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Men's Basketball

John Calipari Willing to Go Over Mitch Barnhart, “Demands” New Practice Facility

Published

4 years ago

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Photo by Chet White | UK Athletics

Since the start of the offseason, one of the major headlines has been John Calipari’s desire for a new practice facility and the resistance he has been met with from Mitch Barnhart

Kentucky basketball is one of the greatest brands in sports, but Calipari has cited on several occasions that the practice facility is no longer up to the gold standard, which he says is “unacceptable”.

In one such instance, Calipari talked about the Philadelphia Phillies visiting Lexington and taking a look at UK’s athletic facilities. Being impressed with the baseball, football, and soccer facilities, they had high expectations for the basketball facilities. However, they were let down.

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Then just last week, the ceiling began to leak during practice. While this is a minor repair, it doesn’t give the best optics of an elite facility and is something that other schools can use to recruit against the Wildcats.

Citing the improvement of facilities around campus and for other sports programs, Calipari says it’s time to do the same for basketball. According to Kyle Tucker of The Athletic, Cal is not going to wait any longer, and with or without the help of Mitch Barnhart, he hopes to have a new or upgraded facility done, “in a year, two years.”

“Everybody should be behind this. Our administration. Look, our baseball facility might be the nicest in the country, and I’m happy about that. Our football facility, we spent $200 million. Soccer, unbelievable. Now, the track — I love it. And now, I would say, the administration should be like, we’re doing this. How about the state? If this is the University for Kentucky, and it’s the basketball program for the state, which it is, how about the state says, ‘We’re in. We’re gonna invest.’ I’ll tell you right now, Anthony Davis gave $350,000 on a text to me (for flood relief). Do you know what our former players would do? They just gotta see it: What is it? So it’s the next challenge that we all have.”

As said in the quote, if Calipari is forced to raise the money on his own, he will, just as he did in 2012 with the locker rooms.

The biggest sources of money will come from former players, notably those from the Calipari era, who have earned over $2 billion in career earnings. In addition, Cal hopes that the state will invest as well and even believes that the Big Blue Nation would give saying, “I think you would have people give to it. That’s one thing people in this state will give to: men’s basketball. Oh, they’ll give.”

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Within the new facility, Calipari wants to include the history of Kentucky basketball, giving Big Blue Nation, college sports fans, and tourists, in general, an interactive experience and an opportunity to learn about the program’s storied past.

“How about (we build something) where people from east and west can come and there’s the history of this program. Interactive. How about players interviewed about their experiences here, their recollection of their time. Anthony Davis, John Wall, DeMarcus Cousins — there’s 50 of them! — where you could see them talking about their experience, where you go to the wall and press their picture and they talk. They will give to something like that. These kids will.”

Since the loss to Saint Peter’s, a fire has been reignited for Calipari, as he has been a man on a mission and proving that he has still got it by signing multiple five-star recruits, changing his recruiting approach, pushing to reignite Big Blue Madness, and reconnecting to the Big Blue Nation.

With that said, this new facility is the “next challenge”.

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Men's Basketball

National Reporter Matt Norlander Chooses Kentucky as Landing Spot for Star Forward Milan Momcilovic

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1 day ago

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May 28, 2026

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Photo via Imagn Images

The Milan Momcilovic sweepstakes is underway, with multiple teams involved in the No. 2 overall transfer player’s recruitment. It is believed that Kentucky and Louisville are the top candidates after his decision to pull out from the 2026 NBA Draft on Wednesday, May 27.

Along with the in-state rivals, Arizona and St. John’s are both very well still in the mix, but the Red Storm are slowly falling out of contention after landing Baylor’s Tounde Yessoufou.

On May 28, national reporter Matt Norlander cleared the air on CBS Sports’ Eye On College Basketball podcast, stating that he believes Kentucky will land Momcilovic by the end of the weekend or Monday.

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“My prediction right now is that Milan Momcilovic will go to Kentucky,” Norlander said. “My understanding is that decision is going to come in the next one, two, three days, four days max.”

He would go on to talk about the other top programs involved, stating why he thinks they will be working in an uphill battle in this bidding war.

“My forecast is that it’s Kentucky, but you know, we’ll see if Louisville can get in there,” he continued. “Arizona I don’t think has the money to contend, like I think Kentucky and Louisville just have more money to play with.”

For the worried members of the Big Blue Nation, this is certainly good news to be put out by one of the most trusted college basketball reporters at the national level.

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Going by this report and Adam Zagoria’s from NYT Sports, it shouldn’t be long until a commitment decision for Momcilovic is announced publicly.

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Men's Basketball

BREAKING: No. 2 Ranked Transfer Milan Momcilovic Removes Name From 2026 NBA Draft

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2 days ago

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May 27, 2026

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Kamil Krzaczynski | Imagn Images

Milan Momcilovic has officially removed his named from the 2026 NBA Draft and will return to college for his senior season.

Kentucky leads in his recruitment, followed closely by St. John’s, Louisville and Arizona. A backdoor to Iowa State is also still open.

The No. 2 ranked transfer would be a huge addition to Kentucky’s 2026-27 roster if he committed, averaging 16.9 points per game on 50.6/48.7/87.8 shooting splits last year. Funny enough, in the current world of college athletics that we live in, Momcilovic was responsible for eliminating the Wildcats from the NCAA Tournament, dropping 20 points in the Round of 32.

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He would go on to lose to Tennessee in the Sweet 16 with Iowa State, so at least we know that there’s some inner-hatred for a long-standing rival if he ends up a Wildcat.

He made the most three-point shots in Division I basketball and is a versatile 6-foot-8 wing, which would fit perfectly into Mark Pope’s offensive system. He completed workouts with the Chicago Bulls and Minnesota Timberwolves during the draft process.

Now, the bidding war for the top dog begins, with some of the most prestigious programs in the sport placing their bets on the star forward.

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Men's Basketball

BREAKING: Malachi Moreno Set to Return to Kentucky for Sophomore Season

Published

5 days ago

on

May 24, 2026

By

Tristan Pharis | KY Insider

One of the biggest pieces of the 2026-27 roster has officially made a decision. Malachi Moreno, the Georgetown, Kentucky native, will forgo the 2026 NBA Draft and return to the Wildcats for his sophomore season!

As time went on, Moreno proved through personal workouts and in-gym drills that he could play the game of basketball at the next level, eventually drawing interest from teams slated with the first 20 picks of the draft. The 7-foot big had eyes on him from teams such as the Atlanta Hawks, New York Knicks, Los Angeles Lakers and the Boston Celtics.

Ultimately, the former state champion and his camp felt that the deal offered from Mark Pope and his staff was just too sweet, with the idea of developing even further and potentially becoming a lottery pick in next year’s draft making logical sense for both sides.

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In his freshman season, Moreno averaged 7.8 points per game, 6.3 rebounds per game and 1.5 blocks per game, all on 58.2% shooting. As many assume, this was just a trial for what he can become on the court.

Videos circulated on social media of Moreno hitting jump shots from deep range, visibly looking stronger and more confident in his decision making. Although he decided to not participate in the NBA Combine, a strong indicator for his return to college, it would’ve certainly been interesting to see what type of statline he could’ve produced against the league’s future stars.

Nonetheless, Moreno is back in the blue and white for one more go at No. 9 with Pope and his new teammates. This time, he won’t be predicted as the third best center on team, or plagued with the freshman tendencies – he’ll be ready to start at the five from the moment he arrives in Lexington.

No. 24 is back.

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