Reed Sheppard says “we have the best coach in the world”

95 Responses

1. This cycle needs to be broken.

   1. Amen! Every game is different….no matter how prepared team is, being in the middle of the action is different.

      1. Every game Cal coaches you can se he is a poor bench coach

   2. I can see that most of you never played competition basketball. If you really watched the game instead of crying, and then those of you who are lamenting over the money it cost for the whole Pittsburgh affair, you’d know and understand, blame belongs to the players.

      1. Bull shit.
         Why leave the Harrison twin to get THREE 5 second calls?
         Why not have a plan when you KNIW the other team is going to play zone?
         Why not have a player in the face of a good 3pt shooter?
         How do you have the most talent and CONTINUALLY LOOSE?

2. Players first doesn’t work, team first does. The Calipari way doesn’t work anymore with NIL and the portal. Calipari doesn’t change. It’s time to move on…SEE!!!

   1. Amen! Reed is likely taking Public Relations admonitions from Jeff and Stacy.

      That’s smart. And, if I may say so, it’s telling. I’m reading between the lines but sounds like Reed is laying the foundation to come back for another year. He’s being a good statesman, covering bases not burning bridges. Just conjecture however.

3. If they had watched tape and Oakland!s funky zone instead of bowling they would have been better prepared. The NCAA tournament is not the time to relax and have fun. It is the time to be in the gym and for this team above all else learning defense. You have to realize that offense can only carry you if the shots fall- they didn’t. Despite what Reed says this loss is on the coach!!

   1. AGREED!!!

   2. I agree 100% .

   3. I had no idea nor read that team or any members of the team had been bowling a day or 12 hours before Sametime. Bowling requires leg, arm strength and energy. Boy, this is a major key in explaining this loss. The importance of the game wasn’t taken seriously, enough. I am truly shocked not surprised this bowling activity happened. Again, the Coaches lost coaching discipline and the players who ever didn’t understand the seriousness of this game and the importance to the University, the fans, and the entire State of Kentucky.

      1. They didn’t go bowling right before the game. From what the players said they went bowling before the NCAA tournament brackets were even revealed. Correct me if im wrong bc in not saying in right

         1. You are correct

      2. As a UK Grad, when I heard Crap a Pari say that winning championships is not the goal, but getting guys drafted was the priority, I was done with him. Get a coach who understands that Final Fours and NCAA Championships are what we want

         1. Call was hired to win. The Gonzaga coach has them in 9 Sweet 16’s IN A ROW!!!! HE GETS PAID 20% OF Cal’ pay!!!!

            1. Little bit different budget Joe! Pretty sure Mark Few has chosen to stay out of the pressure cooker for good reason.

      3. I had read about the bowling trip

      4. It’s not about UK it’s about putting kids in the NBA. Bragging rights.

   4. What a moronic comment! They didn’t know who they were playing when he took them bowling! They bowled instead of playing in the SEC tournament championship game! just WHO do you think we can get that’s better than Calipari? Don’t worry, I’ll wait…

      1. Bruce Pearl right now he is available a year or two down the road I have no idea who is available. But I love coach Cal would love him to prioritize winning. I would love to be a fly on the wall in a conversation between him and Sheppard on his future.

         1. So would I like to be that fly Damon

   5. I guess your perfect as you didn’t proof read your message!

      1. It’s you’re, not your. Please proof your writing.

   6. The last thing a basketball player or pitcher needs to do before a game is bowl. Considering the outcome of the game, it’s incomprehensible to me that a coaching staff doesn’t know this!!!!! The muscles and tendons in the wrist and arm are changed by bowling and create some stiffness, no matter what coaches or players say.

   7. Exactly

4. Your not going to stay another year and learn from the "best coaching staff in the world ", you’re leaving. Your not an unforgettable who thought more about your school and state, just another one year wonder in a depressing program

   1. Need to stop recruiting these one and (dumb) players. They don’t care about the schools rich basketball history. Give me 4 players with drive and play ability who commit to playing 3 or 4 years and 1 Jamal Mashburn type committed to winning. Kentucky fans deserve better. Spending thousands of dollars each year in support of a team that doesn’t give a crap about anything but putting a year in and going pro.

