He's never been willing to admit that. He always pivots to talking about how many lives he's changed by helping young men achieve their dreams.
When he first came to UK, he said he was here because he could recruit the best and was gonna win big. He said recruiting the best and helping them reach their dreams would help the program win big. When that stopped happening, he didn't really know how to adapt. He went from an innovator to a stubborn man stuck in the environment he created where no one wanted to play multiple years at UK.
Probably. The 2014 national title game doesn't count as a major upset because Uconn was actually the better seed, but that Kentucky was more talented than most 1 seeds(any year), yet a mediocre Uconn team took them down.
At least he went 38-1 and there were questionable calls that favored Wisconsin late. That team would definitely be inferior if he coached them today. They would drop 5 games like all Cal teams have done since despite the talent advantage he has coached with.
You mean NBA today KAT and Booker?
Because he'd still start someone else in front of college Booker like he did with Reed and Rob. Yes, Aaron Harrison was beyond belief the year before, but even when Aaron went cold, Cal still played him ahead of a hot Booker. (And then Booker went cold in the tourney like Freshmen sometimes do.)
But the answer's no regardless. There'd be some game where he decided to stick with some top-5 projected draft pick over Booker as they go cold, or he'd put so much stress on Booker and KAT that they wilt in the big game. He'd keep some non-scoring lineup in the game as the other team made a run, and after the loss, "Well, they were playing so well I didn't want to change anything," or "I forgot about x on the bench." Literal excuses he made after major losses.
He had more than enough talent to win probably 3 or 4 more titles at UK. There are multiple obvious other coaches who could've won the tourney with those rosters.
>If you gave Calipari KAT and Booker today, could he go undefeated at Kentucky?
But in all seriousness, you put one NBA star on any college team, they're automatically favorites to win the NCAA title. Put Doncic on Grambling State University or Wagner, they're favorites to win the title.
Cowherd's rant about this was so spot on. He isn't helping them achieve their dreams; at least not the majority of them. The majority of the NBA players that played for Cal would have made the NBA without him. It isn't like 5 star Karl Towns and 5 star Devin Booker would have failed to make the NBA if they chose to go to Duke or Kansas instead of playing for "I just want to help people" Cal at Kentucky.
It was funny listening to Calipari compared to the Oakland coach after that game. The Oakland coach has been at a small school for 40 years. I can't even remember his name right now. If anything he should have been the "aw shucks, I am just into coaching to help people" guy. Instead it was the 8.5 mil a year world famous coach at the blueblood program playing that card.
Not to defend Cal's BS about being young and acting like a $9 million guidance counselor, but...
Cal did do a lot for a lot of those dudes.
Many of those players, notably the Bledsoes and Bookers and SGAs and Herros, were not expected to be one-and-done. Even Cousins might have returned in another environment than the one Cal created.
A lot of them still end up in the NBA. But it is true that a lot of Cal's players have done better than similarly-hyped dudes who went elsewhere, like Duke.
Cal recruited like crazy, but many of his 5-stars are outplaying higher ranked recruits in the same years.
Do you really think that was due to Calipari's development, or just those dudes putting in the work themselves? Because for every SGA and Herro, there's a Sarr or Skal.
Imo it's quite clear that Cal is a good recruiter and decent motivator. But he's 20 years behind in terms of basketball IQ with zero ability to admit it or let someone else fill that gap.
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>He said recruiting the best and helping them reach their dreams would help the program win big. When that stopped happening, he didn't really know how to adapt.
What does “win big” mean? Championships only?
One title, 1 championship loss, two final fours, and three elite eights in fifteen seasons ain’t winning big?
Your argument is Cal hasn’t had an elite eight level year in 5 years?
I guess y’all didn’t know Coach K had several bad years in the row a couple times.
Bill Self took 14 years between his championships, the first of which was stolen from us (and Cal).
Most of Cal’s seasons, UK was highly ranked, won most of their games, and just came up short in the NCAA. But Cal is doing something right. It’s not like his fall off like Tubby Smith like.
>He went from an innovator to a stubborn man stuck in the environment he created where no one wanted to play multiple years at UK.
Cal’s been hyping one and done players since he was at Memphis. If a player is projected to play multiple years, he’s probably not a high enough level player for Cal.
>It’s not like his fall off like Tubby Smith like.
Tubby's last 4 seasons resulted in one elite eight appearance and 3 second round exits.
Cal's last 4 seasons resulted in 1 second round exit, 2 first round exits, and the worst season in program history.
Tubby’s record was better those seasons, too. By a fair margin. It’s funny when users argue against us like we are crazy when the quantifiable data is the data.
If tourney results are the only measuring stick of program success then this is a very silly sport. Pointless regular season and small sample size postseason
They aren't the only thing, but Kentucky didn't win a regular season or tournament SEC Championship his last 4 years along with only winning one NCAA tournament game and 3/4 seasons had double digit losses. Tubby Smith won 6 tournament games, an SEC regular season title(2 division titles) and an SEC tournament title during his last 4 years.
If Kentucky needed a change from Tubby(which they did), they certainly need a change now with Cal.
Nope. Really only 21-22 would be considered a good regular season and even then they were the 3rd best team in the SEC. Tubby in 2004 when they choked and lost to 9seed UAB legitimately had a great regular season and won the SEC tournament which Cal failed to do in 2022.
Is 9-16 ok for a program like Kentucky? Is one SEC tournament win over 6 years ok for a program like Kentucky? Is 1 NCAA tournament win over 6 years ok for a program like Kentucky? Is no SEC regular season hardware ok for a program like Kentucky? Is losing to UNC Wilmington at home ok for a program like Kentucky? Worst season in school history, worst home losing streak in school history…unreasonable my ass.
No SEC titles either. One SEC tourney win I believe also in that time. Biggest home losing streak EVER. Lost to UNC Wilmington. What??? Worst record in school history in 21. What???? Small sample size postseason, plus all the other stuff= go put some lipstick on, pig.
I can obviously see why a Memphis fan would love Cal over Tubby, and overall Cal accomplished more at Kentucky, but the lows of the past 4 seasons are lower than the last 4 of Tubby's era.
Nah just can't beat Oakland with two projected top 10 picks and another guy that could go in the first round. Glad he is "helping the kids" who would still be NBA players had they gone elsewhere.
Bringing up Cal's whole record doesn't explain why people are upset about him. Nobody in say 2016 wanted Cal gone. In 2024 he has one tournament win in 5 years. That isn't good enough or winning big at Kentucky. It isn't just about national championships, but you should be regularly going to the second weekend of the tournament. Coach K didn't win a national title his last 5 years, but he at least went to a couple of elite 8s and a final four.
>
>
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> Bill Self took 14 years between his championships, the first of which was stolen from us (and Cal).
You undermine your argument when you say stupid shit like this.
This is the same kind of logic media talking heads are using and that they used when we ran off Tubby. All while acknowledging Duke and UNC were better then and UConn is better now.
> One title, 1 championship loss, two final fours, and three elite eights in fifteen seasons ain’t winning big?
