Vicky Graff Photo
Former Kentucky all-American Jack Givens bleeds blue. Never doubt that about Goose, the 1978 Final Four MVP.
But Givens is also honest and realistic. He does not mince words or make excuses. He did not as a player and has not with his role as analyst for the Kentucky Radio Network.
You could feel Givens’ pain after another shocking NCAA Tournament loss Thursday night when No. 3 seed UK fell 80-76 to 14 seed Oakland that led and controlled almost the entire game against a Kentucky roster supposedly loaded with NBA talent.
However, Oakland had one big edge — it had way more heart as a team than Kentucky. The Grizzlies played harder and I would even say smarter much of the game.
“You have to come out with a chip on your shoulder and you should be trying to pound them physically early,” Givens said on the UK Radio Network after the loss in Pittsburgh. “Kentucky just allowed them to do what they needed to do. It just was not the kind of game I expected.”
Me either. Unlike many, I did not pick Kentucky to reach the Final Four. But I also did not pick UK to lose to OAKLAND.
Of course, this was no shock. UK lost in the first round in 2022 and second round in 2023. It did not make the tournament in 2021. It went one and out in the SEC Tournament again.
Givens pointed out key mental mistakes the Cats made against Oakland, including abandoning 3-point shooters. Oakland made 15 of 31 3’s, including 10 by Jack Gohlke.
“The way they were shooting, the last thing you wanted to do is give up a 3 (late in the game). That has happened to Kentucky three or four times where they lost the game that way,” Givens said.
“It’s just too bad a team with so much potential … and the last thing you want to talk about tonight is potential this team has because that just means they did achieve what you think they should have achieved.”
Kentucky did not. It lost 10 games. It did not win the SEC regular-season championship. It did not win the SEC Tournament. It did not even win a NCAA Tournament game again.
Givens — like almost everyone else — felt good about UK after it closed the regular season with a huge win at Tennessee.
“The want-to was there at Tennessee. They wanted to be good on defense. They wanted to guard people. We did not see that in the SEC Tournament and tonight they just did not seem like the want-to was there like they wanted to stop them,” Givens said.
Blunt and true.
The smaller Grizzlies had 14 offensive rebounds. They held UK to eight fast break points. They also hit big shots when they were open and some when they were contested.
Givens said most good teams are consistent defensively and Kentucky was not.
“The want-to is so huge on that. Want-to comes in when rebounding the basketball, too,” Givens said. “It is tough. It is easy to talk about that now but what a disappointing end to the season.”
Say amen BBN.
22 Responses
No. 14 seed Oakland beat No. 3 seed Kentucky, 80-76, in the first round of the 2024 men’s NCAA tournament. The Wildcats went from a trendy Final Four pick (guilty) to a one-and-done tournament exit. It would be an unbelievable turn of events if these Wildcats hadn’t been playing with fire all season.
Kentucky only has one NCAA tournament win in the last four years, but this one is going to survive as something even bigger. With the South Region seemingly wide open, it felt like UK got an easy draw to at least the Elite Elite. Now, this feels like the worst loss of the Calipari era in Lexington. It might not be something he can come back from.
It’s time to move on from Calipari, even if it does cost $40 million.
John Calipari is never living down Kentucky’s loss to Oakland in March Madness. The entire college basketball world is hee hawing at ANOTHER Calipari collapse. Can you spell Kentucky? I N D I A N A
I will never believe in another Calipari team and he threw the kids under the bus in that hallway interview – blaming them for everything. I am tired of having my heart broken. It was his overpaid job to have those kids ready and HE DID NOT!!! He still gets his big fat paycheck win or lose! I am so sick of him. I am a lifelong Kentucky fan but I am no fan of his!!
John Calipari is never living this loss down 🤣 😒
Calipari signed a lifetime contract at Kentucky in 2019. He’s only won one tournament game since, and also missed the field of 68 altogether back in 2021.
Calipari lost to No. 15 seed St. Peter’s in the first round of the NCAA tournament only two years ago, but that team never felt as talented as this one. This team had two stud future NBA guards with Sheppard and Rob Dillingham. It had some great veterans like Reeves. It had a clear path to the Final Four with a relatively easy draw through the bracket. Now their postseason run is over before it ever really began.
This feels like the worst loss Calipari has ever endured. It’s the type of L someone doesn’t just bounce back from. It’s always a long offseason after you lose in the NCAA tournament, but this one is going to be particularly painful for coach Cal and Kentucky.
He has an excuse for everything, blames the kids, and NEVER takes any responsibility on himself. It’s time to send him to Louisville.
