Celtics’ Jaylen Brown outlines John Calipari disrespect during college recruiting

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Celtics’ Jaylen Brown outlines John Calipari disrespect during college recruiting

Daniel Donabedian, ClutchPoints · ClutchPoints

Tue, Oct 7, 2025 ·

3 min read

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The post Celtics' Jaylen Brown outlines John Calipari disrespect during college recruiting appeared first on ClutchPoints .

Boston Celtics star Jaylen Brown could've practically attended any college he wanted coming out of high school. He was a five-star recruit with tremendous upside, and major programs like Kentucky, Kansas, and North Carolina were all interested.

Instead, Brown took the road less traveled — as he's been apt to do in his basketball career .

The Georgia native sought out the University of California, Berkeley, and committed to the Golden Bears in 2015. Following this surprising decision, Brown's mother, Mechalle, requested that he call every school that he was turning down and inform them of his final selection.

The shooting guard wasn't thrilled by this idea, but he recalled that his mom wanted him to be prepared for the "tough conversations" in life, especially with the NBA on the horizon. Brown reluctantly agreed and recently reminisced on his personal Twitch channel about some of the phone calls he had with big-name college coaches.

He especially remembers his brief "talk" with then Kentucky Wildcats head coach John Calipari .

"He said, 'Welp,' and hung up the phone," Brown said while laughing. "It wasn't no 'I appreciate you, good luck.' It was nothing."

While Calipari was in Lexington, the Wildcats churned out NBA talent . That perhaps explains why he was so quick to move on from a call with a future NBA Finals MVP.

"Calipari banged it on me with swiftness," Brown said. "He was like, 'Next, I got another joint waiting.'"

Before turning Kentucky down, Brown took an official visit, witnessing the university's annual preseason fan festival: Big Blue Madness. The year he went was an eventful one too, including everything from an infamous Drake airball to a scrimmage featuring current NBA All-Stars Karl-Anthony Towns and Devin Booker.

Despite all the excitement, Brown couldn't commit to Calipari's uber-talented squad.

"They pulled out all the stops," he stated. "It was like — Kentucky just wasn't the place for me."

Calipari wasn't the only coach Brown had to let down. He also discussed a short call he had with Kansas coach Bill Self and a longer one with former UNC coach Roy Williams, who was still eager to chat about Brown's future and share some words of wisdom.

Brown appreciated that kind gesture, yet it didn't change his mind that Berkeley was the place to be.

And although UCLA also greatly enticed him, the eventual one-and-done Golden Bear thought being close to Los Angeles would have served as too much of a distraction.

Ultimately, Brown bet on himself by playing for a basketball program that was far from a powerhouse. His calculated gamble paid dividends, resulting in an impressive, ongoing NBA career that's seen him earn multiple All-Star nods and a championship ring. He can continue to add to his list of accolades soon during his 10th season in the Association, which begins in just a little over two weeks.

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