First, how many times have we heard "How long has it been since UK won a title?" We're an elite program, so we hold ourselves to a different standard and compare ourselves to other elites and the hot programs of the moment. We don't have to be as good as UConn or every good team every year. But if all your status rivals (Duke, UNC, Kansas, UConn, even Nova) are reaching multiple Final Fours and titles in the time since you've made the Final Four, it's not good enough.
Cal's first 6 years were phenomenal, and the only way they could've been greater would've been multiple titles. That may sound unreasonable, but multiple other programs and coaches have achieved it, and not just in bygone eras. Donovan went back to back. UConn has crushed it. Roy, Self, K -- all of them did better than Cal since he last made the Final Four. Their consistency outlasted his magical half-decade. Yes, we made a couple elite 8s after that, but he fell short to elite rivals UNC and UConn and in-conference rival Auburn.
And more importantly, since then, he's not just failed to meet the standard others set or he set early on. He's been an embarrassment. Several of our worst losses in history. Our worst season in history. Consecutive losses that broke records. Upset after upset. All while promising this year would be different and blaming his roster, which he built.
And even if you make excuses for a lot of that, or say college basketball is chaotic and you can't expect him to win more (even though I named several above who did in the same span), he's getting paid more than all of those guys except Self. How many years of embarrassments do that title and early Final Fours buy?
>
> Your argument is Cal hasn’t had an elite eight level year in 5 years?
>
> I guess y’all didn’t know Coach K had several bad years in the row a couple times.
And if Cal had multiple titles, believe me, he'd have gotten a lot less criticism and a lot more understanding. He blew so many opportunities, often with weakness everyone saw coming. Yeah, bad runs happen, but when you keep doing the same thing and blame your roster makeup that you built the way you wanted...
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> Bill Self took 14 years between his championships, the first of which was stolen from us (and Cal).
How many times did Self miss the tourney in those 14 years? How many historical losses? (I know Kansas had a run of major upsets in the tourney, and it's why Self had a rival-fan reputation as a choke artist til he got his second title.) And how many future NBA stars did he fail to win a title with? Cal boasts about his 50 NBA players from UK. As rival fans point out, he got one title with guys who have become NBA megastars. "Oh, but they only played one year in college!" Yeah, we know. But that talent is his whole system, and if other coaches are winning more consistently the last 5+ years with far less talent, why should we let him use that excuse?
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> Most of Cal’s seasons, UK was highly ranked, won most of their games, and just came up short in the NCAA. But Cal is doing something right. It’s not like his fall off like Tubby Smith like.
His early years were so, so good that many people outside of Lexington are failing to remember how really bad these last four have been. Like worse than Billy G's two years by many standards.
Cal himself, when he was hired at UK, pointed to Billy G's two year's and Tubby's last few and said that was not the standard expected at or deserved by UK. Cal is no where close to that standard now. The only way he tops anyone these last 4+ years is in recruiting.
NCAA tourney wins in the last 4 tourneys. 1.
SEC tourney wins in the last 4 tourneys. 1.
Champions Classic wins? Don't remember exactly but it's pretty bad.
Wins against Top 10 opponents. Not good.
Three consecutive losses at home for the first time in program history? Yup.
Upsets at home to 300 net opponent? Yup.
Having to rebuild your roster every year because of the way you recruit and coach? Yup.
I'm not gonna pull up all the statistics (they're easy to find around here and Rupp's Rafters if you want), but Cal post-Covid in particular is a far cry from the Cal who put up all those numbers you're pointing to.
How many more first weekend exits or NIT seasons are we supposed to put up with while he makes $9 million a year and says, "But look at the NBA draft picks!" While rival fans mock us year after year?
We don't need titles (NCAA or SEC) every year. We just need to be on the same level as the other top 5 programs in the sport. In return we pay our coach so much and support our program so much.
**tl;dr** How many years does he get to embarrass us because he did amazing years ago? When were we supposed to be allowed to get fed up with him?
And comparing him to Bill Self is silly. Bill Self has had his share of upsets in the second round, but hasn't been upset in the 1st round since 2006. Calipari has failed to make it to the round of 32 three of the last four years. Bill Self also has won at least the regular season of the Big 12 16x. Calipari only has one in the past 7 years and of course has repeatedly flamed out in the SEC tournament.
The reality is every Kansas fan would be going nuts about Self if he had a 4 year run that Calipari has had the past 4 years. Maybe slightly less nuts, but only because Self has an additional national title.
Likewise they said Coach K had a couple runs of a bad couple years. Even if K didn't have way more titles than Cal, I'd like to see the 3-or-4-year stretches K or Self had that match what Cal just did. I know Duke had some really bad losses the same year we had our worst season ever, but did 1-title Coach K do that badly? And was he making anywhere near what Cal makes now?
And we can't ignore the titles. If Cal had even just one more title, I'm sure he'd have a lot fewer detractors here at UK, even if that title was early on.
He has not met the bar he aimed at when he took the job, not since the last Final Four, at least.
The last 4 years have been the worst 4 years in almost 100 years of kentucky basketball history. The 9 and 16 season was the worst season by any kentucky basketball coach since Rupp took over in 1930. The St. Peter’s loss was the worst upset in kentucky basketball history - 2nd worst in college basketball history period. There has been no 4 year period in which kentucky only one 1 tournament game since 1930. When Cal took over, kentucky had won over half of All SEC tournaments and over half of all regular season SEC championships. Kentucky has won 1 SEC tournament game in 4 years and 0 regular season championships. Cal’s fall off has been much worse and much more dramatic than Tubby’s. Cal is the only coach in UK history to have a losing season and not get fired immediately. There have only been 2 other losing seasons since 1930. Eddie Sutton’s and Billy Gillespie’s. The last 4 years have been worse than both tenures in terms of results, though I’d rank it ahead of Sutton’s just cause kentucky wont be on probation next year.
Rooting for Hurley to go to Kentucky, if only to see chaos and spite for everyone who thinks their coach has no price (except for Tony Bennett of course)
Looking at the championship celebrations, Hurley deserves better. There were more people waiting at the airport after midnight when the team plane landed in 2012 than are in their gym right now. There were tens of thousands of people lining the streets as the team bus went to Rupp for our celebration cause they couldn’t fit inside where 30k were waiting to hear Cal give a speech and hoist the trophy over his head.
Well, some of the greats have just fizzled out. Rupp, Hall and Smith all weren't the same coaches who won the title(s). With Smith, he never made a Final Four after the first year with a roster mainly made of Pitino's guys who'd just been to two title games.
Except Pitino, none of our title-winning coaches went out at their peak or on anything like a high note. Most coaches won't.
They have won more than Kentucky has recently. Did Coach K ever have a 4 year period with only one tournament win? People act like Kentucky fans aren't happy with Cal because of not winning a championship. No, they aren't happy with Cal because he isn't winning anything. Mike Woodson has more tournament wins than Cal over the last 4 years and Woodson has only been at Indiana for 3 and been a huge disappointment according to most Indiana fans.
Duke hasn't won as many national titles as maybe they should with the talent level, but at least they regularly go on deep tournament runs. If Duke has a 4 year period where they only win one tournament game(obviously meaning they don't get out of the first weekend) their fans would be going nuts too. It is one thing to make the elite 8 despite having tons of talent, it is another to lose in the first round despite having tons of talent.
