John Calipari (SEC Photo)
Kentucky fans are upset with how this season has gone — and should be. A 5-13 mark is just not acceptable for what coach John Calipari calls the “gold standard of college basketball.” But I am not convinced that as many UK fans want to see Calipari gone as many national analysts believe. Are Kentucky fans wanting changes and better play? Yes. Are some Kentucky fans tired of the praise for NBA success and no national title since 2012? Yes.
Yet I just don’t think most are ready to say goodbye to Calipari — who could easily have four national titles — even with the team’s collapse this season.
A friend sent me a link to watch ESPN college basketball analyst Seth Greenberg on the Paul Finebaum Show Tuesday a few hours before the Cats lost 81-80 to Arkansas.
“The last time I checked, it’s SEC championships, it’s Elite Eights, it’s Final Fours and putting a bunch of guys in the league as lottery picks that transition into the NBA seamlessly,” Greenberg said in defense of Calipari. “Look, this has been a difficult season, there’s no doubt about it.
“I think it’s actually a joke but I understand ‘fan’ is short for ‘fanatic,’ and that’s just the way it is. There’s an expectation at Kentucky that’s different than maybe anywhere else in the country. Including Duke, including North Carolina, including everywhere. Everyone’s gonna have to be held accountable.
“That’s John Calipari, man. Look what he’s done, look at the consistency of his program. His guys never get in trouble, they all do the right thing, they all come back and give back, they all leave the program and are among the most philanthropic people in the NBA.”
Calipari’s players have been good in the community. Many have given back. There have been no real off-court issues. And he’s averaging 30 wins a season.
It’s just this year Calipari either overestimated his team’s talent, guessed wrong about how pieces would fit together or injuries have wrecked the team. Maybe a little bit of all that along with COVID-19 issues.
Greenberg was not shy about admitting UK has issues.
“They don’t have good guard play. That’s the way it is. They’re getting crushed in the last five minutes of games. Is that a recruiting mistake? It might be a recruiting mistake,” Greenberg said.
“Is that players are just not physically strong enough? The teams that are excelling this year are the mature, physical teams that have shared experiences of toughness and basically have dealt with adversity. They haven’t dealt with adversity very well.”
No, they have not because in 12 of the 13 losses — the exception was the whipping Alabama put on UK in Rupp Arena — the Cats have been in a position to win and lost them all.
