Kentucky head coach John Calipari says he plans to meet with UK Athletics Director Mitch Barnhart on Tuesday to discuss how to get the basketball program back to "the standard" after a fourth consecutive season that failed to meet its lofty expectations.
"I look forward to hearing his thoughts on how we can get better," Calipari said Monday on his weekly radio call-in show to wrap up his 15th season at the helm of the Kentucky program.
"Let me just say, we have a standard here... My standard is we're playing to play deep into the NCAA Tournament and compete for national titles and win national titles. I wanted this job knowing that was case. I love this job knowing that is the case. I never left this job. That is what the standard is for me."
The Cats saw their season end prematurely last week with an 80-76 loss to 14-seed Oakland in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. It marked UK's second defeat in the opening round in three years, sparking a fierce debate across Big Blue Nation regarding whether Calipari should continue to lead the program.
At the conclusion of Thursday’s game in Pittsburgh, Calipari said he knew the fan base would “go crazy. And they should.”
Calls for Calipari's dismissal were widespread in the aftermath of the humbling loss to Oakland and memories of Saint Peter’s still fresh in fans’ minds. His current "lifetime" contract, however, contains a massive buyout of more than $33 million if he is terminated without cause.
Complicating issues further, there are not many clear-cut replacement candidates currently in college basketball.
Others have speculated that Calipari may know his time in Lexington has run its course. He could seek another job, similar to the path Tubby Smith took in 2007 when he left UK for Minnesota after 10 pressure-packed seasons that included a national championship in Year 1 but no trips to the Final Four in the last nine.
Calipari famously said upon his hiring in 2009 that Kentucky is a "10-year job" due to the way it rapidly ages a coach, not too unlike a U.S. president. He’s now five years beyond his own expiration date, but it does not sound like an imminent departure is likely.
"I love this job," he said. “I love this state.”
In order to re-establish "the standard" -- which Calipari helped elevate in his first 10 years at UK by winning a national championship, making four trips to the Final Four, and reaching the Elite Eight three other times -- he says the team must get more physical and defensive-minded in a new era of older, stronger, and more experienced opponents.
"We've got to get back to that," said the UK boss, noting that he does not want to change the offensive approach that made UK one of the highest-scoring teams in the nation this season.
Calipari says he'll be sitting down with players in the days ahead to assess their plans for the future, including several who could have NBA Draft aspirations. He also noted that he'll likely pursue "a guy or two" in the transfer portal to provide extra maturity, experience, and physicality to his high-profile incoming recruiting class.
"The only thing I'm saying to all our fans is you know, I'm going to work," Calipari said. "Work in our state. Work for this program and this university. Really work for these young people. And that's my commitment. I'm not changing, 24-7, let's go, whether it's recruiting or all the other stuff that we've got to do.
"Let's come together, and let's go do something."