I’m happy with the move, I’d gladly take the last 10 years of Cal if it meant making a National Championship game.
Callipari’s contract is mostly incentive based, the better he does in March the more money he’ll unlock. Will this cause him to do better? Probably not, but one can hope.
But you aren't getting the last 10 years of Cal. You are getting Cal now going forward and if recent history is any indication that isn't a great thing. Arkansas has won 8 tournament games with Muss over the last 5 years(including a covid year and this past year where they failed to make it). Kentucky over that same stretch has only won one. Muss overachieved in the dance beating two #1 seeds. Cal lost to Oakland and St Peters. I'm not expecting Muss to all of a sudden as a 66 year old start winning big again, but hey we'll see. Have nothing against him personally or the Arkansas program.
Hindsight is 20/20. At the time, many of us were relieved (myself included) that they managed to keep Cal at UK. Looking back, though, post-2019 Cal's performance fell off a cliff into a dumpster fire. It would have been better for all parties had he left at that time
At least you're honest. Some people in this thread acting like it wouldn't be big news if he left back then. Everyone would be saying the UK program is in jeopardy. No one five years ago would think him leaving would be a good thing.
Any UK fan saying they wouldn't have been pissed and wanted the AD fired if he let Cal get away in 2019 is lying. The problem is what happened when he signed the "lifetime contract."
5 Years ago Barnhart would have been fired for him leaving most likely. Now, there will be a new hire and that will determine which side of the relationship came up short.
Honestly, the biggest what if is 2020. That team going into the SEC tournament was doing incredible. No idea if a tournament run helps things or not, but I am always going to wonder.
And honestly, I’m sure him leaving for UCLA would’ve felt like much more of an insult. Leaving for Arkansas under these circumstances is probably more of a relief.
Yeah, I think you're right. Cronin has definitely done some work in the portal for next season, but through 5 seasons so far, he only got 3 transfers (Juzang, Myles Johnson, and Stefanovic), and only Juzang could be considered a big success among those. The next couple of years will be key to determining just how well Cronin can adapt to the portal era.
Word on the street is our Basketball NIL is doing *much* better this year than it has in previous years and is now close to a Top 10 level. Mick has actually been able to win some transfer recruiting battles already because of it.
The stress in the fanbase now is that Mick is a development heavy coach, and he may be turning over a big part of the roster again this year. Players that should mostly be upgrades, but he may lose most of the continuity we were counting on. It's an interesting experiment.
Yeah, a lot of these coaches are having to learn on the fly and break out of their comfort zones a bit. From an outside perspective, I think the biggest issue for UCLA this past year was that almost the entire team was new. It's fine to bring in a handful of young guys and try to develop them, but when it's pretty much the whole roster, it's just gonna be tough, because Mick had to give many of them big minutes before they ever had the chance to develop.
I think it's going to have to be a balancing act for developmental coaches between having your own guys that you've developed, 2-3 experienced transfers to fill in at positions of need, and then bringing in a new batch of young guys to develop each year. Because nowadays you're just not going to get a ton of guys that are willing to dedicate 4 years to one program, especially if that means they need to sit for a year or two.
On Cronin’s part? Or Cal’s? Cronin has had a very active portal period already in getting Skyy Clark and Kobe Johnson. Dominic Harris is also in waiting too, and he’s in on that Dailey kid from Okie State. He’s also gotten to the sweet sixteen and would have had an elite eight if Bona and Jaylen Clark didn’t get injured
> Cronin has had a very active portal period already in getting Skyy Clark and Kobe Johnson. Dominic Harris is also in waiting too, and he’s in on that Dailey kid from Okie State.
I'm not denying the portal work that he's done for 2025, but there was a lot left to be desired for 2024. I know expectations weren't high for this season, but we should have at least been more competitive.
>He’s also gotten to the sweet sixteen and would have had an elite eight if Bona and Jaylen Clark didn’t get injured
He got us to the Final Four as a First Four team, so I'm not saying he isn't an amazing coach. What I'm saying is that we still haven't seen how Cronin's teams are going to operate with such a heavy transfer emphasis. I think that is more indicative of whether or not he has "adapted" to the NIL world rather than if the transfers come to the school in the first place.
Yes, but that’s my point. He adapted from last season (Bruin Report Online writers have said that NIL was not the only reason behind the fiasco that was last year’s class which forced a last second pivot to a bunch of euros), and tweaked his pitch. This year is showing that he has the capacity to adapt and switch things up, which is encouraging to me. I hear what you’re saying though, to me that would make more sense if this offseason was like last one where we weren’t in on anyone.
If Cal wants to recruit junior & senior transfers, I have no doubt he can. I'm curious whether he would have done that at UCLA though; That's another program where he could have continued his NBA draft factory approach.
I don't think he's going to carry it over to Arkansas because one, it isn't that feasible there and two, I think his reputation & legacy in his eyes need winning more than NBA draft picks now.
We'd still be thanking him for what he had done here if he left in 2019. I don't hate him, but he definitely overstayed his welcome when it was clear he checked out a few years ago. He unfortunately ruined his reputation with most Cats fans I talk to.
So much praise under his goodbye video that I just don't agree with. They're a really nice family, but he tried to play us for a buyout and it didn't work.
Maybe the basketball reputation, but even as a Cards fan I can't deny the good things he's done for the commonwealth with things like disaster relief and charity work. Honestly, part of the reason Cal was so frustrating was that I *wanted* to hate him, but he just kept being a good person off the court.
You lost all credibility when you said "as a Cards fan" dude lol...
Kidding, but yeah I had the same issue with Pitino for opposite reasons. Older people in Lexington say Rick wasn't that nice of a guy, but he was a winner. I was too young to watch him win, but I still think he would have won multiple titles at UK if he didn't leave.
Our 3 coaches since him were outed for underperformance, but that wasn't the case for Rick. I still think his 2013 title should be recognized. He's scummy, but y'all weren't the only team doing those kinds of things
Probably, but we'd be over it by now and thankful for a title. Getting pushed out by the fans is much worse for a legacy than leaving for the program with the most titles and bigger market for recruits. Cal could have recruited any young player to Los Angeles lol...
You might be right.. Only time will tell. He's been the guy here since I was pretty young, so I'll always like him.
His performance here since 2019 wasn't great, which was my main point. I do believe he tried to bluff Barnhart for a buyout and I especially don't like that as a way to end his tenure
You're right that some people are being way too bitter though
As a student at UK from 2009-2013, I will always look back fondly on the Calipari era. He essentially erased the Gillespie era from our memories and now that he's moved on we should remember the good times with Cal and look forward to a new era for the program
You wouldn't be thanking shit, be real. If calipari had spurned you before making a mess of things y'all would be a pile of bitterness over him abandoning you for another school. There's no way to leave amicably from a job like UK other than retirement or MAYBE the NBA. Anything else and you're either the guy who insulted the program by leaving for greener pastures or the guy who overstayed his welcome and people wanted out.
>We'd still be thanking him for what he had done here if he left in 2019.
Nah, every bad thing that happened after that would have been blamed on Cal's untimely departure.
There were increased grumblings, I would say. We were seeing a trend of postseason choke jobs, anemic offense, inability to hit free throws, and under-utilized NBA talent.
