DETROIT (97.1 The Ticket) -- Brad Calipari, the son of University of Kentucky men's basketball coach John Calipari, is bringing his talents to the Motor City.
Calipari announced via Twitter Monday that he will use the final two years of his college eligibility at the University of Detroit Mercy. He announced his intentions to transfer this spring and was also considering Hampton University. He graduated with a communications degree after three years in Lexington.
Calipari, who redshirted at UK last season, played 27 games over his first two seasons playing for his dad, averaging 2.7 minutes per game.
In a video posted to Twitter, Calipari says he cherished his time at Kentucky, where he grew "from a kid to a man."
"I got in the gym and earned that opportunity a few years ago and I’ve had the privilege of putting on that Kentucky jersey for the last three years and I wouldn’t trade it for anything," Calipari said.
Blessed to be in this position. Just want to thank everybody who’s been there along the way. Especially everyone who said I couldn’t. All the unseen hours of work paying off. It doesn’t stop now tho! #TheNextChapter @DetroitMBB pic.twitter.com/NIwjrAGLdk
— Brad Calipari (@bradcalipari)
July 1, 2019 "This hasn’t been an easy decision for me, but I’ve decided to finish the rest of my basketball career elsewhere," he said. "It always has been a dream of mine to make a major impact on the court at the college level and I believe the best opportunity for me to do that is at the University of Detroit Mercy. I wouldn’t be in this position without being at Kentucky. I’ve grown so much over the years, going against the best college basketball players in the nation and also having the best coaching staff."
Calipari will join a Titans team that went 11-20 with a first-round exit in the Horizon League Tournament last season. He'll get a chance to play side-by-side with another coach's son -- Antoine Davis, son of head coach Mike Davis, who previously took the Indiana Hoosiers to the 2002 NCAA championship game.
As a freshman last season, Davis burst onto the scene,
breaking Stephen Curry's record for most 3-pointers by a freshman in NCAA history. Davis returns for his sophomore season, but the Titans lost their next two leading scorers, Josh McFolley and Derrien King, possibly leaving an open spot for Calipari to make an immediate impact.
While he didn't post significant numbers at Kentucky, Calipari scored more than 1,000 points during his high school career, averaging better than 15 points per game as a senior at the MacDuffie school in Massachusetts.
His dad also took to Twitter Monday, to share some "proud dad tweets."
"At the end of the year, each of our players has an opportunity to explore their options and find out what opportunities they have. I didn’t believe @bradcalipari should be treated any different," the hall-of-fame coach wrote. "I’m proud he graduated in three years & gave himself this opportunity to play the next two seasons either here or at another university. He’s worked really hard & he’s gained the respect of our players because of his work ethic, his drive, his commitment to the game & his skills."
Proud dad tweets coming ...At the end of the year, each of our players has an opportunity to explore their options and find out what opportunities they have. I didn’t believe @bradcalipari should be treated any different. https://t.co/4Dndd5SCjQ
— John Calipari (@UKCoachCalipari)
July 1, 2019
