“He never lies to you”: Why John Calipari still wins in new era
Even at 67 years old, John Calipari is still keeping it real.
SAN JOSE, CALIFORNIA - MARCH 25: Head coach John Calipari of the Arkansas Razorbacks stands on the court during the Sweet Sixteen Practice Day at SAP Center on March 25, 2026 in San Jose, California. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images) | Getty Images I stood across from an 18-year-old Karl-Anthony Towns before the 2014 McDonald’s All-American Game, and asked him what made John Calipari different . Towns was the crown jewel of Calipari’s recruiting class at Kentucky that season as one of four Burger Boys headed to Lexington.
This was almost an underwhelming blue chip haul by Calipari’s lofty standards at the time after he pulled in a record six McDonald’s All-Americans the year before , a group that led his team to the national championship game even as a lowly No. 8 seed. Towns immediately knew what he wanted to say.
“He never lies to you,” Towns said of Calipari at the time. “He keeps it straight with you. Cal really does a great job of always being honest.
That’s the way the program is, it just runs on honesty. ” Fast forward 12 years later. Arkansas guard D.
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