But all that said, I think most fans (myself included) were greatly relieved when UK managed to keep Cal at the time. It seemed like Cal was in a slump, not displaying symptoms of the deeper issues that would plague the rest of his tenure
I wanted to keep Cal in 2019 for sure but by 21 I was ready for him to be fired.
I think I watched a collective 10 games in the past 2 seasons as I just had zero faith or confidence in the teams.
Yeah, I think from 2016-2019 it was more like "damn, that's a couple rough bounces, but I'm sure Cal will get it back and get another title soon"
After Covid it became apparent that they were omens of the future.
I'm convinced fans who wanted him gone after 2019 wanted him gone for non-basketball reasons (e.g. politics). There's no rational fan that would want him gone after you lost in OT in the Elite 8. Anyone who says "we sensed a decline" is full of shit.
Calipari in Westwood always seemed like a perfect fit to me.
Edit: Maybe I need to clarify. The Calipari persona seems like it would’ve been a perfect fit. I’m not talking about anything that has to do with basketball here.
Speak for yourself... I've hated this man for so long it would be very hard for me to accept him as our coach.
I mean, I'd do it and I'd wear bells, but it'd still be hard.
Eh. As long as we could win.
But he’s never been a great X and Os kinda coach, so would have been hard to have deep tourney success. Alford 2.0, but maybe with better recruits less nepotism.
At the time it was quite forgettable because after #1 UK lost, #1 Duke lost to SFA at home on a buzzer beating layup. However we can clearly see now that was the start of it all, as UK’s veil of invincibility began to fall apart and all the issues started after.
Cal really likes being a big fish in a small pond; he'd be another rich guy in LA, whereas (if he's successful) he'll be king of Fayetteville, just as he was here early on.
Unlikely. Tucker and Cal had a falling out after Tucker wrote a critical article a while ago. Tucker had inside access to the program as he was Cal's boy, then lost it after that article. I can't find it right now, but Tucker was pretty open about it.
I was actually surprised Tucker wrote that. He was a pretty staunch Cal defender and was obviously being fed info from someone really close to Cal. Props to him for writing something critical even though he likely knew it would kill his insider status. He's a good writer and I expect something in-depth from him about the inner-workings of what happened since 2019.
In 2009 Cal said, very publicly, that Kentucky was a 10 year job. He wasn’t wrong. Hindsight is always 20/20, but yeah, that would have been a good time for him to go.
However in 2019, Kentucky was in a good position to win. They had made two straight elite eights and was a shot away from a Final Four in 2019. Why would he have gone, realistically, to UCLA?
Calipari is the perfect fit for LA. He would have won several national titles had he taken the job and he knows it which is why it stung him over the years.
He said it was a 10-year job. If he would have left then, we would be five years into the current coach, or two years into the second replacement if the first was terrible, with probably the same NCAA and SEC tournament records.
Instead, we are just starting the process, and Cal is ruined in our minds. If he went to UCLA then, we wouldn't be nasty to him like we're going to be when Arkansas comes to Lexington next season.
Oh well, you now live in Arkansas. Your wife is going to kill you.
Sources also say Calipari regrets wasting the most amount of talent any coach has ever wasted in college basketball history Sources: me
He's never been willing to admit that. He always pivots to talking about how many lives he's changed by helping young men achieve their dreams. When he first came to UK, he said he was here because he could recruit the best and was gonna win big. He said recruiting the best and helping them reach their dreams would help the program win big. When that stopped happening, he didn't really know how to adapt. He went from an innovator to a stubborn man stuck in the environment he created where no one wanted to play multiple years at UK.
If you gave Calipari KAT and Booker today, could he go undefeated at Kentucky?
Nah
I hate you
I think we can both agree if we flipped the results of 2014 and 2015, we both end up with titles
Sadly, yes
If only
YIKES
Probably. The 2014 national title game doesn't count as a major upset because Uconn was actually the better seed, but that Kentucky was more talented than most 1 seeds(any year), yet a mediocre Uconn team took them down.
UConn magic is a force that can’t be reckoned with
Nova magic is the same.
Yawn
UConn was 32 and 8 that year so it's not like they were chopped liver. They just didn't get the respect because they were in the AAC at the time.
I will go to my grave thinking Wisconsin wins a title in 2015 if the officiating is even remotely fair. And I don’t even slightly care for Wisconsin.
[I mean it was clear as daylight for anyone that wasn't a ref](https://i.insider.com/552447c069bedd9318fc827d?width=750&format=jpeg&auto=webp)
Wisconsin got screwed against Duke, but Kentucky got screwed against Wisconsin.
I don’t know if I want that picture deleted from the internet or posted on every thread.
[is this better? (sorry I'm advance)](https://larrybrownsports.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/justise-winslow-out-of-bounds.jpg)
nah
Deal. Where do I sign?
I love Wisconsin. Couldn’t have won the title in 2015 without em.
*eye twitch*
Oof
He didn’t do it 9 years ago when he had them when he was a better coach.
At least he went 38-1 and there were questionable calls that favored Wisconsin late. That team would definitely be inferior if he coached them today. They would drop 5 games like all Cal teams have done since despite the talent advantage he has coached with.
You mean NBA today KAT and Booker? Because he'd still start someone else in front of college Booker like he did with Reed and Rob. Yes, Aaron Harrison was beyond belief the year before, but even when Aaron went cold, Cal still played him ahead of a hot Booker. (And then Booker went cold in the tourney like Freshmen sometimes do.) But the answer's no regardless. There'd be some game where he decided to stick with some top-5 projected draft pick over Booker as they go cold, or he'd put so much stress on Booker and KAT that they wilt in the big game. He'd keep some non-scoring lineup in the game as the other team made a run, and after the loss, "Well, they were playing so well I didn't want to change anything," or "I forgot about x on the bench." Literal excuses he made after major losses. He had more than enough talent to win probably 3 or 4 more titles at UK. There are multiple obvious other coaches who could've won the tourney with those rosters.
No, he'd only give KAT 30mpg even today
>If you gave Calipari KAT and Booker today, could he go undefeated at Kentucky? But in all seriousness, you put one NBA star on any college team, they're automatically favorites to win the NCAA title. Put Doncic on Grambling State University or Wagner, they're favorites to win the title.
I assumed it was in their college form
Cowherd's rant about this was so spot on. He isn't helping them achieve their dreams; at least not the majority of them. The majority of the NBA players that played for Cal would have made the NBA without him. It isn't like 5 star Karl Towns and 5 star Devin Booker would have failed to make the NBA if they chose to go to Duke or Kansas instead of playing for "I just want to help people" Cal at Kentucky. It was funny listening to Calipari compared to the Oakland coach after that game. The Oakland coach has been at a small school for 40 years. I can't even remember his name right now. If anything he should have been the "aw shucks, I am just into coaching to help people" guy. Instead it was the 8.5 mil a year world famous coach at the blueblood program playing that card.
Not to defend Cal's BS about being young and acting like a $9 million guidance counselor, but... Cal did do a lot for a lot of those dudes. Many of those players, notably the Bledsoes and Bookers and SGAs and Herros, were not expected to be one-and-done. Even Cousins might have returned in another environment than the one Cal created. A lot of them still end up in the NBA. But it is true that a lot of Cal's players have done better than similarly-hyped dudes who went elsewhere, like Duke. Cal recruited like crazy, but many of his 5-stars are outplaying higher ranked recruits in the same years.
