NCAA Basketball: Ranking the last 25 national title winning head coaches

One of college basketball’s best recruiters, John Calipari finally broke through and won a championship with Kentucky back in 2012. The Hall of Famer has led three different programs to the Final Four and remains today one of the sport’s biggest names.

While he continues to build his legacy at Kentucky, his accomplishments with Massachusetts and Memphis already secure his place in college basketball history.

After playing collegiately at point guard, Calipari began his career as an assistant at Kansas and Pittsburgh. In 1988, he took a job at UMass, building a program that won five straight A-10 crowns and a Final Four bid in 1996.

Unfortunately, Marcus Camby received improper gifts and the season was vacated. After three years leading the then-New Jersey Nets, Calipari inevitably took over Memphis in 2000. Nine successful years would follow, including a national title game appearance in 2008. Unfortunately, Derrick Rose was later deemed ineligible and that season was vacated.

Kentucky hired Calipari in 2009 and his decade in Lexington has been full of success. Aside from the 2012 title run, he’s made four Final Fours and seven Elite Eights in those 10 years.

He’s brought incredible talent to Kentucky yearly, a list that includes Anthony Davis, DeMarcus Cousins and Karl-Anthony Towns among many others. Love him or hate him, his run at Kentucky has been incredible, even if it’s been four years since their last Final Four.

Leading three different schools to the Final Four is impressive enough, but Calipari inherited three mediocre programs and turned them into successful contenders. He took Billy Gillispie’s mess and made Kentucky a shining star once again.

His impressive career has included over 700 wins and numerous accolades. As long as he continues to recruit at an elite level, his Wildcats are going to contend for another national title very soon.