Kentucky's loss to Saint Peter's crushed many UK fans and now coach John Calipari will have to work to regain the trust and confidence of many UK fans. (Vicky Graff Photo)
John Calipari has faced a lot of challenges at Kentucky but after going 9-16 during the 2020-21 season and then losing to 15th-seeded Saint Peter’s last week to end this season he has a major challenge awaiting him.
Can he win back the Kentucky fan base?
No, the fan base is not abandoning Kentucky basketball. However, many UK fans are either questioning the coach or have at least lost some faith in him.
Calipari might already have been sensing that not long after the NCAA Tournament upset loss when when he posted this message to BBN on Twitter:
“I feel for our team, our fans and our staff. This team deserved something good to happen because of how they worked and what great teammates they became. Our fans deserved it too. We were all ready for this year. This team didn’t disappoint and I remain proud and fond of each of these players,” Calipari posted.
“Please steer your disappointment and anger toward me. These kids did this for all of the BBN and I wish I could have dragged them over the finish line. My focus is on these kids and recruiting so we continue being a program that has a chance to do something special EVERY YEAR. The culture we’ve built in this program expects that and demands it.”
Problem is Kentucky is having a hard time doing those special things recently.
Kentucky became just the 10th No. 2 seed out of 145 in NCAA play to lose to a 15 seed and it was the first time since 1986 — and only third time ever — that UK lost to a double-digit seed in NCAA play. Saint Peter’s was an 18.5-point underdog making it the fourth-largest betting upset since the NCAA expanded to 64 teams in 1985. Having Saint Peter’s win two more games and reach tonight’s Elite Eight might ease the pain a bit for UK fans but I have to believe Kentucky fans would still expect UK to beat Saint Peter’s if they played again.
It’s a huge turnaround for how Calipari’s NCAA run started when he came to UK in 2009. His first years at UK the Cats won a national title, reached the Final Four four teams and had a 22-4 NCAA tourney record. Since the 2015 Final Four loss to Wisconsin, UK is 9-5 in NCAA play and has not made it past the Elite Eight.
That means no NCAA Tournament wins since 2019, no SEC Tournament championships since 2018 and no Final Fours since 2015 for the program Calipari calls the “gold standard” for college basketball. But what frustrated UK fans so much is that UK beat North Carolina by 29 points, Tennessee by 28 and Kansas by 18 — on the road.
After freshman TyTy Washington injured his leg against Florida on Feb. 12, Kentucky went 5-4, including 0-3 against ranked teams, and was never the same team.
This was a beloved Kentucky team due in large part to Oscar Tshiebwe, the likely consensus national player of the year. After many fans felt disengaged with players during the 9-16 season a year ago, the BBN embraced the Cats and the fanbase could sense a potential national championship run.
After Kentucky lost to Saint Peter’s there was a huge reaction from Kentucky fans on social media and when Calipari pre-recorded his final weekly radio show rather than taking calls from fans it infuriated some fans ben more.
Others staunchly defend Calipari. They say it is not his fault players made mistakes or missed shots. Still others might have the most realistic approach.
“Coach Calipari is the right guy for UK. Not the popular opinion right now but I believe it. He has to learn from errors, bend a little on his offensive scheme and focus on defense,” UK fan Dana Skaggs said.
Calipari did try to change some of his thinking after the 9-16 finish in 2020-21. He went with experience through the transfer portal and had the oldest team he’s had at UK. He added shooters Kellan Grady and C.J. Fredrick through the transfer portal but Fredrick never played due to an injury. He found a true post presence with Oscar Tshiebwe, another transfer. He got an experienced point guard in Georgia transfer Sahvir Wheeler. He changed his coaching staff and brought in former UK assistant Orlando Antigua and Chin Coleman.
However, his basic offensive and defensive philosophies have not changed. He won’t play zone defense. He won’t call timeout at the end of a game. He will control the pace in the second half if his team has the lead.