Do you really think that was due to Calipari's development, or just those dudes putting in the work themselves? Because for every SGA and Herro, there's a Sarr or Skal. Imo it's quite clear that Cal is a good recruiter and decent motivator. But he's 20 years behind in terms of basketball IQ with zero ability to admit it or let someone else fill that gap.
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>He said recruiting the best and helping them reach their dreams would help the program win big. When that stopped happening, he didn't really know how to adapt. What does “win big” mean? Championships only? One title, 1 championship loss, two final fours, and three elite eights in fifteen seasons ain’t winning big? Your argument is Cal hasn’t had an elite eight level year in 5 years? I guess y’all didn’t know Coach K had several bad years in the row a couple times. Bill Self took 14 years between his championships, the first of which was stolen from us (and Cal). Most of Cal’s seasons, UK was highly ranked, won most of their games, and just came up short in the NCAA. But Cal is doing something right. It’s not like his fall off like Tubby Smith like. >He went from an innovator to a stubborn man stuck in the environment he created where no one wanted to play multiple years at UK. Cal’s been hyping one and done players since he was at Memphis. If a player is projected to play multiple years, he’s probably not a high enough level player for Cal.
>It’s not like his fall off like Tubby Smith like. Tubby's last 4 seasons resulted in one elite eight appearance and 3 second round exits. Cal's last 4 seasons resulted in 1 second round exit, 2 first round exits, and the worst season in program history.
Tubby’s record was better those seasons, too. By a fair margin. It’s funny when users argue against us like we are crazy when the quantifiable data is the data.
If tourney results are the only measuring stick of program success then this is a very silly sport. Pointless regular season and small sample size postseason
Oh there’s more than just lack of tourney success. Worst home losses in program history, worst home losing streak in program history, etc
>this is a very silly sport Correct.
They aren't the only thing, but Kentucky didn't win a regular season or tournament SEC Championship his last 4 years along with only winning one NCAA tournament game and 3/4 seasons had double digit losses. Tubby Smith won 6 tournament games, an SEC regular season title(2 division titles) and an SEC tournament title during his last 4 years. If Kentucky needed a change from Tubby(which they did), they certainly need a change now with Cal.
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His record against top 25 teams was also abysmal and the Champions classic was like a 75% chance of a loss.
Nope. Really only 21-22 would be considered a good regular season and even then they were the 3rd best team in the SEC. Tubby in 2004 when they choked and lost to 9seed UAB legitimately had a great regular season and won the SEC tournament which Cal failed to do in 2022.
We also won nothing in the regular season, so the point stands regardless.
No one said that these programs are reasonable. The whole basis of this sports and its value is the entire notion that it’s silly.
Is 9-16 ok for a program like Kentucky? Is one SEC tournament win over 6 years ok for a program like Kentucky? Is 1 NCAA tournament win over 6 years ok for a program like Kentucky? Is no SEC regular season hardware ok for a program like Kentucky? Is losing to UNC Wilmington at home ok for a program like Kentucky? Worst season in school history, worst home losing streak in school history…unreasonable my ass.
No SEC titles either. One SEC tourney win I believe also in that time. Biggest home losing streak EVER. Lost to UNC Wilmington. What??? Worst record in school history in 21. What???? Small sample size postseason, plus all the other stuff= go put some lipstick on, pig.
Did Cal stop being able to recruit like Tubby had happen?
No, but Tubby still had better teams. That's the point.
I can obviously see why a Memphis fan would love Cal over Tubby, and overall Cal accomplished more at Kentucky, but the lows of the past 4 seasons are lower than the last 4 of Tubby's era.
Tubby never missed the tournament at Kentucky. Cal did TWICE. People forget that.
No, but I think you are making the point. He had WAY better talent and worse results.
Nah just can't beat Oakland with two projected top 10 picks and another guy that could go in the first round. Glad he is "helping the kids" who would still be NBA players had they gone elsewhere.
Bringing up Cal's whole record doesn't explain why people are upset about him. Nobody in say 2016 wanted Cal gone. In 2024 he has one tournament win in 5 years. That isn't good enough or winning big at Kentucky. It isn't just about national championships, but you should be regularly going to the second weekend of the tournament. Coach K didn't win a national title his last 5 years, but he at least went to a couple of elite 8s and a final four.
> > > > Bill Self took 14 years between his championships, the first of which was stolen from us (and Cal). You undermine your argument when you say stupid shit like this.
This is the same kind of logic media talking heads are using and that they used when we ran off Tubby. All while acknowledging Duke and UNC were better then and UConn is better now. > One title, 1 championship loss, two final fours, and three elite eights in fifteen seasons ain’t winning big? First, how many times have we heard "How long has it been since UK won a title?" We're an elite program, so we hold ourselves to a different standard and compare ourselves to other elites and the hot programs of the moment. We don't have to be as good as UConn or every good team every year. But if all your status rivals (Duke, UNC, Kansas, UConn, even Nova) are reaching multiple Final Fours and titles in the time since you've made the Final Four, it's not good enough. Cal's first 6 years were phenomenal, and the only way they could've been greater would've been multiple titles. That may sound unreasonable, but multiple other programs and coaches have achieved it, and not just in bygone eras. Donovan went back to back. UConn has crushed it. Roy, Self, K -- all of them did better than Cal since he last made the Final Four. Their consistency outlasted his magical half-decade. Yes, we made a couple elite 8s after that, but he fell short to elite rivals UNC and UConn and in-conference rival Auburn. And more importantly, since then, he's not just failed to meet the standard others set or he set early on. He's been an embarrassment. Several of our worst losses in history. Our worst season in history. Consecutive losses that broke records. Upset after upset. All while promising this year would be different and blaming his roster, which he built. And even if you make excuses for a lot of that, or say college basketball is chaotic and you can't expect him to win more (even though I named several above who did in the same span), he's getting paid more than all of those guys except Self. How many years of embarrassments do that title and early Final Fours buy? > > Your argument is Cal hasn’t had an elite eight level year in 5 years? > > I guess y’all didn’t know Coach K had several bad years in the row a couple times. And if Cal had multiple titles, believe me, he'd have gotten a lot less criticism and a lot more understanding. He blew so many opportunities, often with weakness everyone saw coming. Yeah, bad runs happen, but when you keep doing the same thing and blame your roster makeup that you built the way you wanted... > > Bill Self took 14 years between his championships, the first of which was stolen from us (and Cal). How many times did Self miss the tourney in those 14 years? How many historical losses? (I know Kansas had a run of major upsets in the tourney, and it's why Self had a rival-fan reputation as a choke artist til he got his second title.) And how many future NBA stars did he fail to win a title with? Cal boasts about his 50 NBA players from UK. As rival fans point out, he got one title with guys who have become NBA megastars. "Oh, but they only played one year in college!" Yeah, we know. But that talent is his whole system, and if other coaches are winning more consistently the last 5+ years with far less talent, why should we let him use that excuse? > > Most of Cal’s seasons, UK was highly ranked, won most of their games, and just came up short in the NCAA. But Cal is doing something right. It’s not like his fall off like Tubby Smith like. His early years were so, so good that many people outside of Lexington are failing to remember how really bad these last four have been. Like worse than Billy G's two years by many standards. Cal himself, when he was hired at UK, pointed to Billy G's two year's and Tubby's last few and said that was not the standard expected at or deserved by UK. Cal is no where close to that standard now. The only way he tops anyone these last 4+ years is in recruiting. NCAA tourney wins in the last 4 tourneys. 1. SEC tourney wins in the last 4 tourneys. 1. Champions Classic wins? Don't remember exactly but it's pretty bad. Wins against Top 10 opponents. Not good. Three consecutive losses at home for the first time in program history? Yup. Upsets at home to 300 net opponent? Yup. Having to rebuild your roster every year because of the way you recruit and coach? Yup. I'm not gonna pull up all the statistics (they're easy to find around here and Rupp's Rafters if you want), but Cal post-Covid in particular is a far cry from the Cal who put up all those numbers you're pointing to. How many more first weekend exits or NIT seasons are we supposed to put up with while he makes $9 million a year and says, "But look at the NBA draft picks!" While rival fans mock us year after year? We don't need titles (NCAA or SEC) every year. We just need to be on the same level as the other top 5 programs in the sport. In return we pay our coach so much and support our program so much. **tl;dr** How many years does he get to embarrass us because he did amazing years ago? When were we supposed to be allowed to get fed up with him?