      1. Amen!!!

   2. I don’t believe he said anything about leaving as of yet.

      1. As a Kentucky boy growing up wanting to win the National Championship playing for this team he should be leaning towards staying but who knows what Coach Cal is going to say to him. If he a great coach he should be able to say yeah you can stay and get even better and more eyes on you next year. My feeling is he gonna say your a lottery pick you should go to the NBA now and get the money for your family, you don’t want to chance ruin your stock by staying.

      2. All of you are funny as hell with your comments. Especially the bowling. It’s basketball season. You all forget what real basketball games are like anymore due to the fact of transfer portals and nil deals now. Basketball games were supposed to groom a young player for three or four years to get them ready for next chapter of their lives – with the hope of playing in the pros. Yet we have gone to one and done. Do I agree with this? No! I understand the traditions that BBN holds. It’s about winning and honoring those traditions. Being at the top of all the rest for bragging rights. However, BBN only loves when they are winning and unfortunately can’t take lists very well. Especially when they are in a rut now. Everyone wants to give up, blame the coach and call for his firing and dismissal. BBN is one of the biggest landing jobs in the world that comes with a lot of pressure. Look what you all did with Tubby Smith running him and his family out with derrogative comments and threats. Then you all hire a drunk for a coach. We see how that panned out. Then you bring Calipari in and he does his job right all the way up to the last five years. Now you want to belittle him and get rid of him. Again this one is on the players whether or not you all want to believe it or not! Quit being a bunch of babies. BBN FANS ARE PART OF THE PROBLEM WHEN YOU ALL ARE WINNING. DIFFERENT STORY WHEN YOU ARE WINNING. IT’S CALLED BASKETBALL. YOU’RE GOING TO WIN SOME AND LOSE. BUT NO MATTER WHAT YOU ALL SAY CALIPARI IS A GREAT RECRUITER AND COACH. IF HE WASN’T YOU ALL WOULD NOT HAVE KEPT HIM AROUND FOR LAST 15 YEARS

5. But the coach IS out there! He is suppose to teach his players how to turn a bad shot into a good shot, work around their defense, defend against the 3pt shot and so on. That’s why they are called a coach. Any other coach would’ve known what to do. That’s the difference between a good coach and bad coach. It takes longer than 1 season to learn that as a freshman. As long as Kentucky is a portal for the NBA, nothing will change. Good luck coach Cal, after 15 years, maybe you’ll learn this and be the coach you should be.

6. Player Speak….sorry Reed but you and a few others had your chance and froze on the big stage. It could be that Reed, Wagner, and Gohlke are the main contributors to the Cali-Fraudi take down. That would be something none of the three would ever forget.

7. I am always amused by the blowhard "fans" who know more than the coaches and players but have never been an athlete. They are sure vocal in their lack of knowledge. These programs don’t exist for " fans" pleasure. These players are young and inexperienced when they walk onto the campus. They are looking for guidance from the coaching staff. It will always, and should be, a players first program. When players are healthy mentally and physically, the team forms. They speak highly of Coach Cal and that says volumes!

   They won 70% of their games this year. That is a successful year! At least half of the top 25 teams have the same record. Since when is a top 25 ranking considering unacceptable?
   That clearly shows "fans" are unrealistic and unreasonable. College basketball has changed drastically over the past 10 -15 years. There is a lot more talent and its much tougher!! The players got their shots but they didn’t fall. Many other great teams have lost too. Big deal, it happens. The tournament doesn’t define success. It is just one small aspect. Only one team can win. March Madness is a term that Kentucky "fans" seem to be taking literally.

   What is more unacceptable than the way "fans" are acting over losing a game is the "fans" attacking abd bullying players on social media. They are kids! That should NEVER happen!!
   Recruits see this stuff too. Just because it’s Kentucky doesn’t mean every coach and player wants to be here. "Fans drive them away. Since you want to force out a hall of fame coach and lose all of the players and recruits, enjoy your new Billy G era that you are asking for and don’t you dare complain about losing when that happens!! "Fans" who fit into the description above are pretty pathetic and should go find a new team to harass.

