John Calipari has meticulously honed his reputation as a players’ coach.
A recruiting titan, he has rebuilt the blue-blood Kentucky basketball program in his own image, a haven for five-star talent to compete for championships and — more importantly — to develop as men and NBA prospects.
That’s the message Calipari sells every chance he gets — and every time there’s a camera around, which is on the regular.
He went dramatically off-message on Wednesday while talking about a recent player protest of last week’s violence on Capitol Hill.
Kentucky’s player protest
In the aftermath of last week’s deadly attack on the U.