Bruiser Flint has put the pen to the paper this morning, officially signing to John Calipari's staff.
Bruiser Flint comes in from Indiana under Archie Miller, with experience as the Head Coach at Drexel in his gig before, where he became the 'winningest coach in program history.'
But the connection between Cal and Flint go way back. Bruiser Flint was an Assistant Coach at UMass, helping that first trip to the Final Four for John Calipari become a reality in 1996.
Once Calipari left for the NBA in that offseason, Flint stepped up into the Head Coaching seat.
"Bruiser and I go back to our days at UMass," UK head coach John Calipari said. "Bru is not only a terrific coach, he's like my brother. You're not going to find anyone that says a bad word about him. He forms great relationships with players because he listens, has a terrific personality and can relate to anyone. Bruiser has an incredible basketball mind and is going to help us in a lot of ways. He was a terrific player, too.
"Bruiser is one of those guys who has always done more than people thought possible, both as a player and a coach. I can't wait to get started and get back at it with Bru as a part of our team."
John Calipari seems really excited about reconnecting with one of his old friends, one who he seems to trust very so if he's the guy whose going to try to fall into the role that Kenny Payne left behind.
"First of all, I want to thank Indiana and Coach Archie Miller for letting me be a part of your family for the last three years," Flint said. "Hoosier Nation treated my family and I with incredible kindness. Bloomington is a special place and I am forever grateful to everyone at IU.
"I am so excited to get started in Lexington. Kentucky, as Coach Cal likes to say, is the gold standard in college basketball. Going back to our time at UMass, Coach Cal has been both a brother and a mentor to me for 30 years. I have always had great respect for his approach and his care for his players. He and I both believe that when you put players first — when you make their dreams your dreams — we can accomplish special things.
"I'm looking forward to getting in the gym with some special young men and representing Big Blue Nation."
Bruiser Flint will add a lot of experience to this staff, and he knows exactly how John Calpari runs his program. I think Bruiser will do a lot of great things in his time in Lexington, and that gig officially starts today.