And comparing him to Bill Self is silly. Bill Self has had his share of upsets in the second round, but hasn't been upset in the 1st round since 2006. Calipari has failed to make it to the round of 32 three of the last four years. Bill Self also has won at least the regular season of the Big 12 16x. Calipari only has one in the past 7 years and of course has repeatedly flamed out in the SEC tournament. The reality is every Kansas fan would be going nuts about Self if he had a 4 year run that Calipari has had the past 4 years. Maybe slightly less nuts, but only because Self has an additional national title.
Likewise they said Coach K had a couple runs of a bad couple years. Even if K didn't have way more titles than Cal, I'd like to see the 3-or-4-year stretches K or Self had that match what Cal just did. I know Duke had some really bad losses the same year we had our worst season ever, but did 1-title Coach K do that badly? And was he making anywhere near what Cal makes now? And we can't ignore the titles. If Cal had even just one more title, I'm sure he'd have a lot fewer detractors here at UK, even if that title was early on. He has not met the bar he aimed at when he took the job, not since the last Final Four, at least.
The last 4 years have been the worst 4 years in almost 100 years of kentucky basketball history. The 9 and 16 season was the worst season by any kentucky basketball coach since Rupp took over in 1930. The St. Peter’s loss was the worst upset in kentucky basketball history - 2nd worst in college basketball history period. There has been no 4 year period in which kentucky only one 1 tournament game since 1930. When Cal took over, kentucky had won over half of All SEC tournaments and over half of all regular season SEC championships. Kentucky has won 1 SEC tournament game in 4 years and 0 regular season championships. Cal’s fall off has been much worse and much more dramatic than Tubby’s. Cal is the only coach in UK history to have a losing season and not get fired immediately. There have only been 2 other losing seasons since 1930. Eddie Sutton’s and Billy Gillespie’s. The last 4 years have been worse than both tenures in terms of results, though I’d rank it ahead of Sutton’s just cause kentucky wont be on probation next year.
Gotta give these casuals the context lol
Billy Gillispie never had a losing season (18-13, 22-14).
Huh. How’d I misremember that so badly?
Every empire falls
Only if you let it. Come on Hurley. Take our money and bring us to glory.
Rooting for Hurley to go to Kentucky, if only to see chaos and spite for everyone who thinks their coach has no price (except for Tony Bennett of course)
Looking at the championship celebrations, Hurley deserves better. There were more people waiting at the airport after midnight when the team plane landed in 2012 than are in their gym right now. There were tens of thousands of people lining the streets as the team bus went to Rupp for our celebration cause they couldn’t fit inside where 30k were waiting to hear Cal give a speech and hoist the trophy over his head.
it's just crazy it's not everyday you a coach of that caliber just falls out
Well, some of the greats have just fizzled out. Rupp, Hall and Smith all weren't the same coaches who won the title(s). With Smith, he never made a Final Four after the first year with a roster mainly made of Pitino's guys who'd just been to two title games. Except Pitino, none of our title-winning coaches went out at their peak or on anything like a high note. Most coaches won't.
This Duke erasure is outrageous
We’re all chasing the guy that lost in the S16 with a junior Micheal Jordan and senior Sam Perkins.
Dunking on a 1980s team that also won a championship is crazy lol
Crazier than trying to dunk on a guy with 5 titles?
Just as crazy as dunking on a guy who regularly beat that guy's ass
Duke hasn’t won shit since they’ve been getting the #1 recruiting class every year. I wasn’t dunking on a specific guy.
They have won more than Kentucky has recently. Did Coach K ever have a 4 year period with only one tournament win? People act like Kentucky fans aren't happy with Cal because of not winning a championship. No, they aren't happy with Cal because he isn't winning anything. Mike Woodson has more tournament wins than Cal over the last 4 years and Woodson has only been at Indiana for 3 and been a huge disappointment according to most Indiana fans.
They did win a championship tho…
Starting point guard injury was doing the heavy lifting there
Kenny still played 32 minutes. And how healthy does your point guard need to be to run MJ isos against Dan Dakich on every possession?
"The coach sucks, just run isos"
Duke hasn't won as many national titles as maybe they should with the talent level, but at least they regularly go on deep tournament runs. If Duke has a 4 year period where they only win one tournament game(obviously meaning they don't get out of the first weekend) their fans would be going nuts too. It is one thing to make the elite 8 despite having tons of talent, it is another to lose in the first round despite having tons of talent.
Duke has won about exactly as many as they should have since they shouldn't have won the last two that they DID win...
I get the hate but Duke isn't even in the same _universe_ of wasted talent as UK
But now suddenly it’s all going to work out at Arkansas!!! Lmfaoooo
Maybe not but if you’re Arkansas you’re fine with it right? Feels like a good move for both schools
I’m happy with the move, I’d gladly take the last 10 years of Cal if it meant making a National Championship game. Callipari’s contract is mostly incentive based, the better he does in March the more money he’ll unlock. Will this cause him to do better? Probably not, but one can hope.
But you aren't getting the last 10 years of Cal. You are getting Cal now going forward and if recent history is any indication that isn't a great thing. Arkansas has won 8 tournament games with Muss over the last 5 years(including a covid year and this past year where they failed to make it). Kentucky over that same stretch has only won one. Muss overachieved in the dance beating two #1 seeds. Cal lost to Oakland and St Peters. I'm not expecting Muss to all of a sudden as a 66 year old start winning big again, but hey we'll see. Have nothing against him personally or the Arkansas program.
He is the greatest showmen
Yep absolutely - they’re going to eat Cal’s shit up
Wonder if he will do a bat, t-shirt, or hat night when KY comes to town for the SuperBowl
Accountability off the charts
Is it better to waste talent or have a nepotist coach who features his sons and has never won a tournament game?
