Jon Hood: Kentucky Players Have “Rockstar Status”
Words. Jason Jordan
Photo. Kentucky.com
When Madisonville (K.Y.) North Hopkins High’s Jon Hood committed to Kentucky, he fully expected to be playing for Billy Gillispie, a coach struggling to prove that he was fit to lead the storied program. But when Gillispie got the boot on March 27 and the Wildcats named former Memphis coach John Calipari as their new coach, Hood, a 6-7 small forward, was all of a sudden playing for one of the biggest stars in the college coaching ranks.
Hood chatted with HighSchoolHoop.com about his thought process during the switch and why he thinks Kentucky has a chance to turn things around next season…
HighSchoolHoop: How did you feel when you first heard about Kentucky coach Billy Gillispie being fired?
Jon Hood: Well, my first thought was that it was really unfortunate, but like anything in life, you’ve got to move on and that’s what I’ve tried to do. Now I just want to go on up there and get this thing rolling again.
HSH: So when John Calipari was named as your new coach did he call you immediately?
JH: Well, yeah. I spoke with him on the phone two or three times and I spoke with him face-to-face once too. It was basically a reassurance thing. He said that he had watched some tape on me and thought I could really thrive and do well in his system.
HSH: How do you feel about the talent you guys have coming in?
JH: It’s exciting! We’ve got a bunch of good players and we could have some guys returning. I think we have a chance to turn things around.
HSH: Calipari’s a former NBA guy and he’s had great success recently. How different was it talking to him than to Gillispie?
JH: Well, whether you’re the coach or a player, at Kentucky you’re pretty much rockstar status. It’s a 24/7 job and I loved coach G, but it was really cool to talk to coach Calipari too. He’s obviously done some good things lately and he has a pretty big name. It was pretty cool.
HSH: When do you head to Lexington?
JH: June 5… Which doesn’t give me very much time because we graduate May 29. But I’m really excited about it.
HSH: Jodie Meeks has declared for the NBA Draft but hasn’t hired an agent, are you hoping that he comes back?
JH: He could still come back. I’ve played with him and against him a lot. We’ve gone at each other. He’s really fun and easy to play with. I hope he and big Pat (Patterson) both come back.