I really didn’t have a hard time thinking we would pull another St. Peters with quick exit. Hey Cal…how is UT doing with them? You have to have the WILL to win, the TALENT to win, and the COACHING to win and we went 0-3 as we have many times during the year. This team is easy to H after blatant underachievement this year but much easier to H because of their lack of coaching this year. I may watch the Final 4 but otherwise am done after another well earned gut punch. I pray that Mitch and Cappi might be able to collect some thoroughbred monies to push Cali-Fraudi out the door. He is and has made US the laughing stock of the whole BB world.
The unselfish talented TEAM which rolled through the summer games mysteriously disappeared after the fraud injected his poison.
It happens every year when UK play summer games. He destroys the chemistry & deflates every player who is not his pet. He is crooked.
The Professor has nailed it year after year with his ANE (Adjusted Net Efficiency) model which projects the end of the season by analyzing the first 5 to 7 games of the season.
I never doubted UK had talent & depth (although the most efficient players rode the bench to let the pets have the majority of the minutes).
The fraud AND his money minion AD own UK BB and not 1 administrator with authority, including the Pres, has the manhood to take a stand.
For a coach who says "blame me , criticize me, give it to me " he sure didn’t want any of it after the game. He put it all on the players
And btw , Brad Calipari looks like and absolute dope
Got that right.
Know need in saying things like that, makes you sound small
In the post game interview with Evan Washburn after Cal got done dumping on the players . Washburn should have said well the kids aren’t machines or robots.
This fraud will never change.
The problem is not his lifetime contract or his compensation package. The problem is and always has been with this fraud that he places greatest importance on moving these kids as quickly as possible to the NBA draft night rather than making it his priority to advance the interests and well being of the UK basketball program. I am not sure how far down his list of priorities this program has fallen, but it is at least below the NBA Draft, petting his dogs, and watching old TV reruns.
Nothing will ever change with this fraud because he sees himself as some sort of wealthy, social justice warrior, and advances his agenda with the NBA rags to riches story line.
Decisions driven by all the wrong motivations where the UK basketball program is concerned.
Yep..you are right.. and When asked after the game about his style cal said he’s helped so many young families with recruiting young.. he should go to Washington D.C . and get a job with all the other bullshit artists.
BINGO!!!!!
He is a POLITICAL ANIMAL!!!!! NOT A COACH FIRST!!!!
Kentucky will not be Kentucky basketball until Cal is gone.
Amen to that, Cats79. Wish l had never heard of "Coach Cal". He desperately needs
to resign. And leave town. Immediately.
I got 100.00 bucks in my pocket for the departure fund
The sad thing is that he is going to move to my town. He already bought a house here in Nashville. As bad as I hate him being here— I would help him move if it would get him out of Lexington!! We are not an NBA training camp but that is all that he cares about. I can’t believe how he is blaming these kids for his failure. PLEASE Mitch- find the money for the stupid contract that you let him get away with and give us our basketball back. We already have 6 freshman coming in next year. Rinse and repeat! I cannot take another year of him.
time for UK and Cal too move on, long past that time!!
Tough loss no doubt that Coach Cal owns, but the cost to buy out Calipari’s contract is the AD’s and athletic departments fault IMO. Unless they can get help from rich donors I’m afraid Kentucky will have no viable choice but to let him stay until the cost goes down…. way down. It is insane to me the salaries schools are paying these coaches today. That kind of money to a college basketball who has either lost his mojo, and can’t coach, or has experienced success thus far through just plain old luck at tip off time but now has seen his luck run out, even with superior talent.
Calipari’s team had no answer for the Oakland zone and he makes almost 9 mil a year…..geez! Surely these coaches watch film! The Oakland coach makes less than $400k. Hire him. To pay out over $33 mil would surely drain other athletic teams at UK with much needed revenue, would it not? Football for example, baseball, etc. I know fans hate this fix UK is in, but remember it is only a game. The sun still came up today There are much more important things to worry about, like our country in a free fall right now with a wide open southern border, and what that means to cities and towns all over America in the years to come. I know one thing, Kentucky basketball is no longer the gold standard they claim to be. Gotta face the music and ride out the storm.
Got to get rid of this egomaniac. I was fortunate enough to play for one of the best highschool coaches that ever coached in Kentucky that being Paulie Miller. He had a saying class tells shit smells take a guess what you are stinko.
Most other freshman on other teams play loose and have fun playing in the tournament. Not calipari’s freshmen. When it happens every year, and you blame the players every year perhaps you should look in the mirror. Coaching consist of recruiting, and teaching, and evaluating, and preparing your team mentally, and physically for every game. One good quality doesn’t make a coach. Kentucky basketball is held to a higher standard, and so should it’s coach.