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A Hard Decision Has to Be Made

Published

8 months ago

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Kentucky hasn't meet expectations the last four seasons under John Calipari. Is it time for him to go?

“The team had won a total of just two NCAA tournament games in the previous four seasons, and over the last two, it had lost twenty-seven games. That’s not supposed to happen in Lexington. There was nowhere to go but up.”

That is a direct quote from John Calipari’s book, Player’s First, which he published in April 2014, talking about the state of the Kentucky basketball program that he inherited in 2009, following Tubby Smith and Billy Gillespie. Nearly a decade later, those numbers are eerily similar.

Over the last four seasons, Kentucky has just one NCAA Tournament win, including two first-round losses to double-digit seeds. Over the last two, the Wildcats have lost 22 games. As Calipari said, that’s not supposed to happen at Kentucky.

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Through that span, people have blamed the lack of success on things like play style, recruiting strategies, and/or being slow to NIL amongst other things. But this was supposed to be the team.

A team “built for March,” Calipari said. A team that featured two of the best upperclassmen in the country. The no. 1 freshman class, which included three top 10 prospects and multiple projected NBA Draft picks. The stereotypical Calipari team, that featured elite freshmen and athleticism, playing in a revamped offense

While it created one of the most likable and exciting teams in recent Kentucky basketball history, it wasn’t enough for a single postseason win. The rosters have changed, the assistants have changed, but there has been one constant, John Calipari.

This is coming from a fan-turned-media member, soon to be 26 years old, who wrote voluntary school reports on Kentucky basketball. Whose first Kentucky basketball memories were towards the end of Tubby Smith’s career. Who cried at how bad Kentucky was during Billy Gillespie’s two seasons. Whose favorite birthday present on April, 1st 2009 was John Calipari being hired, as I learned on a school computer on ESPN. Whose Cal has treated nicely in every interaction and setting.

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Now, I have watched a team with multiple NBA players finish with the worst record in modern Kentucky basketball history. A team with the National Player of the Year, get beat by a 15-seed. Now a team with two top 10 picks and All-American lose to a 14 seed, almost single-handedly to a player that was playing Division III just two seasons ago.

“When we get it right, you notice we’re No. 1 in the country. We’re No. 1 seeds and we’re playing in Final Fours,” Calipari said in his Kentucky introductory press conference. Things don’t just feel “right” anymore.

Kentucky hasn’t been a 1-seed nor participated in a Final Four since 2015, nor been in reach of one since 2019. With each move Calipari makes, the Big Blue Nation becomes more and more divided.

John Calipari is a great man. He has done a lot, not just for Kentucky basketball, bringing four Final Fours and a national title, but also for this state and its people, raising millions and helping thousands of families. That said, Kentucky basketball is not meeting expectations, even by his own standards.

“I cannot tell you how hard the decision was because of what I left behind,” Calipari said of his decision to leave Memphis for Kentucky in 2009.

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Kentucky basketball is bigger than any coach. Walking off the court in Pittsburgh, following Calipari and the team to the locker room after the loss to Oakland, flooded with memories of the last 15 seasons, it feels like it’s time to make a hard decision.

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Men's Basketball

Kentucky Basketball Players Say They Think About Winning National Championship “Every Second”

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3 days ago

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November 18, 2024

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Kentucky basketball players celebrate after their big over Duke.
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The expectations at Kentucky are the highest of any school in the country, and there is good reason why. The winningest college program ever. Eight national titles, under five different coaches. Seventeen Final Four appearances. You get it, a lot of success.

Fans want the players to have those same expectations. Despite not having the elite talent or preseason hype of great Kentucky teams past, this year’s team still has their eyes set on doing something “people will remember forever”, winning a national championship.

Asked on social media, if hanging banner #9 was all the players thought about “every second”, Ansley Almonor had a response.

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“We do.”

It takes a lot to win a national championship, including some luck, but this team is certainly going to be loved for their desire to live out their dream of playing at Kentucky and their unselfishness. Those two things can take them a long way this season .

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Men's Basketball

Kentucky AD Mitch Barnhart Seemingly Takes Shot at John Calipari, “Anybody Can Recruit”

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5 days ago

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November 16, 2024

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Mitch Barnhart sitting next to basketball coach John Calipari.
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John Calipari and Kentucky Athletic Director Mitch Barnhart had their differences over fifteen years, but success can hide a lot of things. Not that they hated each other, but they each had vastly different personalities. As that success weaned towards the end of Calipari’s tenure, those issues started to be noticed publically.

If you need evidence of that, despite their efforts to dispute it, there is the infamous press conference where Barnhart talked about “entitled” coaches, shortly after Calipari publicly called for a new practice facility. Then, there were multiple times when Calipari expressed that the administration was not on the same page and that he was facing “headwinds”.

That said, Calipari is now at Arkansas, but those differences and some disdain remain. During an interview on the Kentucky Football pregame show, Barnhart seemingly took a shot at Calipari when asked about Mark Pope’s recruiting philosophy and prioritizing fit.

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“I tell people all the time, ‘Anybody can recruit, not everybody can evaluate,’” Barnhart said. “You can recruit. You can be phenomenal at bringing people to your program. But if it does not fit you, it’s really not helpful.”

Of course, Calipari is one of the best, if not the best, recruiters in college basketball history. At times, he prioritized talent and athleticism over fit.

Quite the coincidence.

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ESPN’s Jay Williams Gives Message to Kentucky Fans, “You’re Not Going to Like It…”

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6 days ago

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November 15, 2024

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ESPN college basketball analyst Jay Williams gives a message to Kentucky fans after the Wildcats win over Duke. "You won't like it."
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Back in April, opposing fanbases like Duke, told Kentucky fans to “cope with Pope” following the hire of Mark Pope and the corresponding initial shock. On Tuesday, those same fanbases had to watch as Mark Pope outcoached Jon Scheyer and Duke in the final minutes of the Champion’s Classic to get his first marque win in just his third game at Kentucky.

Of course, shortly after the game, Duke fans began to rationalize the loss by highlighting their team’s youth. While true, it sounded like an echo chamber of what Kentucky fans said for years under John Calipari. One notable example was former Blue Devil Jay Williams.

At halftime, while Duke was leading 46-37, Williams called this year’s Duke team the most talented since the 2001 team that he was a part of at halftime. To his credit, he complimented Kentucky on the comeback victory, specifically on their offense and maturity, but then 36 hours later he posted a message to Kentucky fans on social media.

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“Let me put you on to something,” Williams started. “Whether you like it or not, networks are going to sell Cooper Flagg. He’s going to be the number one pick in the draft. You’re going to talk about whether he won the or whether he lost the game, regardless of the outcome.”

“You’re not going to like it. There should be more kudos to Mark Pope and Kentucky,” Williams continued. “Regardless of whether you won the game or not, they’re still going to sell Cooper Flagg because he is selling the sport. Sorry.”

William’s statement is true. That said, it comes off as ‘sour grapes’ about losing. Cooper Flagg is a great talent and will likely be the first pick in the NBA Draft, but most Kentucky fans would say they would much rather have the win than the marketing.

Futhermore, Kentucky and its ‘brand’ has raised the level of multiple players and coaches, and will continue to do so. A deeper impact than Cooper Flagg will have on Duke in just one season.

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