Kentucky basketball's John Calipari to receive Wooden Award 'Legends of Coaching' honor
Kentucky men's basketball coach John Calipari has earned almost every accolade a college basketball coach can earn. But next year, Calipari will be honored with one of coaching's highest honors: the John R. Wooden "Legends of Coaching" Award.
Calipari will officially receive the honor in April 2024 alongside the 2024 Wooden Award winners.
“To receive an honor in John Wooden’s name is really special to me because he not only is the greatest coach of all-time, but because of the relationship I developed with his family over the years,” Calipari said in a release. “His daughter, Nan, and he have been so kind to me. I look forward to April and hopefully having a Player of the Year candidate there with me.”
The 15th-year Wildcats coach is also a Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Famer, three-time recipient of the Naismith Coach of the Year and the 2012 Nell & John Wooden Coach of the Year Leadership Award winner. He has led six trips to the Final Four and won one the 2012 NCAA Tournament while accumulating the second-winningest record in Kentucky men's basketball history (387-113).
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What is the Legends of Coaching Award?
The Legends of Coaching Award was first awarded in 1999. The honoree is chosen based on character, on-court success, student-athlete graduation rate, coaching philosophy and identification with the goals of the John R. Wooden Award.
Legends of Coaching Award past recipients
2024: John Calipari, Kentucky
2023: Dawn Staley, South Carolina
2022: Rick Byrd, Belmont
2021: Dave Yanai, Cal State Dominguez Hills/Los Angeles
2020: C. Vivian Stringer, Rutgers
2019: Lon Kruger, Oklahoma
2018: Jay Wright, Villanova
2017: Muffet McGraw, Notre Dame
2016: Tubby Smith, Texas Tech
2015: Steve Fisher, San Diego State
2014: Tara VanDerveer, Stanford
2013: Bill Self, Kansas
2012: Geno Auriemma, Connecticut
2011: Tom Izzo, Michigan State
2010: Billy Donovan, Florida
2009: Rick Barnes, Texas
2008: Pat Summitt, Tennessee
2007: Gene Keady, Purdue
2006: Jim Boeheim, Syracuse
2005: Jim Calhoun, Connecticut
2004: Mike Montgomery, Stanford
2003: Roy Williams, Kansas
2002: Denny Crum, Louisville
2001: Lute Olson, Arizona
2000: Mike Krzyzewski, Duke
1999: Dean Smith, North Carolina
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: UK's John Calipari to receive Wooden Award 'Legends of Coaching' honor