Off the court, Calipari does a lot. His team helped with a telethon to raise money for western Kentucky tornado victims. He was at the SEC Tournament title game when the UK women won. He visited Dick Vitale before his team played in the SEC tourney knowing he was recovering from cancer surgery.
Calipari genuinely enjoyed coaching this team. That was obvious during the season and also after the final loss when he was perhaps the most remorseful he’s been since the 2015 Final Four loss to Wisconsin when UK was 38-0.
“This was probably something they never felt in their lives. And that’s why I wish I had some answers with three minutes to go to help them through it to get by the first one,” Calipari said after the loss. “Obviously I didn’t do a very good job with it.”
Calipari is not going to be fired — he has a lifetime contract — and I can’t see him walking away. However, once next season gets here, he’s got to find a way to reconnect with the fan base and next March he has to find a way to win games.
63 Responses
The premise of this article misses the entire point of the Calipari regime. He does not care about the fan base. He has ridiculed the fan base since his arrival. He has patronized the fan base without end.
He has a lifetime contract with a prohibitively expensive buyout clause. The real culprit in this mess is the author of that lifetime contract that Calipari sold to this university. He can sell ice to eskimoes. He sold a fraud of a basketball coach to the #1 basketball school in the world.
WTG Mitch!!!!!
Excellent Comments! I’m 67 and don’t envision UK winning #9 in my life time with Cal.
Get some help man. Is Paxil right for you? Mitch is an ATHLETIC director…which us shy almost every uk sports team made a post season, the football team continues to rise, etc.
And no, I know how you maniacs are…if you disagree with any point you think that means you’re a Cal lover. But the things you say are completely irrational. No? Tell me an AD you want and one that’s made a perfect hire for every job.
Bill,
John Calipari was a pretty good coach at UMass. He did a pretty good job at Memphis. He changed when he got to KY. He quickly learned that OAD kids are not going to listen to a coach. They are focused on being lottery picks in the NBA. Calipari gave into that and just started rolling the balls onto the court and the kids picked them up when they wanted to. That continues to this day and he gets paid $9 million a year to pimp kids to the NBA. It’s time for a change…long past time.
Well said. Can’t Coach Cal is the snake oil salesman I was told he was back in 2009.
He sells the best fan base anywhere a bill of goods then jets off on his university supplied jet. Only good thing about him is his wife…
Ky. Needs to recruit ky. kids. Basketball is a skill game but also emotional game. Skill without heart will quit. Heart will not. Watch the state tournament. Nearly every team has 1 kid that will display an unbelievable will not to lose.
State tourney was awesome this year Terry
And who by name do you want. Mark Few ??
No because he is too arrogant to care about us KY basketball fans.
That’s ok because I don’t care about him either.
Watching this year’s tournament is especially frustrating because you have coaches actually calling timeouts, drawing up plays, and making changes throughout the game.
We’re the greatest college bb program out there but we have Elmer Fudd as far as coaching ability. Because he is a liar and a fraud and scammed our great program.
Btw thanks for letting me vent here Larry. I’ve been banned from the rivals board although one of the mods has openly voiced that Cal needs to go as well as the majority of the fans on that site.
Bluespade44
I’m also just now beginning to realize how little Cal actually knows about the x’s and o’s of basketball. Watching other coaches explain it during interviews, watching them make adjustments and draw up plays.. and what we get from Cal is… "SHOOT THE BALL"!… "GOOOOOOO"! "You don’t have to to make them all, you just can’t miss them all". That ain’t coachin’, Sally. You know why he doesn’t call timeout at the end of a close game? He’s got nothing to say to them! What’s he going to do, draw up a play?? HA!
I wish Cal would do the decent thing and retire.
Agree with everything said here except Kentucky is unfortunately no longer the greatest college basketball program. Kansas owns the most all time wins due to Calipari’s inability to recruit. He has now relied on the portal over the last 4 years to find big men that he couldn’t initially recruit and shooters which hasn’t worked out so well. Now we have one and dones de committing from Kentucky. Kenny Payne leaving Kentucky several years ago truly exposed Calipari. Something deeper is going on at Kentucky that top players know and we the fans do not. What ever it is they are staying away from Kentucky. I’ll go out on a limb and say next year could be another disaster (as compared to BBN standards) unless something miraculous happens on the recruiting front. Barnhart may not fire Calipari after next year however Calipari may decide that taking his pile of money and retiring is only path to save his deteriorating legacy. Once again Kentucky will be in rebuilding mode!
