A tireless recruiter, his first recruiting pitch may be to Kentucky stars Patrick Patterson and Jodie Meeks. Both are weighing whether to head to the NBA. Having one of the nation’s most successful coaches could help them change their mind, though neither player was made available to the media on Wednesday.

Whether they return or not, Calipari’s ultimate goal remains the same.

Eyeing the seven national championship banners inside the glistening $30 million practice facility on Wednesday, Calipari had an idea.

“Let’s double these, let’s double ’em,” he said.

He was kidding. Or was he?

Calipari knows many of the 24,000 fans who pack Rupp Arena each winter — many of them volunteer assistant coaches — aren’t when they say adding to the banners should be the goal every year.

That’s fine. It’s one of the reasons he signed on.

“The challenge of being here is (not) competing for national titles, but winning them,” Calipari said. “But that’s what you buy into when you come here.”

And Kentucky has demonstrated its willingness to pay whatever it takes to back to that level.

The deal eclipses the $3.5 million average salary of Florida’s Billy Donovan and dwarfs those of Calipari’s predecessors.

It’ll be worth it if Calipari can survive one of the toughest coaching jobs in sports. It’s the one he’s always wanted. Finally, he has it: the expectations, the money and the chance to become a part of history.

“They don’t put banners up here for anything else except national champions,” he said. “That’s why you want to coach here. We want to compete every year and hopefully add to this wall.”

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Mark J. Terrill / AP

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