Kentucky's Calipari has no regrets about passing on Cavaliers' coaching job

Head coach John Calipari is perfectly happy with his place at Kentucky.

With LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers set to play in the NBA Finals, one would think Calipari - who passed up an offer to coach the Cavaliers last summer - would have some regrets.

But he insists that's not the case.

"No (regrets)," Calipari told Dan Wetzel of Yahoo Sports. "No, nope. Because what happened, and the reason I did what I did, was based on having guys come back who wanted to be coached. I didn't feel comfortable not being at Kentucky."

Calipari didn't just pass up the opportunity to coach the Cavaliers, he turned down a reported 7-year, $60-million offer from team owner Dan Gilbert last summer.

Instead, Calipari remained at Kentucky and led the Wildcats to a near-perfect season. The Wildcats finished the year with a record of 38-1, with the only loss coming at the hands of the third-seeded Wisconsin Badgers in the Final Four.

To that end, Calipari admits that Kentucky's undefeated streak might have worked against his team in their lone loss.

"Looking back, a loss probably would've done us some good," Calipari said. "Maybe in the conference tournament, which is what happened to us in 2012 (at UK). We end up winning the national title."

Wins aside, Calipari also fielded yet another incredible crop of talent at Kentcuky. Names like Devin Booker, Willie Trill Cauley-Stein, Karl Anthony-Towns and Trey Lyles are just a handful of Wildcats players projected to be selected in the upcoming 2015 NBA Draft.

Still, Calipari did ultimately pass up a chance to add an NBA title to his illustrious resume that already includes three Naismith College Coach of the Year awards and an NCAA Division I national championship.