Kentucky coach John Calipari comments on Wildcats’ addition of Olivier Sarr
By Adam Spencer
Published:
The Kentucky Wildcats landed their transfer big man on Wednesday, as former Wake Forest forward Olivier Sarr announced he was committing to John Calipari’s program.
Though Sarr will have to get a waiver to play this season, he hopes to be able to do that since Wake Forest recently fired coach Danny Manning and replaced him with Steve Forbes.
After Sarr’s commitment became official, Calipari issued a statement on Sarr’s potential and his fit with the program:
“I am excited to coach Olivier,” Calipari said. “Olivier is a great kid and a terrific player on the rise who knows he’s going to have to come in and lead. He gives us a veteran, established player who has not only played on a big stage and played well, he wants this next challenge.
“When we first talked to Olivier, my first thought wasn’t on what he does for this team, it was why he wanted to be here. I coached Danny and know his relationship with his players, so when Danny talked about what a great kid he is, we said, ‘Let’s do this.’
“Oliver was one of the best players in the ACC last season and got better and better – as he’s done his whole career – as the year went on. By the end of the season, he was one of the top five players in the league. I’m ecstatic he wanted to be a part of this program and what we have going forward.”
Sarr has said he won’t sit out this year and will turn pro if he doesn’t get an NCAA waiver. So, we’ll see what the NCAA decides to do.
For now, though, the Kentucky family is excited to have the talented big man in Lexington.
Adam is a daily fantasy sports (DFS) and sports betting expert. A 2012 graduate of the University of Missouri, Adam now covers all 16 SEC football teams. He is the director of DFS, evergreen and newsletter content across all Saturday Football brands.
