If you thought Kentucky and head coach John Calipari had a stranglehold on all the top incoming collegiate talent before, wait until the top junior and senior prep hoop phenom’s get a whiff of this.
According to Adrian Wojnarowski Calipari and the Wildcats will now hold a preseason scouting combine that will allow NBA brass to get an up close and personal look at his players before the season even starts.
Calipari has invited officials of the 30 NBA teams to send personnel to Lexington, Ky., on Oct. 11-12 to watch his players do everything from run full-court five-on-five and NBA-style pick-and-roll sets to individual skill work.
The event will also allow Calipari to impress top high school recruits on campus visits.
After the combine, Calipari plans to shut out NBA executives and scouts from his practices for several weeks – perhaps even months – into the season, league sources told Yahoo Sports.
NBA personnel aren’t allowed to interact with college undergraduates, but Calipari can simply shape his workouts to be conducive to the NBA’s needs.
As one executive laughed, “We’re just there as B-roll for his recruiting videos.”
It’s a brilliant move by Calipari of course. It allows him to impress potential Wildcats of the future, while allowing his team to focus once the season starts without interruption from scouts and execs.