Note to Cal ..UK BASKETBALL existed before you arrived and will exist when you leave.
Larry , reconnecting with people has to be done on the court and winning . I only speak for myself that reconnecting can’t be done with his jibber jabber , like " these kids aren’t machines". No kidding Cal. He’s the only coach in America saying that crap. I truly believe if he wasn’t a Coach he’d be a used car salesman. I’m no excuses kinda guy. And to listen to a Calipari kinda guy rubs me the wrong way.
The fans were the ones that pushed out Rupp and Tubby. No coach has disrespected the fans more than Cal. This year was the worse. Mitch can hear us, the person who coached this team will hear us.
You may have a lifetime contract but it doesn’t give you a ticket to mediocrity. Cal has to put up or shut up next year or face the wrath of the fans. Cal knows what’s good for us more than we do. Typical narrow minded liberal.
Thanks Paul. You saved me some typing
notice what st peters coach did against us and purdue went to match up and totally confused both teams
I agree with Grant S. Combs. If we’re lucky enough to begin making deep runs in the Big Dance. Unless hardheaded Cal changes his coaching philosophy (no zone def. and no timeouts late in the game) it will be mostly luck. As long as the Big Blue Machine is rolling along, that’s pretty much all the fans care about. Winning does, indeed, cover a multitude of sins, or in this case faults. Case in point, UK has had at least two coaches that had the same problem, only for one it wasn’t a problem and for the other it was. The difference? One coached teams that met the fans’ expectations and the other didn’t.
We will never make a deep run with this fraud leading the program. He thinks he is bigger than KY basketball and has turned it into to his own personal agenda.
He has created a culture where the players play for the name on the back of the jersey instead of the front.
The Fraud gets paid the same whether we win every game or lose every game.
Nick Saban even has performance incentives built into his contract and his buyout is only about half what Cal’s is.
Tell me that’s not criminal!
This system needs to be blown up and rebuilt by a new coach that puts winning games at the university of Ky first.
Things are going to get worse if we don’t find a way to rid ourselves of this con man!
CALIPARI IS A SNAKE OIL SALESMAN
HE. CANT COACH
He is a fraud.
What does that say about Barnhart?
Both must go!
Ridiculous take. The state of UK sports across the board is amazing. We are excelling in so many areas. Mitch is a major asset to UK sports. Hope he is here a song as he desires.
Yeah and the Economy is Great.Crime is down..etc. When times are like it is Kentucky Fans was hoping to get some enjoyment at this time of year. No More! Maybe You should change You name to Bird Brain….
Yes sir, back to back national titles by the rifle team.
Excuse me Mitch.
Great Job
Lol pretty much every uk sport is in a post season. That’s what ATHLETIC directors do. Mitch is fine
Cal has put in a system that basically ignores the University and the fans. How many recruits come in saying, UK is where I always wanted to play? How many come in saying, Cal can get them to the NBA quicker than other coaches?
I want kids coming to UK that have NBA dreams, but I want them to also be part of a complete team; not a 1 year NBA showcase.
Kids that come in, get beat out for playing time, I understand. But it should not be a mass exodus of those on the bench. They should be thinking, next year is my turn. Not, if I want to play, I have to go somewhere else.
Cal has created an atmosphere of 1 shot, 1 year players. If you can’t play this year, I will recruit over you and you can sit on the bench another year, then another year, and so forth. That is not "Building" a winning program. Players should feel part of the team and developed into a contributing part of the "Program".
I don’t see Cal developing players from year to year. If you come in NBA ready, he will coach you. If you are not, you are after thought.
