Brad Losness/USAToday sports
Calipari in the House for State-Detroit Mercy Game
John Calipari was sitting courtside at PNC Arena on Sunday. But his Kentucky Wildcats weren't with him.
Instead of working the refs and trying to lead his team to a victory against NC State, the four-time Final Four coach was in the stands watching his son play against the Wolfpack for Detroit Mercy.
Brad Calipari, who played his first three seasons of eligibility for his father, is now a graduate transfer guard for the Titans. He played 14 minutes Sunday, going 0 for 4 from the floor in 14 1/2 minutes of playing time in his team's 84-65 loss to the Wolfpack.
Kentucky coach John Calipari leaves PNC Arena shortly after his son's game against NC State on Sunday (Brett Friedlander/SI Wolfpack Maven)
Calipari kept a low profile during the game, but he did take some time beforehand to visit with State coach Kevin Keatts -- who was an assistant at Kentucky's rival Louisville before taking the head coaching positions at UNC Wilmington and then State.
"Cal, give him credit," Keatts said. "He came up here to see his son. It's tough when your son is playing for another team and you've got to take care of your own team."
While Keatts extended a favor to Calipari -- who played his college ball at UNC Wilmington -- Calipari didn't come through on a request Keatts made in return. That was to not beat former State assistant A.W. Hamilton too badly when Calipari's Wildcats played Hamilton's Eastern Kentucky team in Lexington on Friday.
Kentucky won the game 91-49.
"I talked to Cal three days ago when he told me he wanted to come for the game and took the opportunity to tell him to take it easy on A.W. Hamilton when they played," Keatts said. "And he beat him by 40, so he didn't listen to me."
Calipari wasn't the only coach with Final Four credentials at PNC on Sunday. Detroit Mercy's coach Mike Davis -- whose son Antoine was the leading scorer in the game with 28 points -- took Indiana to the national championship game in 2002.
