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Bounce Back: Overcoming Setbacks to Succeed in Business and in Life
John Calipari is the current head coach of the University of Kentucky's men's basketball and a veteran of nearly 20 college seasons at the University of Memphis and the University of Massachusetts. Widely regarded as one of the greatest program builders in all of college basketball, Calipari's teams have earned 10 conference titles, 11 NCAA Tournament berths and two Final Fours. He received the Naismith National Coach of the Year Award for the 1995-1996 and 2007-2008 seasons, as well as the Sports Illustrated National Coach of the Year honor for 2008-09. A highly sought-after motivational speaker, Calipari and his wife, Ellen, have three children, Erin, Megan and Bradley.David Scott is the former senior writer and editor at SPORT magazine. His work has appeared in Sports Illustrated for Kids, the Boston Globe Magazine, Men's Fitness and FHM. Scott was recognized by The Best American Sports Writing 2000 for ?One in a Million: The Tim Bishop Story.? He first worked with Coach Calipari while an undergraduate at the University of Massachusetts. He lives in Hull, Massachusetts.
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First published January 1, 2009
About the author
John Calipari
15 books14 followersJohn Vincent Calipari (born February 10, 1959) is an American basketball coach. Since April 2009, he has been the men's head coach at Kentucky. He was the head coach of the Dominican Republic national team in 2011 and 2012.
Calipari is the former head coach of the University of Memphis Tigers, the University of Massachusetts Minutemen, and the National Basketball Association's New Jersey Nets. Calipari has officially been to 3 Final Fours, all three with Kentucky (2011, 2012, 2014). He had previously led UMass in 1996 and Memphis in 2008 to the Final Four, but those appearances were later vacated. Consequently, Calipari is the only head coach to have Final Four appearances vacated at more than one school, although Calipari himself was not personally implicated by the NCAA in either case. As a college coach, Calipari has 20 (19 officially) 20-win seasons, 8 (7 officially) 30-win seasons, and has been named National Coach of the Year 3 times. Calipari is widely regarded as one of the best recruiters in college basketball history.
In the 2011–12 NCAA Division I men's basketball season, Calipari led Kentucky to its 8th NCAA Tournament Championship, and the first of his career.
From 1982 to 1985, Calipari was an assistant at the University of Kansas under Ted Owens and Larry Brown. From 1985 to 1988, he was an assistant coach at the University of Pittsburgh under Paul Evans. From 1988 to 1996, he was head coach at the University of Massachusetts. From 1996 to 1999, he was head coach and Executive VP of basketball operations for the NBA's New Jersey Nets. During the 1999–2000 season, he was an assistant coach for the Philadelphia 76ers under coach Larry Brown, before moving on to his next position at the University of Memphis. He was inducted into the National Italian American Sports Hall of Fame in 2004.
In his 21 official seasons (22 seasons overall, 21 official, with one entire season later being vacated) as a collegiate head coach, Calipari's record is 548–171 (.762). His record in the month of March is 98–37 (.726). His record in the NCAA tournament is 38–13 (.745), and in the NIT is 15–6 (.714). His teams have made 14 NCAA tournament appearances (12 official, due to 2 later being vacated), including reaching the Sweet Sixteen 11 times (9 official, due to 2 later being vacated), the Elite Eight 9 times (7 official, due to 2 later being vacated), the Final Four 4 times (2 official, due to 2 later being vacated), the NCAA Championship Game twice (once officially, with the 2008 Championship Game appearance while at Memphis being vacated by the NCAA), winning the NCAA Championship at Kentucky in 2012.
As a college coach, Calipari has 19 20-win seasons (18 official) and 8 30-win seasons (7 official). He has also coached 6 teams to the NIT, winning the NIT Championship at Memphis in 2002. He is one of only four coaches in NCAA Division I history to direct three different schools to a #1 seed in the NCAA Tournament.
Calipari is the former head coach of the University of Memphis Tigers, the University of Massachusetts Minutemen, and the National Basketball Association's New Jersey Nets. Calipari has officially been to 3 Final Fours, all three with Kentucky (2011, 2012, 2014). He had previously led UMass in 1996 and Memphis in 2008 to the Final Four, but those appearances were later vacated. Consequently, Calipari is the only head coach to have Final Four appearances vacated at more than one school, although Calipari himself was not personally implicated by the NCAA in either case. As a college coach, Calipari has 20 (19 officially) 20-win seasons, 8 (7 officially) 30-win seasons, and has been named National Coach of the Year 3 times. Calipari is widely regarded as one of the best recruiters in college basketball history.