   The REAL fans are here supporting this team AND Coach Cal!!!

   1. I agree 100%! This is a classic case of cutting your nose off to spite your face. If they fire, without a top notch coach in place, we will have a losing record next year. And that doesn’t get fixed over night. Could be a few of those seasons in store. 🤷‍♂️ if the fan base is mad now, then wait for that 10-25 season that’s coming.

      1. 10-25–hey that’s one more win than the royal highness COACH CAL got 3 yrs ago!!! Be careful when making theoretical future projections to illustrate a comparison between CAL and somebody else—CAL didn’t even reach 10 wins with one of his "best recruiting classes in the nation"—-BETTER LUCK NEXT TIME!!!!

   2. A top 25 ranking has NEVER been an acceptable level for UK basketball. Never. The tournament DOES define success, at Kentucky. And if you are a “real” fan and are really a former UK athlete, you know all that. Cal knows that, or he wouldn’t call UK “The Gold standard.” Mere top 25 is bronze at best. In the early 90s, when Georgia was struggling in football under Ray Goff, a UGA booster was quoted as saying “This isn’t Kentucky.” Guess what, he was right! Well, this isn’t Georgia basketball, it’s Kentucky! Bama and Georgia fans SHOULD expect to win big in football, and so should we in bball.

      You’re right about a couple of things: only 1 team can win it all. But 32 teams can win in the first round, and we’re not even doing that. 16 teams can win in round 2, and we’re not doing that.

      Yes, college bball has changed, and Cal refuses to change. Just look at his quotes.

      1. AMEN…KEEP CAL

   3. I totally agree with you. Cal is a Hall of Fame Coach. The attack by the media and many so called fans are uncalled for. These players have such pressure put upon them to win EVERY game, it’s unrealistic. Coach took them bowling to alleviate some pressure and try to keep them loose. Bowling a few frames didn’t exhaust them. They played a more mature team and the pressure definitely got to them. Changing Coaches isn’t the answer.

      1. I agree Ky Lady. Bowling was just a fun day before the NCAA pairings came out. That is the least of the problems

      2. Mark Few has had Gonzaga in 9 SWEET SIXTEENS OR HIGHER IN-A-ROW!!!! He makes 20% of what Cal gets paid.
         Does Gonzaga have better players, facilities?
         They sure have a better Coach.
         Winning matters.

      3. I agree Ky lady real fans support Coach Cal and these players Go Big Blue

   4. When I was their age 19 yrs old I was drafted into the military. It really irks me when these wonderful fans describe’s their team as just kids because they care for them. Don’t get me wrong, I think the world of these youngsters as you call them. My question is, why were we called any thing but a human when we at least had the nerve to serve our country and never will know the true reason so many had to die in this so-called battle of death. The hardest part was the ones that were not drafted because they were the party of the Draft board. I have just put it under the rug because I couldn’t take their cowardly acts they put on us because they really thought they were entitled.

   5. I don’t want Coach Cal to leave. Is he arrogant sometimes, yes!! I do think he should focus on the University of Kentucky and maybe convince a few more players to stay longer than a year. Look at all the other schools getting upset or just barely winning when they are top seeds. I hope the 25-26 year old players playing against 18-19 year olds is about over with bc I think that’s the main reason we been getting upset. Also, Cal has had the worst luck with players not being healthy or players having to miss big chunks of the season like this year. In sure no one will agree but I think Reed Sheppard needs one more year at least. Also, Bradshaw isn’t ready, Big Z isn’t ready, Edwards isn’t ready, Wagner isn’t ready and Dillingham is probably the closest. So maybe get most these guys back, then next years freshman and then Coach needs to find a couple defensive gems in the portal. Then if next season ends this way maybe I would feel different about parting ways with Coach Cal. I still think his way will works when these players can’t use covid years no longer and be playing till mid to late twenties. That’s crazy.

   6. You certainly don’t sound like an athlete at all. A real athlete should not be as willing to witness the demolition of a blue blood standard program. 70% doesn’t cut it here on the big stage. Cal had success his first 10 yrs and has tarnished the BRAND ever since. He can’t even execute basic coaching 101 any more. Comments like that really show you not be a true BBN fan because your too busy drinking the Cal-Aid.

