document: Calipari sticking with one-and-done approach John Calipari did n't come up with the '' `` one-and-done '' '' rule . Did n't write it . Did n't implement it . The Kentucky coach did n't even really approve of it when the NBA decided in 2006 that players needed to be a year removed from high school before heading to the pros . Yet Calipari has mastered it in a way few of his peers have , pulling off a seemingly impossible task season after season : molding the nation 's top recruiting class into NBA-ready pros in six short months while somehow getting them to buy into the team-first concept in the process . Kentucky plays Connecticut in its first Final Four game in 13 years Saturday with a roster headlined by freshmen Brandon Knight , Terrence Jones and Doron Lamb . A year ago , they were all high school seniors . Next fall , Knight and Jones will likely be getting paid to play . And Calipari will welcome another gifted handful of McDonald 's All-Americans and attempt to do it all over again . It 's the Calipari way . And it 's probably not going anywhere . '' `` To be the best , I really believe you have to have the best players , '' '' Calipari said . '' `` You want to be the best . You ai n't coaching them up . You can play that game if you choose to . '' '' Some do , and do it well . The rosters of Virginia Commonwealth and Butler are stacked with upperclassmen who have bought into the system and flourished as they matured . Connecticut is led by charismatic junior Kemba Walker and a pack of underclassmen , all of whom are expected to return next fall . The Huskies have produced some of the NBA 's top players through the years . And , all of them opted to stay at least two years . '' `` If we start hearing , '' `` Coach , I 'll only be there -LRB- one year -RRB- ... well , we really do n't talk that way at UConn , '' '' '' '' UConn coach Jim Calhoun said . Calipari hears it all the time , and it does n't bother him even if each season is likely to feature a team full of shooting stars than slow-burning comets . Calipari has long supported baseball 's rule that allows players to enter the draft right out of high school or commit to at least three years of college . '' `` Man , I wish this was the '' `` 70s -LRB- and -RRB- I had these guys for three years , we would n't lose any games , '' '' Calipari said . Not that the current structure has proven difficult for him to navigate . His teams have won an average of 33.5 games since the one-and-done rule was instituted . He preaches he tries to put together a '' `` players first '' '' program , and the message is attractive to players looking to iron out the wrinkles before becoming millionaires . '' `` He tells you coming in that he 's going to let you play and let you make mistakes , but he 's going to let you learn from them , '' '' said Washington Wizards rookie John Wall , who played one season for Kentucky before bolting to the NBA . '' `` He gives you an opportunity to go in there and show your talent , and he knows he 's a good enough coach that he can go out and get the same type of guy -LRB- the next year -RRB- . '' '' The next class of Wildcats are already set to go . If Knight and Jones go pro later this spring , they 'll be replaced by another talented group led by forward Anthony Davis and point guard Marquis Teague , both of whom could have very short stays in Lexington . Recruiting talented but highly volatile stars can come at a price . The NCAA ordered Memphis to vacate all 38 of its wins during the 2007-08 season for using an ineligible player believed to be Derrick Rose , who spent a season at Memphis before becoming the No. 1 overall pick in the 2008 NBA draft . It 's a risk some programs deem too dangerous . Notre Dame coach Mike Brey is reluctant to recruit a player who may only stick around for a season , citing the school 's academic demands and the entourages that surround some of the nation 's top players . '' `` A lot of one-and-done guys come with a lot of coaching already from people helping them along the way , '' '' said Brey , who led the Irish to a 27-7 record behind senior guard Ben Hansbrough . '' `` At this point in my career , I do n't know if I want to deal with that . '' '' The Irish have been successful with a different type of short-term players : transfers like Hansbrough , who came to Notre Dame after two years at Mississippi State . Still , Hansbrough remained with the school for three seasons , sitting out one under NCAA transfer rules before developing into one of the Big East 's best shooters as a junior and senior . Besides the outside distractions , introducing a one-year player in a locker room full of veterans could upset the delicate balance of the locker room . Butler has made consecutive Final Fours '' `` the Butler Way , '' '' using a low-key , humble approach championed by coach Brad Stevens . If the Bulldogs were to bring a hotshot recruit in , the chemistry may change , and not for the better . '' `` We 're not individuals here , we 're not playing for an individual star or something like that , '' '' Butler guard Chase Stigall said . '' `` We 're trying to build a program . The program was started a long time ago . '' '' So was Kentucky 's , though Calipari is n't one to dwell on the past . He caused a stir last June when he called the night five Wildcats _ four of them freshmen _ were selected in the first round of the NBA draft the greatest day in the program 's history , the school 's seven national championships included . Calipari is unapologetic in his approach . He values experience , but he covets talent . '' `` If I have a choice between a talented team and an experienced team , I 'm taking talent every time , '' '' he said . '' `` I can try to figure out how to get them to defend , how to play together , all of those things . '' '' Though he 's the most accomplished coach when it comes to attracting one-and-dones , he 's hardly alone in the pursuit of potential one-year phenoms . Ohio State rode freshmen Greg Oden and Mike Conley to an appearance in the national title game in 2007 . Kevin Love took UCLA to the Final Four in 2008 . Kevin Durant played just one season at Texas . Same for Michael Beasley at Kansas State . The sight of players treating college as a 12-month way station between high school and the NBA does n't sit well with NCAA president Mark Emmert , though he is powerless to stop it . '' `` I would very much like to not have that become the image of intercollegiate basketball , even though there are some that do that , '' '' Emmert said . '' `` I 'd certainly like kids to stay in college and prepare themselves for the rest of their lives . '' '' So would Calipari , who says he 'd love to coach freshman guard Brandon Knight for the next 15 years . He entered Saturday knowing he may not coach Knight for 15 more hours . That 's fine . He did n't make up the rules . He swears he 's just trying to play by them . '' `` My -LRB- best -RRB- option is to recruit the best players we have , the best students we can recruit , and then coach '' `` em and get '' `` em to believe in themselves , get '' `` em to reach their dreams , '' '' Calipari said . '' `` If that is done after a year , then I 'll deal with it . '' '' ___
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