March 14--Nobody is stealing John Calipari's joy.
The Kentucky men's basketball coach made that abundantly clear during an interview on ESPN on Sunday after his team was revealed to be a No. 4 seed in the NCAA tournament.
But that doesn't mean he's happy with a selection committee that ranked his Wildcats lower than, say, a Texas A team they just beat in overtime, 82-77, in the SEC tournament championship game earlier that day.
"I mean, come on, A got a three seed. Did we not play a basketball game today?" Calipari said. "I'm happy for A They got a three, I said, what in the world, are we going to get a three or a two? And I was surprised we didn't get a five."
He continued: "Look, at the end of the day, they're not stealing my joy, that little group of 10 who says this year it's top-50 wins. Well, last year it was road wins, two years ago it was RPI. It's a moving target. Instead of making it this is how we're going to rate these teams. They're not stealing my joy. We just won a championship."
Kentucky (26-8) will open against Stony Brook (26-6) in the East Region, while Texas A (26-8) takes on Green Bay (23-12) in the West. Calipari says his team will use the the lower seeding as motivation.
Oh, and the selection committee is not stealing his joy.
"They're not stealing my joy," Calipari said. "If they think they are they're out of their minds. They build my team up. THANK YOOOOOOU! THANK YOOOOOOU!"
