John Calipari wants fans to blame him, not the players, for UK's 6-13 record. (Vicky Graff Photo)
How many times have you heard John Calipari say he doesn’t see anything posted about him or his team on social media? How often has he said he doesn’t read newspaper stories about his team? Well, maybe he does pay attention — or at least he is this year with his team now 6-13 and under constant criticism by many fans for underachieving.
More than one fan has suggested Calipari should be gone despite his 2012 national championship, four Final Fours, NBA draft picks, and 30-win seasons.
“I agree with you,” Calipari said about those claiming he did not know how to coach after UK’s win over Auburn Saturday. “Can we move on? That’s my answer to it. I’ll agree with you, what you’re saying about me, I’m the worst ever. I agree. Can we move on now?”
Calipari said to keep the criticism on him, not the players.
“They are not me as an adult like I’m the worst coach ever, I could never coach — okay. That’s fine. I agree with you. Can we move on?” Calipari said. “That’s my answer to it. I’ll agree with you, what you’re saying about me, I’m the worst ever. I agree. Can we move on now?
“Well, these kids are 18, 19, and 20. And I told them, for what we’ve done, the breaks we’ve had go against us, and you still fight and you still do extra work and you still condition? I respect these guys. All I can tell you is this team’s fighting for the university, for the state, for the athletic department, they haven’t given up one bit, and neither has our staff.”
Calipari’s optimism/confidence could be slowly impacting his team after its disastrous 1-6 start it has yet to recover from this season.
“We are a good team,” Kentucky freshman Isaiah Jackson said. “A lot of people try to doubt us and say that we are not that good. But we know deep down how much work we put into this and it’s all starting to pay off, so we are going to keep doing it.”
Kentucky ended a four-game losing streak by beating Auburn and will be at Vanderbilt Wednesday night looking for a rare second straight win this season.
“It’s been a heavy burden lately finishing out close games. We would be up in games and then just lose the lead,” Jackson said after the Auburn win. “But this game we finally put everything together and we got the win today. So everyone’s really happy and excited about the game.
“It just gives us confidence when playing close games like this and being able to close them out for a win, so it just feels good for us moving forward.”