      1. 💯

   7. A formal wildcate athlete who won’t even publish their name, or sport for that matter, along with there "informed opinion".

      I don’t disagree with everything you say…having some amount of a player centric approach is important – I would argue even a priority in many ways. However, times have changed and continue to change. Today, college basketball is, more than anything, about money and entertainment – it is a business first. That alone makes it much more fan centric. If fans aren’t happy, support and the dollars will dwindle and the business can ultimately falter.

      Cal’s approach is player centric, which while commendable, does not translate to today’s college basketball environment. The days of developing players for one year for future NBA success no longer translates to a championship level college basketball program. I have been hesitant over the last 3 – 4 years to join the steadily increasing number of fans that have said it’s time for a change. However, if Cal can’t adopt a strategy that is portal and long term development heavy I think it is vital we find someone who can.

   8. Amen 💙

   9. Since you played at Kentucky you should know only championships matter in the long run. 70% of games won in a year is not what this program was built on, national championships and deep runs in the NCAA are. Time for Cal and his NBA mini camp to go. He’s had enough time to win another championship and has proven he can’t do it nor does he have the program set up for that purpose. The one shot of him late in the first quarter the other night said it all, he had no clue what was going on or how to change it. Totally lost. Shepperd was never in the game, KY was scared to death from the start and you could see it in their faces. That’s not having a team ready to play. Z was the best center that night, yet he spent a lot time on the bench. Time for Cal to go….

   10. Thank you so much for your response!!!! It was spot on!!

   11. You are 100% correct. It absolutely pisses me off as a fans to think that our fanbase would act this way. These players are young and to be developed and prepared for the level of playing in college basketball, not to mention playing for "Kentucky Basketball" doesn’t happen without a true leader, mentor, and coach and coaching staff that is dedicated to the student athletes. Sure as a Die-Hard fan did I want and would I love to have another National Championship sure. But to call for one of the best coaches there is to be fired is ABSOLUTELY RIDICULOUS and shows how irrational people are and have no clue about the behind the scenes stuff that these coaches do for the players.

       I am sure had they won and made it to the next round and last this same BS would be going on. I would challenge everyone of the folks who call them sleves "a fan" and have had nothing but negative things to say about Coach Cal and the players, step up and walk a day in their shoes. See what it is like then run your damn mouth and call for the firing of the Coach and speak negatively of these young men. Until then shut your mouth and don’t claim to be a UK fan because you are far from one with the ridiculous crap you are saying. UK is great and so is the Coach Cal and the entire staff.

   12. Did you just come home after a 4 year sabbatical in the Amazon rain forest? Cal has lost it since signing the lifetime contract.

   13. When tax payers money are being used the coach damn well better try to win conference and Ntl championships as state tax payers our concerns must be considered.

   14. Oh don’t try to use a long winded message to not see the truth. Fans should not expect there team especially a Blue Blood like Kentucky to be mediocre. The Fans care about this team care about the players care about Coach Cal it’s called criticism buddy that’s life we all get criticized in life if someone ain’t strong enough to take there not going to make it very far in any aspect of life the will just keep giving up and running away. Don’t use kids as an excuse either there young adults and this is how you teach them. When something is wrong you say it’s wrong don’t just baby them and be like it’s ok it’s ok then they will never improve and this is not a basketball response this is a LIFE!!! response

   15. I agree I support coach Cal and the players GoBigBlue!

   16. Very well said!
       These so-called true blue fans or even other schools so-called fans as they call themselves, are so miserable with their own lives, they’re not living in reality of what it takes to be an athlete or a coach!
       Yes, I was unhappy with the recent failures of the past teams, but I move on with my life and understand that criticism never brings anything positive moving forward!

   17. Right there with you Former Athlete. The BBN, as much as I enjoy being part of it has become toxic. Reed is a sincere, take some responsibility kind of guy. Raised right, sees the bigger picture well for a young man. Deserves no ridicule from what is supposed to be adult observation. Take your hate and go home.

