University of Kentucky men’s basketball coach John Calipari’s will be the subject of the next installment in ESPN Films’ award-winning 30 for 30 series in One and Not Done.
The film, One and Not Done, directed by Jonathan Hock (“Of Miracles and Men,” “Survive and Advance,” “The Best That Never Was”) will premiere on Thursday, April 13, at 9 p.m. ET on ESPN.
Who is John Calipari? To his devotees, he is one of college basketball’s greatest coaches. To his detractors, he represents everything wrong with college sports. Somewhere in between lies one of the most compelling and complicated figures in American sports. “One and Not Done” chronicles the life of Calipari – from high school point guard, to dominating UMass coach, to king of Kentucky. A man who has not only altered the college basketball landscape and become the face of the so-called “One and Done” phenomenon, but has also had two Final Four appearances vacated and evolved as a coach who at one point had to rebuild his career.
“‘One and Not Done’ is really three films in one,” said director Jonathan Hock. “It’s a biography of an immigrant son’s American Dream, an intense and revealing all-access sports film, and a meditation on corruption and the true meaning of big-time college sports. Making this film was a chance to write history while it’s being made, the kind of filmmaking opportunity that keeps me coming back to 30 for 30 year after year.”
Hock takes viewers behind the scenes with never-before-seen footage as Calipari tries to reach the Final Four for the seventh time and win his second national title. “One and Not Done” features exclusive interviews with some of the players whose lives he changed, including Marcus Camby, Lou Roe, Derrick Rose, John Wall and Anthony Davis.
Added says ESPN Films Vice President and Executive Producer John Dahl: “With our 30 for 30 series, it’s unusual for us to focus on someone whose career is still a work in progress. But in this instance, with Jon Hock directing, we thought it was warranted. Few figures in sports today draw such strong opinions and already have the kind of influence and body of work that John Calipari does, and the film provides a deeper understanding of what he’s all about.”