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Men's Basketball

Why UK needs Coach Cal to step away from the Titanic

Published

8 months ago

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John Calipari observing his team at Kentucky basketball practice at the Joe Craft Center.

I won’t spend any time talking about last night’s loss; there’s really not much to say about it. Another year, another disappointing postseason from Calipari’s Wildcats. Big Blue Nation is devastated, distraught, enraged, and ready for a change. Stealing from James Cameron’s Titanic, BBN could hear the violins playing after last night’s loss as it seemed the UK ship was sinking. Even though UK earned a 3-seed in the NCAAT, in some ways, today is a much lower point for the program than the 9-16 season. So, it begs the question, where does UK go from here? Does the University itself want to part ways from Cal? Can the University even financially afford to do so? There’s a $33 million dollar hurdle to overcome…

The Buy-out concern

As it stands today, Calipari would be owed around $33 million dollars if UK were to fire him. As successful of a national brand as UK is, the university can’t afford a $33 million buyout. If choosing to go that route though, then how much money does UK have to pay the replacement coach? The finances behind a Cal-removal is of major concern, it’s quite the burden. If UK were to part ways with Cal, they would owe him the remainder of his contract. That is $33 million, rumored to be paid across 5 years. That raises major concerns for how much UK can afford to pay the next UK coach. By the way, shoutout to AD Mitch Barnhart for putting UK in such a terrible situation with Cal’s “lifetime contract.” There’s a real chance that Cal’s impending demise will drag Barnhart through the mud as well. But I digress…

Coach Cal needs to walk away

Cal needs to walk away on his own. UK isn’t going to pay the massive buyout. I don’t see any possibility that Coach Cal sits down with Barnhart to re-structure his current contract. Cal needs to walk away. UK has paid him an INSANE amount of money in his tenure here. He owes a great deal to this university. His only national championship was here in the Bluegrass. His books, shows, foundation, his new podcast: all launched at UK. He has accomplished a great deal here, but also owes a great deal to UK and its fanbase. So, he needs to save UK the cost of the buyout. He needs to save UK the fanbase turmoil and division. He needs to save UK the financial obstacle of hiring the next UK coach. Cal’s ego be damned, he needs to walk away before his tenure at UK parallels the Titanic’s demise.

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Can Coach Cal and AD Barnhart make it work?

I fully expect Cal and Mitch to have a meeting, of sorts at least. It’s well known that Cal and Mitch don’t have a great relationship. But Mitch won’t stray away from this impending iceberg. He has to lead, has to make difficult decisions. Mitch and Cal need to have a face-to-face difficult conversation in the immediate future. But to me, the best avenue is Cal to walk away. If there’s a chance to mediate some kind of negotiated lower-buyout, perfect. But short of that, Cal owes it to the university, the fanbase, and the future of the program to walk away now.

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

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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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