We all know Coach K had talent. Lots of talent. But how many NBA All-Stars did he have?
Laettner made one All-Star team.
Grant Hill made a bunch of appearances.
Boozer made two.
Brand made two.
Deng made two.
Zion is an NBA All-Star.
As is Ingram, Kyrie, and obviously Tatum.
That's it. 9 NBA All-Stars over the course of a Duke career that spanned through four decades. *** It should also be noted that only three of these players played more than two seasons at Duke, so the argument about "Well yeah, but Coach K had senior teams" doesn't really apply to the vast majority of his NBA All-Stars.
So how many does Cal have? Additionally, how many will he have coached when it's all said and done?
Presently, Calipari coached
De'Aaron Fox
SGA
Julius Randle
Karl Towns
Anthony Davis
Devin Booker
John Wall
DeMarcus Cousins
Derrick Rose
Bam Adebayo
That's 10. That's more than Coach K, and only one natty to show for it.
Even if you take out Coach K's senior-dominated teams from the 90s (for fairness sake), and only count titles in the OAD ERA, Coach K still has two titles to Cal's one, and during that span, Cal has had 10 NBA All-Stars to Coach K's 4.
The saddest thing about this is that Calipari will probably end up with 3 or 4 MORE NBA All-Stars when it's all said and done. Murray and Maxey are right on the cusp of becoming All-Stars; in fact, Murray would have been one this year if he had been healthy. Then there's Johnson, Herro, and soon guys like Edwards and possibly even someone like Wagner. I think it's safe to say that when Cal finally retires, his college coaching career will have included coaching no less than 12, and probably 13, NBA All-Stars.
By the way, Dean Smith leads all coaches with 12 NBA All-Stars.
Even the ole overrated UNC Coach managed to win at least two titles.
Will Cal get there?