John Calipari knows a thing or two about motivating young kids. After taking 17-, 18- and 19-year-old kids year after year, molding them into men and oftentimes placing them in the NBA, he has an idea of what it takes to get them to work hard enough to succeed and this level and take the next step.
The key might surprise you. Coach Cal said it's fear.
“Not fear of me,” Calipari said, “(fear of) ‘I'm not good enough. Oh my gosh, I thought I was.' ”
The fear of failure, Calipari said, is what fueled past players like Derrick Rose and Michael Kidd-Gilchrist. Coach Cal said Rose used to stay in the gym for five hours for fear or not making it.
Walter Cornett, of Glendale, Kentucky, is the owner and operator of Walter's Wildcat World. He founded WildcatWorld.com in 1998 making it one of the oldest Kentucky basketball fan sites in operation today.