Kentucky coach John Calipari lists 20 questions recruits should ask

Kentucky coach John Calipari lists 20 questions that recruits should ask of coaches who are pursuing them.

John Calipari is renowned for his recruiting prowess at Kentucky, where he has assembled the nation’s top-ranked class five of the last six years. Recent changes to the recruiting machine – including the lifting of rules restricting the number of texts and calls to prospects – have not been lost on Calipari, and the Kentucky coach has some advice for how athletes should try to navigate the new landscape. In the latest posting on his website, CoachCal.com, Calipari lays out 20 questions he recommends players ask programs recruiting them. The list covers everything from NBA draft picks to scholarships to academic progress rate to television coverage.

1. Does your program offer multi-year (four-year) scholarships?
2. How many players have graduated from your program over the last four to five years?
3. How many players have graduated from your school and gone on to the NBA?
4. How many players have come back to finish school after they have left to pursue other dreams? Who pays for it?
5. How many of your players were insured through the disability program last season? If none were, why not?
6. What is your team grade-point average?
7. Where does your Academic Progress Rate retention rank among other schools?
8. What type of media training do you offer?
9. What kind of social media training program do you have in place? What are your social media policies?
10. How many double-figure scorers have you averaged in the last four to five years? If you only have one or two a year, what does that mean for me?
11. Have you ever coached anyone like me? If so, who?
12. How many McDonald’s All-Americans have you coached? How many of them went on to the NBA?
13. How have your teams fared with three or four McDonald’s All-Americans on the same team?
14. How many freshmen have you started within the last four to five years?
15. How many draft picks have you had over the last five years? How many drafted were not McDonald’s All-Americans? How many of the total were first-rounders and were any of them No. 1 draft picks during that time?
16. How many of those players have gone on to make the NBA All-Rookie team?
17. How many games will my family be able to watch on national television?
18. How many of your home games are sold out? How many of your road games are sold out?
19. How have you done in postseason play? Any Final Fours?
20. What is your core philosophy?

- Chris Johnson