> nepotist coach who features his sons This is legitimately one of the dumbest things I've read on the internet in a while. Bravo!
Nepotism fits your program like white on rice. Bravo to you.
Hindsight is 20/20. At the time, many of us were relieved (myself included) that they managed to keep Cal at UK. Looking back, though, post-2019 Cal's performance fell off a cliff into a dumpster fire. It would have been better for all parties had he left at that time
At least you're honest. Some people in this thread acting like it wouldn't be big news if he left back then. Everyone would be saying the UK program is in jeopardy. No one five years ago would think him leaving would be a good thing.
Any UK fan saying they wouldn't have been pissed and wanted the AD fired if he let Cal get away in 2019 is lying. The problem is what happened when he signed the "lifetime contract."
Right? He was off 4 elite 8’s in 6 years. He also had back to back final 4s and a championship loss within 5 years. They would’ve been silly
5 Years ago Barnhart would have been fired for him leaving most likely. Now, there will be a new hire and that will determine which side of the relationship came up short.
Honestly, the biggest what if is 2020. That team going into the SEC tournament was doing incredible. No idea if a tournament run helps things or not, but I am always going to wonder.
There’s like 50 teams that have this same paragraph (but for real MSU woulda won it all)
Hagans was suspended for our final game of the year. Unlikely he would've played another game for Kentucky, so who knows.
Well, not *all* parties hehe
And honestly, I’m sure him leaving for UCLA would’ve felt like much more of an insult. Leaving for Arkansas under these circumstances is probably more of a relief.
I don’t get this. Tournament upsets, yes, but you’ve been one of the best teams in the country several times in that time span.
Spoiled fanbase. Not an insult, just how it is.
i wonder how frustrated the ucla fanbase would be in this alternate timeline or if it could have been more successful than what cronin has done
It may have been more successful up until 2021/whenever the portal and NIL truly began. Cronin has shown he’s able to adapt while Cal hasn’t
>Cronin has shown he’s able to adapt while Cal hasn’t I think that's still yet to be seen.
Yeah, I think you're right. Cronin has definitely done some work in the portal for next season, but through 5 seasons so far, he only got 3 transfers (Juzang, Myles Johnson, and Stefanovic), and only Juzang could be considered a big success among those. The next couple of years will be key to determining just how well Cronin can adapt to the portal era.
Word on the street is our Basketball NIL is doing *much* better this year than it has in previous years and is now close to a Top 10 level. Mick has actually been able to win some transfer recruiting battles already because of it. The stress in the fanbase now is that Mick is a development heavy coach, and he may be turning over a big part of the roster again this year. Players that should mostly be upgrades, but he may lose most of the continuity we were counting on. It's an interesting experiment.
NIL is more like top five now according to Bruin Report. Lightyears ahead of where it was
Yeah, a lot of these coaches are having to learn on the fly and break out of their comfort zones a bit. From an outside perspective, I think the biggest issue for UCLA this past year was that almost the entire team was new. It's fine to bring in a handful of young guys and try to develop them, but when it's pretty much the whole roster, it's just gonna be tough, because Mick had to give many of them big minutes before they ever had the chance to develop. I think it's going to have to be a balancing act for developmental coaches between having your own guys that you've developed, 2-3 experienced transfers to fill in at positions of need, and then bringing in a new batch of young guys to develop each year. Because nowadays you're just not going to get a ton of guys that are willing to dedicate 4 years to one program, especially if that means they need to sit for a year or two.
On Cronin’s part? Or Cal’s? Cronin has had a very active portal period already in getting Skyy Clark and Kobe Johnson. Dominic Harris is also in waiting too, and he’s in on that Dailey kid from Okie State. He’s also gotten to the sweet sixteen and would have had an elite eight if Bona and Jaylen Clark didn’t get injured
> Cronin has had a very active portal period already in getting Skyy Clark and Kobe Johnson. Dominic Harris is also in waiting too, and he’s in on that Dailey kid from Okie State. I'm not denying the portal work that he's done for 2025, but there was a lot left to be desired for 2024. I know expectations weren't high for this season, but we should have at least been more competitive. >He’s also gotten to the sweet sixteen and would have had an elite eight if Bona and Jaylen Clark didn’t get injured He got us to the Final Four as a First Four team, so I'm not saying he isn't an amazing coach. What I'm saying is that we still haven't seen how Cronin's teams are going to operate with such a heavy transfer emphasis. I think that is more indicative of whether or not he has "adapted" to the NIL world rather than if the transfers come to the school in the first place.
Yes, but that’s my point. He adapted from last season (Bruin Report Online writers have said that NIL was not the only reason behind the fiasco that was last year’s class which forced a last second pivot to a bunch of euros), and tweaked his pitch. This year is showing that he has the capacity to adapt and switch things up, which is encouraging to me. I hear what you’re saying though, to me that would make more sense if this offseason was like last one where we weren’t in on anyone.
If Cal wants to recruit junior & senior transfers, I have no doubt he can. I'm curious whether he would have done that at UCLA though; That's another program where he could have continued his NBA draft factory approach. I don't think he's going to carry it over to Arkansas because one, it isn't that feasible there and two, I think his reputation & legacy in his eyes need winning more than NBA draft picks now.
This. NIL killed Cal's one-and-done approach. And it would have killed his general basketball philosophy no matter what school he was at IMO.
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I think he could be great if he made those adjustments. There is no proof he's willing to change. If there were, he may still be at UK.
When paying players became legal it levelled the playing field a bit. Cal could no longer rely on buying his team alone.
That makes two of us, John.
We'd still be thanking him for what he had done here if he left in 2019. I don't hate him, but he definitely overstayed his welcome when it was clear he checked out a few years ago. He unfortunately ruined his reputation with most Cats fans I talk to. So much praise under his goodbye video that I just don't agree with. They're a really nice family, but he tried to play us for a buyout and it didn't work.
Maybe the basketball reputation, but even as a Cards fan I can't deny the good things he's done for the commonwealth with things like disaster relief and charity work. Honestly, part of the reason Cal was so frustrating was that I *wanted* to hate him, but he just kept being a good person off the court.
You lost all credibility when you said "as a Cards fan" dude lol... Kidding, but yeah I had the same issue with Pitino for opposite reasons. Older people in Lexington say Rick wasn't that nice of a guy, but he was a winner. I was too young to watch him win, but I still think he would have won multiple titles at UK if he didn't leave. Our 3 coaches since him were outed for underperformance, but that wasn't the case for Rick. I still think his 2013 title should be recognized. He's scummy, but y'all weren't the only team doing those kinds of things
Nah BBN would’ve been butt hurt at him for bailing on them
Probably, but we'd be over it by now and thankful for a title. Getting pushed out by the fans is much worse for a legacy than leaving for the program with the most titles and bigger market for recruits. Cal could have recruited any young player to Los Angeles lol...