That’s right
Larry, to answer your question…BBN has had it with Calipari as coach. With that being said, you had an earlier statement about how the University can’t afford to buy him out. If that’s the case, then this needs to go further than just firing Calipari. Mitch Barnhart should be fired as well for putting the University in to such an untenable position. But back to your question… the bridge between Calipari and BBN has not been burned, it has been blown up. The University doesn’t want to duck this and find Rupp Arena less than half full next season. Sometimes you have to take the bull by the tail and face the situation. The men’s KY basketball program is in shambles. You would hope that Calipari would have the character of Roy Williams when he admitted that he was no longer the right man for the job at North Carolina. John Calipari is no longer the right man to for the job at Kentucky.
THE ONLY WAY TO FIX THIS IS EVERYONE STOP GOING TO RUPP TO WATCH THAT IGNORANT BASTURD KEEP DESTROYING THIS BBN!!
Exactly!
The thing I don’t like about Cal is all the chest pumping of all his first round NBA lottery picks he has had. No body in the state of Kentucky cares about the NBA, we are a college basketball loving state.
I feel Cal has lost lot of the fan base because lack ok wins. If they win next all will be healed. These same folks wanting Cal gone would be big blue all the way. It is sports and many factors go into wins and losses. Coach and players.
I be all the players wanted to win more than any of us fans.
Sorry Larry. This was the year for Calipari to win it all. Losing in a regional final MIGHT have been enough, MAYBE, but losing in the first round to a 15th seed is inexcusable. To add insult to injury, we also lost the title of the winningest program in the country in this debacle. My giveadamn is broke when it comes to Calipari. It’s time for him to go.
Cal has never been able to win the big games.. only wins as far as his players can take him.. coaching involved he can’t do it!! Look at his total coaching history, he has had the best team at many schools only has one championship in all these years!! Coach K will have number six in a few days!! I would be ashamed if I was Cal!
The most a coach should stay at UK is ten years. The first 5 years of Coach Calipari were Outstanding! The game has changed since 2015. His record and way of coaching has not kept pace.
I’m not saying he needs to go. However, I do believe he will not get UK out of the first weekend moving forward. We as UK fans need to either accept this or buy out his lifetime contract (ridiculous).
I’m afraid this will not end will for UK and Coach Calipari.
Who do you want to get and how do you know they would come ? Fan base can only be pleased with National Championship every year.
I’m not offering up an answer – don’t think there is one.
Paul get real. What other blueblood program has lost to Robert Morris in an NIT first round game, had a 9 – 16 season, and then lost to a 15 seed in a first round NCAA tourney? That is 3 history making embarrassments to the University of Kentucky in 13 seasons. This was Calipari’s year to win back BBN and he didn’t. If we were the University of Nebraska, that one national title would have been enough for him to stay, but this is the University of Kentucky. We USED to be the winningest basketball program in the country. Calipari didn’t have to win a championship every year; winning one every 4 years was the expectation that I had. He publicly proclaimed that he was not here to win championships; he was here to get kids into the NBA. He needs to move on to an NBA team and continue that mission and let the University of Kentucky get back to the business of winning championships. The man has no shame or he would do what Roy Williams did after 2 bad years at North Carolina…admit that he is no longer the man to coach that team. That showed character and class on Williams part. Calipari has neither when it comes to Kentucky basketball. It’s time for him to go!
Absolutely
UK didn’t win titles every four years before cal so that s just a dumb expectation but given this toxic hillbilly comment thread I’m not surprised. They won 7 in the 70 years before he showed up, so take five hours and do some basic math hillbilly. Of course, this loser thread could just get a life and not make everyone ashamed to be UK fans but I don’t see that happening.
He can’t coach or doesn’t coach. We saw signs of that early, but the superior player talent helped to hide it. But over the last few years that talent has not come to UK. Cal has had to do like most coaches and coach up the players during games, develops a plan and make in game changes in offense and defense ,which for some reason he has failed to do.
Pride goes before a fall. I think we are seeing that lived out in blue & white.
