John Calipari reacts to a play during the Wildcats 86-67 win vs. Fort Wayne on Wednesday, November 22, 2017, at Rupp Arena in Lexington, Ky. (Photo by Chet White, courtesy of UK Athletics).
When John Calipari first arrived at Kentucky with his one and done philosophy, fans were excited to see the talent that would roll through the program on a yearly basis. Fast forward eight years later and fans are expressing that they are tired of roster turnover from year to year, claiming unfamiliarity with current players to be the biggest reason.
There is no doubt that Calipari is one of the best coaches in the country and he has the track record to prove it. The Hall of Fame coach has guided three programs to a Final Four (UMass, Memphis, and Kentucky) and led the Wildcats to a 2012 NCAA Championship. Overall, Calipari owns a record of 258-55 at Kentucky and in addition to his one championship; he has led the Wildcats to a total of four Final Fours (2011, 2012, 2014, 2015) in eight seasons.
Despite the success, fans most often point to the shortcomings of the Calipari era. Fans can forgive the 2011 loss to UConn because that Kentucky team overachieved to get to the Final Four. Kentucky lost again in the 2014 NCAA title game to UConn but the truth is this, the 2015 season is what leaves the bitter taste in the mouths of fans.
Make no mistakes about it, the 2014-2015 Kentucky Wildcats were a special group and they should forever be praised for it. Calipari had so much talent on one team that he was forced to use two platoons in order for everyone to see action. However, everyone knows the result, as a perfect season came to an end with a loss to Wisconsin in the Final Four, only to allow Duke and Coach K’s crop of one and done freshmen to claim the programs fifth NCAA title.
I don’t buy into the claim that the disappointment from football season has carried over to basketball because if that were the case, Kentucky fans would have been upset for years. I do; however, think that a national championship loss in 2014 coupled with a near-perfect season in 2015 has led to frustration. On another note, Calipari pumped the brakes about this year’s team in September and October, explaining that they were way behind and that it will be a struggle. In a sense of trying to warn the fans about expectations, he might have killed the idea that this team can compete by seasons end.
As far as his legacy at Kentucky goes, that book is still being written. It’s difficult to judge an overall story when you haven’t read the entire book. As long as Calipari is the coach at Kentucky, the Wildcats will be considered one of the favorites to hoist the hardware on college basketballs final Monday each season but you get the feeling that he needs a second championship for fans to deem his NBA pipeline a successful time for the program.
Coach K and Roy Williams are the only two current coaches to have more than one NCAA title for a reason. It’s difficult to win one and there is no guarantee that you will get back there. With one title under his belt, Calipari is tied with Joe B. Hall, Rick Pitino, and Tubby Smith for the second most in UK history. If he finds a way to win one more to become just the second coach in UK history to win multiple titles (Adolph Rupp 4), then even the biggest critics will be silenced.
As a fan, you have to have confidence that this year’s group will be one of the best teams in the country by March because more often than not, that has been the case. Yet, large majorities of people say that they are disinterested in this team and even attendance would back that up. Outside of Wenyen Gabriel, Sacha Killeya-Jones, and Tai Wynyard, Kentucky has an entirely new group of scholarship players this season and those three didn’t play much last season, which didn’t allow fans to get a feel for them.
I will leave it at this. Would you feel that way if Kentucky were winning NCAA titles more frequently with freshmen? The good news is this group has multiple guys that should return next season so there should be some familiar faces on the roster.
