John Calipari will return to Kentucky for next season

John Calipari will return to Kentucky for next season

There has been a lot of speculation about the future of coach John Calipari with the Kentucky Wildcats men’s basketball team. A large portion of the fans wanted his contract bought out after another disastrous March Madness.

Kentucky has only one NCAA Tournament win in Calipari’s last five seasons. They also haven’t had SEC Tournament success, and fans have gotten weary with the March failures. The calls for a new head coach have been loud, but it appears that those calls won’t be answered.

On Tuesday, Calipari had a meeting with athletic director Mitch Barnhart to discuss the future of the program. More details about the meeting may become known eventually, but the main point is that Cal will be back for the 2024-25 season.

Next season now becomes a big one for the Wildcats. With another top recruiting class, and potentially some returning talent, there will be no excuses accepted, especially from the fans. If there’s another March failure, this might prove to be his last chance.

No news until Tuesday on John Calipari and his future at Kentucky

John Calipari will meet with AD Mitch Barnhart on Tuesday to discuss the future

Fans of the Kentucky Wildcats men’s basketball team are currently anxiously awaiting news on coach John Calipari and his future with the school. There was an expectation that they’d meet on Monday, but it seems fans will have to wait one more day.

Coach Cal’s end-of-year meeting with athletic director Mitch Barnhart will be on Tuesday, and they’re expected to discuss the future. However, for those who wanted Calipari fired, there may be some disappointment.

Per Matt Norlander of CBS Sports, the focus of the meeting will be improving the program moving forward, and “not necessarily separation.” It’s been assumed that barring something unforeseen, the cost of buying out Calipari’s contract would be a last option.

It has been a rough couple of years for the Wildcats, and Cal’s struggle to adapt to the NIL era could be a factor. It’s a different world from when he began his stint at Kentucky.

Calipari has proven he can recruit and draw talent to Lexington. The March losses are piling up, though. If the meeting goes well tomorrow, he’ll be back next season, but if next year goes the same as the last few have, then at least buying his contract out next year will cost a little less.

 

John Calipari needs to change strategy to win in March

John Calipari must adapt to the current state of college basketball to win in March

The Kentucky Wildcats had another tough March Madness as they made another early exit from the NCAA Tournament. They fell to Oakland on Thursday 80 – 76, their second first round exit in the last three years.

The Wildcats haven’t made it past the second round in five years, and only have one NCAA Tournament win in that time. Kentucky fans have begun to turn on coach John Calipari, and calls for his job have become very loud.

The buyout of his contract is exorbitant, and unlikely to take place this season, so he’ll probably be back. Some fans might be upset by that, but he can do some things that will turn things around, if he’s willing to make changes to his philosophies.

Looking at this year’s tournament field, the best teams are the ones that don’t have a lot of Freshmen playing big minutes. North Carolina has just one Freshman starting. Houston had minimal play from Freshmen in their tournament game. Connecticut has one starting. Tennessee is dominated by Seniors. And the list goes on.

Calipari is very proud of the fact that Kentucky places a lot of players in the NBA. It’s certainly an achievement to take pride in. However, in today’s college basketball world, it doesn’t win championships.

If Coach Cal wants to bring Final Four appearances back to Big Blue Nation, he has to adapt. He will need to keep players around, and will need to use the transfer portal to bring in players with experience who can help them win games.

On Thursday night, it was painfully obvious that the Kentucky Freshmen just weren’t ready for the moment. Antonio Reeves and Tre Mitchell, who are the veterans, played well, but the young players struggled.

College basketball has changed with NIL, and if Calipari wants to win in March, he needs to change with it. If he can’t, then Kentucky fans will be calling for his job again very soon.

ESPN college basketball analysts defended John Calipari with his Kentucky job in jeopardy

Well, there are at least a few people who think John Calipari should keep his job.

With the heat on Kentucky’s John Calipari after his team’s stunning first-round men’s NCAA tournament loss to Oakland on Thursday, some of ESPN’s college basketball analysts are defending the longtime coach.

To varying degrees, Seth Greenberg, Jay Bilas, Jay Williams and Rece Davis all dismissed the idea of Calipari actually being fired, with Davis going so far as to suggest that only two people in the world are qualified at the school: Calipari and Rick Pitino.

However, Williams did note the eroding relationship between Calipari and Kentucky fans as why it might be something people want to happen.

Despite the passion behind some of their arguments, this probably won’t dissuade the angry Wildcats fans who want the coach gone after yet another surprising early tournament exit.

College hoops analyst Jay Wright laid out a compelling case this week about why Kentucky has been faltering as of late under Calipari, and the angst in Lexington might not fully subside until a new coach is in place.

With Calipari’s astronomical buyout in place, it’s no lock that Kentucky will choose to move on from one of the best coaches in the school’s history.

However, it sure doesn’t sound like Calipari will get back into the good graces of Wildcats fans until he’s able to prove his mettle after a series of March Madness disasters.

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Kentucky buyout of John Calipari would be very expensive

It will cost a very large sum of money for Kentucky to buy John Calipari out of his contract

It was a frustrating end to the 2023-24 season for the Kentucky Wildcats men’s basketball team. A talented team was picked by several analysts to be a title contender, but once again came up short, losing in round one to Oakland 80 – 76.

It’s the second time in three years that a highly seeded Kentucky team lost in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. The Wildcats have now not made it out of the first weekend in five years.

Immediately after the game ended, fans tired of the lack of March success took to social media to call for John Calipari’s job. The details of what that would cost were also talked about.

