John Calipari had no trouble chatting with Chris Rock or spending time with Adam Sandler. Taylor Swift, however, sent the Arkansas coach straight to his phone.
He wasn’t actually using it. He just needed somewhere to look.
Calipari shared the story Thursday on the podcast Eye on College Basketball, recalling a celebrity-filled gathering during Game 4 of the NBA Finals at Madison Square Garden in June.
“I was embarrassed to go up to her,” Calipari said, according to the New York Post. “She was talking to whoever she was talking to, Adam Sandler and his wife.”
Normally, Calipari explained, he would ask for a picture and send it to his daughters. This time, the coach who spends his professional life approaching people and making a pitch couldn’t bring himself to say hello.
“I took my phone, and I acted like I was on my phone,” he said. “I wasn’t on my phone, but I acted like I was … intimidated.”
Calipari did manage to get a photo with Sandler and his wife, Jackie. He even acknowledged his missed opportunity in an Instagram post after the game.
“I got to spend some time with all the Knicks Alums, Adam Sandler, Chris Rock but I was too nervous to introduce myself to Taylor Swift! LOL!” he wrote.
Host Matt Norlander also asked whether Calipari attended Swift and Travis Kelce’s wedding.
“I didn’t get invited. I was kind of disappointed, but, you know, things happen,” Calipari joked.
At least the next time he tells a nervous freshman to put the phone away and introduce himself, the coach will have a story to share.