In the 2011–12 NCAA Division I men's basketball season, Calipari led Kentucky to its 8th NCAA Tournament Championship, and the first of his career.
From 1982 to 1985, Calipari was an assistant at the University of Kansas under Ted Owens and Larry Brown. From 1985 to 1988, he was an assistant coach at the University of Pittsburgh under Paul Evans. From 1988 to 1996, he was head coach at the University of Massachusetts. From 1996 to 1999, he was head coach and Executive VP of basketball operations for the NBA's New Jersey Nets. During the 1999–2000 season, he was an assistant coach for the Philadelphia 76ers under coach Larry Brown, before moving on to his next position at the University of Memphis. He was inducted into the National Italian American Sports Hall of Fame in 2004.
In his 21 official seasons (22 seasons overall, 21 official, with one entire season later being vacated) as a collegiate head coach, Calipari's record is 548–171 (.762). His record in the month of March is 98–37 (.726). His record in the NCAA tournament is 38–13 (.745), and in the NIT is 15–6 (.714). His teams have made 14 NCAA tournament appearances (12 official, due to 2 later being vacated), including reaching the Sweet Sixteen 11 times (9 official, due to 2 later being vacated), the Elite Eight 9 times (7 official, due to 2 later being vacated), the Final Four 4 times (2 official, due to 2 later being vacated), the NCAA Championship Game twice (once officially, with the 2008 Championship Game appearance while at Memphis being vacated by the NCAA), winning the NCAA Championship at Kentucky in 2012.
As a college coach, Calipari has 19 20-win seasons (18 official) and 8 30-win seasons (7 official). He has also coached 6 teams to the NIT, winning the NIT Championship at Memphis in 2002. He is one of only four coaches in NCAA Division I history to direct three different schools to a #1 seed in the NCAA Tournament.
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
May 13, 2013
I'm already a bit biased because i happen to be a huge fan of Cal. I enjoyed reading his personal stories intertwined with encouraging advice and homework assignments. I can't honestly say how the average reader without knowledge of who Cal is would receive this book but it's a must read for those who do.
May 26, 2020
Bought this hoping for some interesting stories about Cal and UK. Turns out this is an older one and mostly pre-UK. Also, it is pretty much a straight self-help book. Some interesting stories and definitely feels like it's written by Cal. Amazing how much of it is the same messages he seems to convey still and how much of his coaching philosophy remains the same. But otherwise nothing surprising here, lots of 'you can do it' and positivity. Probably some good advice if you are going through a setback, but not sure I'd recommend it as just casual reading.
August 15, 2017
I read about 50% of this book and it is indeed a good book. However, I feel that's about all you need to read to get the point as well. Essentially, keep your head up, find yourself a good rhythm, nurture your networks, and keep moving forward! Good advice is indeed here but I think you'll get the motivation you need pretty quickly.
May 17, 2012
Ian Cundiff book review
Bounce Back
By John Calipari
John Calipari is a basketball coach currently at the university of Kentucky. However, he was the coach for the university of Memphis in 2008 when they went to the National Championship. Memphis was playing Kansas and had the lead with 2 minutes remaining and the eventual number one draft pick, Derrick Rose. They were supposed to win the game everything had to go right for Kansas and it did. That was his trigger event that caused him to have to bounce back.
Throughout the book, John tells you how he came back from the loss in the National Championship and how today he is successful. He teaches you before you fix yourself you need to fix the people around you. When you do this this become easier for you and they get worked out in the end. Also he teaches you to plan your bounce back and stick to it by following steps it becomes much easier to get your life to the way you want it. One of my favorite quotes in the book is “You deserve good things and you need to expect them- every day and in every situation.” (page 121, John Calipari) This means that if you believe good things will happen they will and it teaches you to have confidence and be optimistic.
I would recommend this book because it helped me and it can help you too. If you're going through a rough time in your life this book will allow you to overcome the life obstical and succeed. Also it will help get your life going with John’s idea of planning it out and sticking to the plan.