The university of Kentucky is about them nit stupid fans who think they are above everybody!!!
Obviously a Louisville alum.
National Championships every year is not the point at all, and it is a comment that intends to shut down conversation. However, that won’t work any longer.
Calipari is paid to coach the UK basketball team, and to protect the UK basketball program above all other concerns. He has placed putting these kids in the NBA as his number 1 priority since he arrived, at the expense of the program. He let’s kids decide when they will or won’t play. He determines which kids he will give the reigns of a team, to win or lose on their own, and now we know he lets parents decide whether their kid will play or not play depending on whether that is perceived as good or bad for the kid’s NBA draft position.
This program has been in decline for years. The addage that he just rolls out the ball has once again been shown closer to the truth than an untruth.
Championships every year, give me a break. However, look at the programs with more than one championship during his time at UK. Look at the number of his teams that lose key games due to inability to make free throws, not just here, but his best Memphis team fell short for that very reason too.
He insults the fan base and patronizes the fans with his incessant jibberish.
He is a fraud, and he needs to go.
Don’t understand why we never plays on he should use the zone as a motivator. I am a coach that demands man-to-man defense and if we switch to the zone that means the next practice is going to suck. It’s simple it’s called motivating. He doesn’t use the bench as a motivator either and that is a huge flaw. Just look at Hopkins went off against LSU and the dude hardly ever played sense. We have been watching this for a while a kid from the bench will get in and hit a three and get taken out of the game. Please don’t show up my diaper dandies or do too good then I’ll have to explain why I’m not playing you. Those two things alone kill us come March because it’s easy to figure out how to play against Kentucky by the end of the year. You just have to understand our players because the technique behind are all fence and Defense never change.
I don’t want to see Coach go anywhere he’s always bringing in great talent but if he doesn’t change things up by next year I think it’s time to retire
Coach cal needs to go. Kansas has already blown past us in the all time wins and every year since 2012 has been an utter disappointment. Life time contract is hilarious. #getridofcal.. hell I’d take Rick pitino back
I like Cal.hope he stays a long time.
Randall your a f’n loser too!!
Ok Randall. We will let you pay his salary since you are the only one who wants him to stay.
I for one think there is plenty of coaches out there that would love to come here. Heck Joe dirts lucky meteorite can do a better job than ole cal Imo. Im thru with this one trick pony. Admit it Memphis fans was right about him. Time to pass the offering plate and have a telethon to get the buyout money…..
Well I think everyone else said it all! Kentucky basketball 🏀 is in shambles!
Grady 1-9 (1-7 for 3)
Washington 2-10
Mintz 3-7
Combined 6–26
When your starting guards, one of which is your best shooter does the above it’s hard to beat anyone. This has nothing to do with coaching. Who to bring in….Hopkins, Sharp?
Ask Purdue how good St Peters was.
Yes,UNC beat then badly, yes we beat UNC badly in DECEMBER.
Cal dose have his issues.
Yes, should have called timeout when they went zone, yes could have played zone to slow down their shooting, but any team who’s starting guards shoot like above are coming away with a L. Coaching or not.
I feel after the injuries to Washington and Wheeler the team never returned to full speed especially on the D side. After rewatching both UNC and Kansas game, that was not the same team on D side against St Peter’s. Where I do feel some O changes have to be made, and feel as bad for team and fans as any year, well beyond BCG (wiped memory), still feel circumstances played a big role this year. I would also state that I am not one for players coming and just sitting on the bench then going straight to the league potentially. However, we all don’t know what the real story is there and speculate all we want. I am hoping Sharpe honors his word which is something not seen much these days, but if he doesn’t then at bare minimum we witnessed one of all time greats play for UK in Oscar. Until then. Spring FB and see what breaks for recruiting. CATS we all know the rest.
Instead of the ‘gold standard,’ it appears to have morphed into ‘fool’s gold.’
He’s too smug and obstinate to adjust.
Superior talent worked for several years, in spite of poor coaching. Clearly not working anymore.