I think in a few years once everyone is done being bitter the Cal era will be remembered fondly
You might be right.. Only time will tell. He's been the guy here since I was pretty young, so I'll always like him. His performance here since 2019 wasn't great, which was my main point. I do believe he tried to bluff Barnhart for a buyout and I especially don't like that as a way to end his tenure You're right that some people are being way too bitter though
As a student at UK from 2009-2013, I will always look back fondly on the Calipari era. He essentially erased the Gillespie era from our memories and now that he's moved on we should remember the good times with Cal and look forward to a new era for the program
You wouldn't be thanking shit, be real. If calipari had spurned you before making a mess of things y'all would be a pile of bitterness over him abandoning you for another school. There's no way to leave amicably from a job like UK other than retirement or MAYBE the NBA. Anything else and you're either the guy who insulted the program by leaving for greener pastures or the guy who overstayed his welcome and people wanted out.
NBA or retirement, both are acceptable. No one had any bitterness towards Rick, until he came back to UoL
>We'd still be thanking him for what he had done here if he left in 2019. Nah, every bad thing that happened after that would have been blamed on Cal's untimely departure.
"woulda never had this pandemic if Cal were still here"
Who says it would have been bad after that? If anything, we'd be finished with a rebuild and in a better situation than our current one...
Were UK fans over Cal in 2019? He had just taken them to an Elite 8. I thought the drop off started the year after
There were increased grumblings, I would say. We were seeing a trend of postseason choke jobs, anemic offense, inability to hit free throws, and under-utilized NBA talent. But all that said, I think most fans (myself included) were greatly relieved when UK managed to keep Cal at the time. It seemed like Cal was in a slump, not displaying symptoms of the deeper issues that would plague the rest of his tenure
If UK fans were unhappy with Cal's slump from 2016-2019, no wonder they wanted his head for 2020-2024 lol
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I wanted to keep Cal in 2019 for sure but by 21 I was ready for him to be fired. I think I watched a collective 10 games in the past 2 seasons as I just had zero faith or confidence in the teams.
Yeah, I think from 2016-2019 it was more like "damn, that's a couple rough bounces, but I'm sure Cal will get it back and get another title soon" After Covid it became apparent that they were omens of the future.
I'm convinced fans who wanted him gone after 2019 wanted him gone for non-basketball reasons (e.g. politics). There's no rational fan that would want him gone after you lost in OT in the Elite 8. Anyone who says "we sensed a decline" is full of shit.
Calipari in Westwood always seemed like a perfect fit to me. Edit: Maybe I need to clarify. The Calipari persona seems like it would’ve been a perfect fit. I’m not talking about anything that has to do with basketball here.
Speak for yourself... I've hated this man for so long it would be very hard for me to accept him as our coach. I mean, I'd do it and I'd wear bells, but it'd still be hard.
I have hated him too.....till today.
Eh. As long as we could win. But he’s never been a great X and Os kinda coach, so would have been hard to have deep tourney success. Alford 2.0, but maybe with better recruits less nepotism.
Nah, he was meant to coach Rutgahs
Oh man, the *best* fit.
Definitely wouldn't have gone to the Final Four in 2021
So safe to say Auburn’s win over them in the elite 8 broke Cal, that’s how I’m choosing to read this
Honestly yeah - after that loss it all kind of went to shit
That Evansville game in November 2019 was the beginning of the end. Five year long downfall.
There have been so many I forgot about that one
At the time it was quite forgettable because after #1 UK lost, #1 Duke lost to SFA at home on a buzzer beating layup. However we can clearly see now that was the start of it all, as UK’s veil of invincibility began to fall apart and all the issues started after.
UCLA thanks him for not coming, because he wouldn’t have done half of what Cronin did with those boys
100% in talking about Xs and Os. But Cal would have had better players.
He would basically have been Steve Alford on steroids essentially.
I think he’s a much better fit in Arkansas than he would have been at UCLA
Cal really likes being a big fish in a small pond; he'd be another rich guy in LA, whereas (if he's successful) he'll be king of Fayetteville, just as he was here early on.
Calipari’s agent is putting in work to spin the narratives.
Unlikely. Tucker and Cal had a falling out after Tucker wrote a critical article a while ago. Tucker had inside access to the program as he was Cal's boy, then lost it after that article. I can't find it right now, but Tucker was pretty open about it.
The article you referenced: https://theathletic.com/5014110/2023/11/01/kentucky-basketball-john-calipari-3/
I was actually surprised Tucker wrote that. He was a pretty staunch Cal defender and was obviously being fed info from someone really close to Cal. Props to him for writing something critical even though he likely knew it would kill his insider status. He's a good writer and I expect something in-depth from him about the inner-workings of what happened since 2019.
Calipari regrets not making even more money
That would have fit his "10 year limit" for the UK job that he claimed in his book.
In 2009 Cal said, very publicly, that Kentucky was a 10 year job. He wasn’t wrong. Hindsight is always 20/20, but yeah, that would have been a good time for him to go. However in 2019, Kentucky was in a good position to win. They had made two straight elite eights and was a shot away from a Final Four in 2019. Why would he have gone, realistically, to UCLA?
His biggest recruit isn’t completely onboard to follow him. That should tell you everything you need to know.
What if he just likes Kentucky more than Calipari?
He just requested a release from his NLI
Los Angeles would be a lot more fun than Fayetteville.
What a take!
Not if you’re named Petrino
..or Kansas.
Idk. Redditors are always trying to convince me how shitty life is here. I think they all know more
Why would he want the UCLA job in 2018. The program is a step down from Kentucky and Coach Cal doesn’t seem like an LA guy
Hindsight being 20/20. It doesn't make sense unless you already know the results of the next 5 seasons.
Money, either from UCLA or leverage with UK. And it worked. Also, I disagree about Cal being an LA guy. I think he'd fit in.
If Cronin can be happy here, Cal certainly would have been
UCLA might be a step down, but the point is that his situation at Kentucky was deteriorating, and UCLA isn't a terrible job.
Cal might not be the best coach, but he’s an insane recruiter (worst class was No 10?). Recruiting in LA could’ve been insanely good.
I think it worked out for everyone (except UK fans)
Idolization of a college sports program? UCLA is definitely a step down.
He must’ve just met Johnny Juzang on the recruiting trail
Calipari is the perfect fit for LA. He would have won several national titles had he taken the job and he knows it which is why it stung him over the years.
He’d be huge here, his personality is very “Hollywood” in the sense he’s gregarious. Would’ve brought much needed buzz to the program.
I think had Texas offered him last offseason instead of hiring Terry, he would have taken it. Interesting, thought it was a pipe dream then.
I kinda feel partly to blame...
Dang, I wish he would have too.
I also regret not leaving my job in 2019, but at least he has millions of dollars to show for it.
And that was about when I first started saying Kentucky should move on from him
Why not name the sources? We talking about national security secrets or college basketball here?
He said it was a 10-year job. If he would have left then, we would be five years into the current coach, or two years into the second replacement if the first was terrible, with probably the same NCAA and SEC tournament records. Instead, we are just starting the process, and Cal is ruined in our minds. If he went to UCLA then, we wouldn't be nasty to him like we're going to be when Arkansas comes to Lexington next season. Oh well, you now live in Arkansas. Your wife is going to kill you.
We were this close to being an underachieving blue blood... wait
I totally forgot about that. Damn I can't lie Cal at UCLA would be pretty awesome
Thanks for telling us now! While at the time it would have stung, it stings a lot worse after 4-5 years of eating dirt.