‘Silent like the G in lasagna’: John Calipari talks NIL deal strategy

LEXINGTON, Ky. (WYMT) - University of Kentucky men’s basketball coach John Calipari spoke with the media Friday about the strategy he uses with NIL deals, using the words of five-time, Grammy award winning rapper Lil Wayne.

Calipari held a media availability prior to the team’s trip to play in Toronto, Canada. The conversation started when Calipari discussed the current college landscape and how he has chosen to stick to the principles set when he began coaching at UK...players first.

Calipari then explained why he prefers to keep their strategy close to the vest.

“I’m not going to share everything we do because its a competitive advantage here,” Calipari said. “Now the reason I’m not sharing is because I have a lot of people asking, how do you do it? Coaches asking, what are you guys doing? By coming here, if you’re a terrific player, what is added to your value is being at Kentucky, it’s here.”

Calipari discussed a conversation he had about his strategy with Lil Wayne, where the rapper compared how he was with college NIL deals at UK to one of his song lyrics.

“Lil Wayne said to me, if you don’t mind me dropping a name, that I like how you just keep it in house what you do,” Calipari said. “Then he said it’s like my lyric ‘Real Gs stay silent like lasagna. Now I have no idea what that means, but he gave it to me and said you need to roll with that.”

The Kentucky men’s basketball team will open up the season next month at GLOBL Jam in Toronto, representing the United States.

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