I have NEVER heard a reason that makes A NY since why Sharpe did not play, anyone? What would our #1 enemy done with Sharpe, PLAYED HIM! If he is a 1st round draft pick he most certainly could have started for any school!
Depressed BBN Fan!!!!
Duke fan here. Just saying that winning is much harder than it looks and that a sense of perspective is needed. Every program has a down stretch, including my Blue Devils (see last year and 2007-2015). Before running him out of town, you’ve got to ask who could replace him and still recruit at that level.
Fair questions Michael but coach K sure figured it out
BBN is sick and tired of seeing an endless parade of OADs come to UK, refuse to play defense, refuse to play team ball, and leave after a year. We are better of recruiting KY kids and kids from adjoining states who will stay for 4 years. They improve their fundamentals and skills, learn how to play together as a team, and they want to win for UK whether they will ever play in the NBA or not. BBN gets a chance to get to know the players and will support them like no other school. Finally, a coach who actually helps kids get better and play better together doesn’t need the OAD players. Kenny Payne would have been the ideal coach for UK. The players are now eligible for NIL deals so this will help those coming from disadvantaged backrounds support their family and ease the sting of not becoming millionaires at the age of 19. We waited too long on Coach Payne and let him end up at Lousyville where he will excel. Orlando Antiqua is an excellent recruiter, but I am not so sure about his coaching skills.
Rick Pitino would be the best short term answer. Yes, he has F’ed up big time in the NBA and at Lousyville, but he knows he F’ed up and also knows he only has one last chance to redeem himself. Nobody knows more about college basketball and how to build championship caliber teams than Rick does. He recruits kids with solid fundamentals and coaches them up. He did a superb job at Iona this season and he could come back to UK and have a top 5 program in 4 years. After 4 years his contract would call for him to step down and promote one of his assistant coaches to take over, and by that time Pitino would be ready to retire on a high note.
As a way of making Rick atone for his past missteps, pay him a base salary of $500,000 and add performance incentives that will reward him for his team’s success. A $500,000 bonus for winning the SEC regular season or the SEC tourney…an additional $1million for winning both. A $500,000 bonus for making it to the Sweet 16, another $1million for going to the Final 4, a million dollars for getting to the title game, and 2 million dollars for winning the title. All totaled would amount to $6.5 million…that’s enough, more than enough. Should he get caught cheating or bringing any other discredit to UK or himself, he would be terminated immediately and would pay the University an exit penalty of one million dollars. You are very welcomed Mitch Barnhart, assuming that you don’t get canned in the process too.
I’m in my sixties and have been a fan since I was a kid. We’ve had some good players and some good games. It’s been a joke that Cat fans want to win every game, but actually it’s true. With Cal, it seems he’s not really worried about winning and does not have the intensity that is needed. Since we all know he’s a mediocre coach, and also lacks a passion to win, it explains why we are in a mess. The star players do not give a hoot about UK, because all Cal is focused on is making them millionaire professionals. The movie Hoosiers allows us to see that teams must give everything they have every game! We pay him millions to have these players ready to play, which is not always the case. He is constantly saying he is failing and making terrible decisions but is not being held accountable. His promises of the NBA is his strategy to landing star players and it worked before, but who wants to play for someone who cannot coach? The word is out, KY is not feared anymore. Anyone can beat us any day. Heartbreaking to see all these good players and not winning. If next year is bad, he will need to hit the road.
The University should investigate the talk about Calipari getting kickbacks from the players he sends to the NBA. It’s obvious that his loyalties are not with UK, but with his bank account.
I am a Louisville native grew up listening to UK & UofL games on the radio. I never thought that I would hear a KY coach say he was not there to win national championships. UK has a great fan base they deserve the best. Lifetime contract LOL. I guess the AD is not there to win national championships either!
Larry, have you ever had this kind of response to one of your articles?
There have been a few but don’t think ever so many comments in 10 days overall for all articles since the loss to Saint Peter’s
With all of the outcries for Calipari’s head, do you think he will be our coach next year?
Absolutely. He is not going anywhere