MIAMI — While rumors swirled around Kentucky coach John Calipari potentially jumping to the NBA following Monday’s national championship game loss to Connecticut, Calipari confidante LeBron James doesn’t think his friend is going anywhere.
“I would be very surprised if he made the jump, just from the simple fact he loves coaching kids, and helping those kids out,” James said before the Nets’ 88-87 victory over the Heat Tuesday night.
“If it is for one year or two years or whatever it may be, as long as they’re there, he loves the challenge of bringing guys in individually and trying to turn them into a team.
“It’s almost like an Olympic style, the way he coaches. He doesn’t have much time, because he has so many guys that can go one-and-done, and he brings those guys, those individual egos, and brings them into a team aspect. Does it work out all the time? No. Obviously last year they didn’t make the tournament. But his success rate on the floor with these groups of guys that he’s able to do every single year is amazing, and I would be very surprised.”
James had a rooting interest in the game on both sides because of the fact that his former teammate in Cleveland, Kevin Ollie, was coaching Connecticut.
“I’ve got a lot of respect [for him], and I was very, extremely happy,” James said. “I have a lot of Kentucky connections with Coach Cal, who is a very good friend of mine, so I was in a win-win situation.
“But I was extremely happy for [Kevin]. Big time.”
James added that he could see Ollie becoming a coach way back when they were teammates the first two-plus years of James’ career with the Cavaliers.
“You could tell he had that coaching gene in him,” James said. “Obviously he helped us on the floor but, more than anything, in the locker room, and off the floor is where I benefitted from being around him.
“He has that professionalism that you can’t get from first- or second- or third-year guys.”
Both teams missed headline names for Tuesday night’s game. In addition to Kevin Garnett sitting out for the Nets as part of his maintenance plan to fully recover from back spasms, Dwyane Wade (knee), Greg Oden (knee) and Udonis Haslem (illness) sat out for the Heat.
The Nets also announced just before tipoff Andray Blatche would miss the game with an undisclosed illness.
When asked about Paul Pierce saying last season he was worn down by the time the playoffs arrived — as the Celtics subsequently lost to the Knicks in six games in the first round — coach Jason Kidd couldn’t help but take advantage of the opening.
“He just lost to a better team,” Kidd, a member of that Knicks team, said with a smile.