John Calipari doesn’t agree with ESPN’s Jay Bilas’ opinion that colleges don’t produce NBA players but they are future NBA players going to a college.
"What about Tyler Herro? What about Eric Bledsoe?"
"It doesn’t matter what school you go to, you’re going to make it if you’re supposed to. Do you believe that’s true?"
John Calipari disagrees with @JayBilas' notion about college programs not “producing” NBA players. pic.twitter.com/5LGUJ2OjYK
— Alex Walker (@AlexWalkerTV) June 23, 2019
Here is the transcription of what cal said about Jay Bilas’ opinion that colleges don’t produce NBA players:
“He’s said it before. I don’t agree. What about Tyler Herro? What about Eric Bledsoe? I don’t know, maybe I’m missing something. Everybody must have missed on those kids. They just didn’t evaluate them right and we did. I think that are two things that have come out of this. How are our kids, 75% of them, getting to second and third contracts? We just evaluated better? There are other schools that are evaluating just like us and their kids don’t seem to make it. When they do make it, it’s about 20% of the kids, 15%. So, I don’t agree with him. I think there’s a culture that we have and a system and process that we have of developing them with an idea of what the end result is, trying to win. I just told the guys, during the season it’s about winning, it’s about our team. When the season ends, it’s about each individual player. In the season, we’re about this. How about teaching you how to defend? How many of our guys have gone in the NBA and not been able to defend, not known the terminology, not known all those kinds of things? I like to say, how many players in the NBA Draft as rookies are going to go in as volume shooters? None. They went to a school because they wanted to be the volume shooter. Now, they’re going to a team where they’re not going to be the volume shooter. You’ve got to know how to play. Our kids can do both. Not all of them because not all of them are going to end up being volume shooters in the NBA. They’re going to be one of those other guys. I don’t believe it, but he can say it. ‘Why go there when you can go anywhere’ is what he’s basically saying. Once you hear it doesn’t matter what school you go to, you’re going to make it if you’re supposed to. Do you believe that’s true? Does anybody believe that’s true? I don’t say if you don’t come to Kentucky – no, that’s not what I say. But to say it doesn’t matter, I don’t know.”