   18. Thank you ..AMEN

   19. I couldn’t agree with you more. Coach Calipari is a tremendous coach. College basketball has changed so much in the last 5 or more years. I think Coach Cal needs to recruit for Kentucky first, instead of being an NBA recruiter. However, I really enjoyed this year’s team. The SEC conference was tough from top to bottom. Just like the NCAA brackets are tough from top to bottom. This year’s team brought back the fun in UK basketball. I believe Cal still has what it takes to complete for a national championship.

8. The players like him because they think he is their ticket to the NBA.

   1. Amen!

9. Reed isn’t going to say that its on calapari. But we all know its on calapari. What has happened since he signed the lifetime contract? Nothing really.

10. Just remember one thing the university of Kentucky got rid of possibly the greatest coach that ever coached at Kentucky in
    the fifties I am talking about the great Bear Briant and we all know what happened there I’m just saying things could be a lot worse

    1. You are right on. We don’t read a great deal on this.

11. yeah reed, i don’t agree that you guys were prepared, didn’t your coach say that he doesn’t watch the teams tapes to see how they play. if you looked at the tape you would know that they play this type of zone, the announcers said they played this all year. as far as defense i thought cal was such a great defensive coach, why couldn’t he fix the defensive problems, this went on all year, the same defensive lapses . time for a new coach who can teach and coach up his players . i’m fed up with cal and this staff to .

    1. Steve, for real, that the Head Coach doesn’t watch film/ tapes? Surely the top Assistant coach does?

12. One thing Reed said about CAL that is ABSOLUTELY TRUE: "he’s not out there doing anything"!!! Except yelling and screaming and running around like a deranged psychotic maniac.

    1. Right

    2. Any running a substitution pattern unlike any other Coach.

13. Just look at what an unwavering steady hand upperclassmen dynamic player Antonio Reeves was. He didn’t get that way over night.

14. Good offensive team. NO defense, means 1st round lost. Add some defensive players and you have great team.

15. Right

16. If we are going to hire a new coach the sooner the better! The new coach needs to hit the transfer portal hard! Most of are players will be leaving and recruits! It’s time for a new coach to bring us back to our winning ways again! Fans really deserve this as much time and money they spend on the program! Fresh start!

    1. If there is a change, needs made this week unless next coach is involved in NCAA play. Personally, I still don’t think a change will be made

17. If he’s the best coach in the world, then you guys stay there another year and prove it with a championship like I have said earlier this one and done stuff does not help the UK fans at all.

    1. 100%….stay and prove the fans wrong!!!

    2. Someone please remind Cal that his priority should be winning championships for Kentucky, not being a talent scout for the NBA.

       1. Amen!!

18. I want to see Reed Shepherd step up and be a true Kentucky leader and say that he came to Kentucky to win a National Championship and he’s not leaving until he does! What a breath of fresh air that would be! It’s not like he’s not going to make a ton of money staying with NIL. And with Travis Perry coming in next year we could have a true Kentucky National Champion. How could Reed leave after that loss and chance Travis Perry winning it all next year without him?? Put this season in the rear view mirror and focus on total domination next year!! GO CATS!!

19. Reed is correct. But its more than just this year. Kentucky demands titles. Both SEC and NCAA. They both are hard. Cal has been given a long leash years its been 12 since the last banner. I respect Cal and he is a great Coach a winner. Hopefully he will be worthy of one more effort. And if he fails a peacefully parting and a huge check for him. He earned it.

20. If Reed is so in love with Cal, he can go with him. It is time to serve notice that no player or coach is bigger than the UK program.

21. You can’t depend on freshmen as your best players. The lights get brighter, the stage gets bigger, the pressure gets greater. And they don’t know how to play defense at a high level. Nothing they have ever experienced. BBN’s expectations are way too high. They shouldn’t have lost to Oakland – true – but I’m not surprised.

22. Truth #1 – We had a great team this year and it was a decent season, but with this talent we expected better.
    Truth #2 – Someone needs to remind coach Cal that Kentucky fans don’t focus on the NBA. We focus on another natty. He need to do that too.

