John Calipari is officially taking all the blame for his team’s struggles this season.
Calipari released the following statement on his website this afternoon:
My job as a coach is to transform and move a team toward its best version. That includes the players, from where they are to where they have to go. I have to convince them what their best version looks like.
Players have to trust, and the coach has to create a culture of what’s acceptable and what isn’t, and then the team moves forward. This is normal. At Kentucky, we do this every year. If things don’t move the way they should, that’s on me.
We’ve taken steps forward and back this year. At the end of the day, this falls on me as the coach – not individual players – to transform this group to where we’re trying to go. Their job is to be enthusiastic, to play hard, to play physical, to be loose and to have fun. They control that.
This transformation begins with a coach’s vision of what the team and individuals’ best version looks like, and having an unrelenting will to have the team work toward that vision. They must buy in! Eventually, the team feels empowered because they “get it” and can play together with a common goal. They accept roles, they have fun playing and they look for incremental improvement daily.
I believe in this team of players. We have to work toward empowering them. THAT’S ON ME! It’s a process. Let’s get to work!
From CoachCal.com