Calipari signed a 10 year contract in 2019, and as part of the deal, if Kentucky wanted to end it early, they’d have to buy him out. The buyout would be 75% of what he was owed. That amount would currently be over $33 million.

Between the financial cost, as well as the potential lost recruits, it feels like Cal will be back next season. It could certainly be accomplished if the school was deadset on it, but those who want him ousted might have to wait just a little longer.

Jay Wright absolutely nailed it on why John Calipari’s Kentucky teams keep losing in March Madness lately

Jay Wright totally nailed it on John Calipari and Kentucky’s March Madness struggles.

It used to be that John Calipari’s Kentucky teams were perpetual contenders — that included a national title in 2012.

But as of late, it’s been a string of disappointments. No NCAA men’s tournament in 2021, a first-round loss in 2022, and a second-round loss last year.

Now? He’s watched his No. 3 seed team lose to Jack Gohlke and Oakland, and now everyone’s talking about how much it would take to buy him out.

So what gives? The answer may be in the way he recruits and puts together teams — there are a lot of players who are one-and-done freshmen with the program who leave for the NBA after one year. So, as former Villanova head coach Jay Wright pointed out, that’s why playing older, more experienced teams is much harder:

Here’s how much Kentucky would owe John Calipari if it wants to hire a new coach

Kentucky might not be able to afford firing John Calipari after its March Madness loss to Oakland.

If you’re a Kentucky fan and you’re hoping to move on from the John Calipari era of Wildcats basketball, you might want to sit down.

After another underwhelming March Madness appearance with a loss to 14 seed Oakland, Calipari is now firmly on the hot seat after 15 seasons leading one of the most prominent programs in college basketball.

Calipari hasn’t taken Kentucky past the Elite Eight since the 2015 men’s NCAA tournament and has lost twice in the first round in the last three tournaments, including 2021’s loss to 15 seed St. Peter’s.

However, thanks to the 10-year contract that Kentucky gave Calipari back in 2019, the school would reportedly owe Calipari $34,968,749 to buy out his contract through a firing without cause, per The Courier Journal.

That is a lot of money to fire a coach, which is probably why Kentucky will ultimately stomach yet another March Madness misfire and keep Calipari on for the 2024-25 season.

Losing to Oakland stings, but firing your coach and paying more than $34 million to do so stings even more.

Correction: This post originally referenced a report that Calipari’s buyout is $33.3 million.

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Kentucky firefighter Bryce Carden honored at Wildcats Senior Night

Kentucky firefighter Bryce Carden was invited to watch Kentucky vs Vanderbilt

The basketball game between the Kentucky Wildcats and Vanderbilt Commodores was a special game for the Seniors for the Wildcats. However, there was another reason Wednesday night’s game was special.

Last week, in Louisville, a traffic accident left a semi hanging over the side of a bridge, with the driver in a dangerous position. Rescue workers arrived, and one man made a daring rescue of the driver. Bryce Carden rappelled down the side of the bridge, attached the driver of the truck to a harness, and she was raised to safety.

Carden was deservedly praised as a hero and gained national attention for the rescue. He has done a number of interviews, and gained the attention of Kentucky coach John Calipari, who invited Carden and his wife to Wednesday’s game where he would sit behind the UK bench.

The Wildcats honored Carden, a lifelong Kentucky fan, before the game. Then he and his wife got a great view of the home team’s Senior Night victory over Vanderbilt. It was a nice gesture by the University to recognize a true hero.

 

The top ranked recruits at Kentucky under John Calipari

Taking a look at the top 20 recruits at Kentucky under coach John Calipari

The Kentucky Wildcats basketball team attracts top recruits. Whether it was Adolph Rupp, Joe B. Hall, Rick Pitino or John Calipari, the Wildcats have been able to accumulate good players out of high school.

Since 2009, when Kentucky hired Calipari, the tradition of getting top recruits has continued. Coach Cal has brought in the top overall recruiting class a number of times, and nearly always lands a top five group. This ability to bring in top talent has led to seven trips to the Elite Eight, four Final Fours, and a National Championship.

Calipari has had 15 classes while at Kentucky, and in that time has had 28 recruits who were in the top 10 of their class. While not all of them became stars in Lexington, it speaks to his staff’s ability to bring players in who can help the Wildcats consistently be threats to win it all.

Here are the top 20 recruits in the John Calipari era, based on On3 recruiting’s compilation of various ratings from multiple sources.

Antonio Reeves chasing the top ten scorers under John Calipari

Antonio Reeves looks to join the list of Kentucky’s top ten per-game scorers under John Calipari

In the Kentucky Wildcats men’s basketball team defeat of the Arkansas Razorbacks on Saturday, guard Antonio Reeves scored 22 points. It led the team, but that’s not why it’s significant.

The 22 points Reeves scored on Saturday brought his scoring average up to exactly 20 points per game. Since John Calipari has been the head coach at Kentucky, only one other player has averaged 20 points per game. Jamal Murray averages exactly 20 per-game in his lone season with the Wildcats.

Calipari’s teams at Kentucky are almost always loaded with talent. Therefore they haven’t needed one player to dominate the scoring in that manner. Murray’s team had lots of talent, but not many scorers, so he was asked to do more.

Reeves is in a bit of a different situation. The current Wildcats are loaded with guys who can score. So Reeves potentially being the highest per-game scorer in Cal’s time in Lexington is impressive.

Outside of Reeves and Murray, Kentucky has had plenty of great players who were capable of scoring when needed. Here’s a look at the top per-game scorers in a season at Kentucky under Coach Cal, not counting Reeves until his season is complete.