Bounce Back
By John Calipari
John Calipari is a basketball coach currently at the university of Kentucky. However, he was the coach for the university of Memphis in 2008 when they went to the National Championship. Memphis was playing Kansas and had the lead with 2 minutes remaining and the eventual number one draft pick, Derrick Rose. They were supposed to win the game everything had to go right for Kansas and it did. That was his trigger event that caused him to have to bounce back.
Throughout the book, John tells you how he came back from the loss in the National Championship and how today he is successful. He teaches you before you fix yourself you need to fix the people around you. When you do this this become easier for you and they get worked out in the end. Also he teaches you to plan your bounce back and stick to it by following steps it becomes much easier to get your life to the way you want it. One of my favorite quotes in the book is “You deserve good things and you need to expect them- every day and in every situation.” (page 121, John Calipari) This means that if you believe good things will happen they will and it teaches you to have confidence and be optimistic.
I would recommend this book because it helped me and it can help you too. If you're going through a rough time in your life this book will allow you to overcome the life obstical and succeed. Also it will help get your life going with John’s idea of planning it out and sticking to the plan.
January 12, 2014
This book is supposed to motivate you to overcome setbacks. Coach Cal has even set up a website for you to share your story and motivate others, as well as download his "practice plans," activities designed to help you bounce back.
If you can relate to a guy who's major setback in life was being fired from a multimillion dollar NBA coaching job only to go on to other multimillion dollar coaching jobs after being unemployed (or doing an ESPN gig) for a few months, then this book is for you.
If you can handle cliches like "PractiCAL point," and dialogue like "Put your faith in me, and I'll put my faith in you" then this book is for you.
If you can handle other...clever...phrases like "Let's bounce back, bounce forward, and bounce forever" (last sentence in the book) then this book is for you.
I'm glad Calipari overcame his setbacks and landed on his feet. He makes good practical step-by-step points about how to overcome being fired, or demoted, or divorced, or whatever. Much of it lines up with good scriptural teaching (accept God's will, don't be bitter, find good counselors, etc.). However, there's no mention of him bouncing back from having 2 trips to the Final Four being vacated by the NCAA or how he handles being called a "cheater" by every non-UK fan. The useful basketball knowledge I gained was how he recently decided to adopt the dribble-drive offense.
In all, I give this book 2.5 stars out of 5.
If you can relate to a guy who's major setback in life was being fired from a multimillion dollar NBA coaching job only to go on to other multimillion dollar coaching jobs after being unemployed (or doing an ESPN gig) for a few months, then this book is for you.
If you can handle cliches like "PractiCAL point," and dialogue like "Put your faith in me, and I'll put my faith in you" then this book is for you.
If you can handle other...clever...phrases like "Let's bounce back, bounce forward, and bounce forever" (last sentence in the book) then this book is for you.
I'm glad Calipari overcame his setbacks and landed on his feet. He makes good practical step-by-step points about how to overcome being fired, or demoted, or divorced, or whatever. Much of it lines up with good scriptural teaching (accept God's will, don't be bitter, find good counselors, etc.). However, there's no mention of him bouncing back from having 2 trips to the Final Four being vacated by the NCAA or how he handles being called a "cheater" by every non-UK fan. The useful basketball knowledge I gained was how he recently decided to adopt the dribble-drive offense.
In all, I give this book 2.5 stars out of 5.
May 8, 2025
I really enjoyed this book. Going into this book I wasn’t a huge fan of coach Cal. He’s one of the winningest coaches in basketball history, but this book gives you a great perspective on how even the most successful people go through failures. And not just one. This book reminds me a lot of my dad who has gone through similar setbacks in his life and came out better in the long run. Great read.
January 18, 2010
Reading it....full of great advice from a good coach
November 4, 2011
wasn't expecting this book to be so helpful or relevant when I picked it up... nice.
January 12, 2012
Very good personal development book. I need to listen to it again so I can really implement Coach Calipari bounce back strategies in my own bounce back.
July 21, 2012
Good tips
September 7, 2014
Even I don't like fans of sport games.
I love this book. Because it's about principles to live.
I love this book. Because it's about principles to live.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews