recruiting classes in the nation on a yearly basis, Calipari spent most of his time with the Wildcats on the bench.
Due to his pedigree, experience and shooting ability, Calipari is likely capable of taking on a much bigger role at a smaller school and contributing more to the team's on-court success than he was able to at Kentucky.
Former UK walk-on Brad Calipari rolled the dice with his transfer to Detroit Mercy this season and finally hit the jackpot on Sunday, making his first career start and scoring 16 points in a 86-74 win over UC Irvine in Las Vegas.
After going scoreless in Detroit Mercy’s first two contests, the graduate transfer has now scored 29 points over back-to-back games, including 13 points in a recent loss to Wyoming. In the past week, Calipari is 8-for-15 (53.3%) from three-point range, including a 4-for-9 performance on Sunday and connecting on 4-for-6 from deep in last Tuesday’s loss to the Cowboys.
Following Kentucky’s 81-56 win over Lamar, Head Coach (and proud Dad) John Calipari was also quick to point out that the younger Calipari had four rebounds and played solid defense in 32 minutes of action on Sunday.
UK fans hoping to see Brad in action just might get the chance next season as Detroit Mercy Head Coach Mike Davis has said there’s a “99.9 percent chance” that the two teams will play each other as part of the 2020-21 non-conference schedule.
The Titans, 1-3, play in the Horizon Conference and were ruled ineligible by the NCAA for postseason play this season for not meeting Academic Progress requirements. It just so happens that Calipari can also be a leader off the court for the Titans as an excellent student who was twice named to the SEC Academic Honor Roll. He earned a bachelors degree in communications in just three years and has two years of eligibility remaining.
At this point most Kentucky fans understand all the dynamics that went on with coach Cal, Brad, and his decision to transfer. We will keep you updated on Brad's progression on this page. All of us at Wildcat Gifts wish him well. As Coach call said so well "at the end of the day all I want is my son to be happy". All of us at BBN feel the same way.
