On Friday at his press conference, University of Kentucky head basketball coach John Calipari spoke about potentially being linked to the Knicks head coaching job under Leon Rose.

"Let me say this: first of all, I haven't talked to Leon, so I don't know if it's done, if he's doing it," Calipari said. "I have no idea. But let me tell you about him: I've known him for 25 years -- dear friend. In a rough-and-tumble business -- really, that business he was in was a sport, too, like body-to-body contact, it is -- and I've never heard anyone in 25 years say anything bad about Leon Rose. He's a gatherer, he's a culture-builder. I'd help him in any way I could, being a resource. You want to call and ask me about college players, my own players, I'm here. It just wouldn't be to coach."

The Knicks have yet to make the hiring official, but Rose is expected to be the team's next president, replacing the recently fired Steve Mills. It's known that William 'World Wide Wes' Wesley is expected to join the organization along with Rose, and both have ties to Calipari.

Calipari has been Kentucky's head coach since 2009, and has not coached in the NBA since he was an assistant with the Philadelphia 76ers during the 1999-2000 season. He did coach the New Jersey Nets for two-plus seasons, though he was fired just 20 games into the 1999 season with a 3-17 record.

Calipari has gone 767-216 at the collegiate level, with stops at UMass, Memphis, and Kentucky. He has been named the Naismith College Coach of the Year three times (1996, 2008, 2015), made the Final Four six times, and won the 2012 National Championship with Kentucky.

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