23. We all loved Reed, Rob, and Reeves because they gave it their best. So you’re done at Ky and it’s time to move on. We get it, but we are here to stay because we were born here and the Wildcats are the best Ky has to offer in sports. So, with that said, with all due respect, please don’t pump up Cal like that. He is the arrogant jerk that exists because of statements like Sheppard just made. Ky needs a new coach, no if, ands, and buts about it. His time has come and is forever gone. Please Cal, just have humility enough to RESIGN. The situation has become toxic and untenable. People can’t stomach another year of wash, rinse, and repeat. The washer is worn out.

24. Coach Cal’s time at UK has run its course
    "All thing end badly or they wouldn’t end"

25. Reed, you said you had never seen that type of zone before. Does that mean you didn’t study it on film or try to go against the main concepts in practice??? I don’t know those answers, but your comments and the outcome of the game lead a person to come to that conclusion.
    Also, I appreciate you taking up for your coach. That is what you should do at this current time and I would be disappointed if you didn’t. Having said that, your opinion on the matter does not affect my opinion of Cal. You are too close to the situation and on the wrong side of the fence to have an objective opinion of the situation. The complaints of the fans have been going on since before you were in high school and the history of this great program is older than most all of us. When UK has a coach that states he is not worried about winning championships (SEC or NCAA), it is time to part ways. That is the reason every university has a team, for the hope of winning and this coach has already stated and shown by his lack of coaching and preparing a team that it is not important to him.

26. when a coach allows Duke too beat us in any and all aspects of the game it is past time for him to be run out of town, there is Absolutely no cost too great to allow him to stay and put our BBN deeper in the the hole that we paid him to put us in, enough is to darn enough!!

27. when a coach allows Duke too beat us in any and all aspects of the game it is past time for him to be run out of town, there is Absolutely no cost too great to allow him to stay and put our BBN deeper in the the hole that we paid him to put us in, enough is to darn much!!

28. I have to say I agree it wasn’t all Cals fault if the players are shooting and missing it’s not Cals fault. The problem is this one and done crap every year we have a new team we can’t build a great team in one season. These guys gotta be willing to stay a few years then we might get something done. keep Cal and get some players who wanna actually get their degrees like we used to have.

29. I’m not a coach but I ask you hear me out before saying I don’ t understand I read a quote from lee iaacoca who got fired from Ford and went on to be president of Chrysler who got a bail out loan from the government and of the big three was the only one who paid it back made a statement " I HIRE THE BEST THEN GET THE HELL OUT OF THE WAY" is this not what colleges do why would a college recruit the best then tell them how to play the game, you couldn’t tell the coac how to coach makes sense to me dave 419-205-5160 give me a call let’s talk.

30. Why can Coach Few have Gonzaga in 9 SWEET Sixteens, or higher, IN A ROW & Kentucky cannot?
    A) best facilities?
    B) best recruits?
    C) best Coach!

31. I agree with the fact that recruiting one and done players doesn’t make the players commit to making UK basketball the best it can be. I think that we should try and get Rick Pitino back! He knew how to win and was building a dynasty before he left the program years ago. He could take less talent than what this team has and done way more with it.

32. I agree with Reed. Cal has modernized the offense and now he will do the same for the defense. We used to get mad about Demarcus being so rough now we want a tougher player for defense, the game has changed. It would be great if some of our players stayed for two or more years but they are always coveted by the Pros and it makes it difficult for them to justify staying. With our new NIL program it will be harder to justify leaving so I do believe they will stay longer. I truly believe with the changes being made we will get the multiple championships we want. It coming and it will be fun.

33. So does this mean you are coming back?

34. Thank God Reed Sheppard has the maturity to analyze the big picture and give us great insight on the Oakland game. Many of those of you that chose to respond wasted a lot of words and frankly, a lot of our time with a bunch of garbage that had nothing to do with Reed’s excellent and heart felt summary. If you just want a venue to spread your poison about UK basketball and John Calapari and the fans that don’t agree with your twisted opinion go to X – you will find plenty of places to spew your hate.
    Thank you Reed for helping us understand what went right and what went wrong on Saturday against Oakland. It has been a pleasure to watch you playing basketball for UK this season – I sincerely hope we will be watching you in the same role next season!! Until then – GO BIG BLUE !!!

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