The Time is Now
The news came quickly over the weekend. John Vincent Calipari would be leaving the apex of college coaching positions at the University of Kentucky for the same spot with the Arkansas Razorbacks.
What started out as an interesting rumor Saturday afternoon turned into a blazing inferno Sunday evening. Even those who had knowledge of the situation didn't believe it could actually happen for the first 24 hours. Surely he wouldn't leave Lexington for another job on his own volition. But those doubts became maybe's as daylight turned into darkness Sunday night. More and more connected people in Lexington, Fayetteville, and finally on the national landscape began to string together convincing and matching leads that gave overwhelming indications that yes indeed, it was happening.
The suddenness was a shock to the system for Calipari fans and detractors alike, as well as the basketball world. I can honestly say I had more texts Sunday night than at any other time I can ever remember.
But as suddenly as the news came, the decline of Kentucky Basketball under his watch was much more prolonged. Like smooth bourbon from the bluegrass, the aging process gave way to the right time to remove the product from the barrel.
They say there is never a perfect time for a divorce, but that is far from the truth. The marriage between John Calipari and the Kentucky fan base had been on the rocks for some time.
It was once a strong relationship that grew farther and farther apart over time with the trust factor becoming weaker and weaker. Finally, a total separation became the best option for parties once it was obvious the breach could never again be filled. The explanations of needing to get older, followed by the longing to go back to five-star freshmen once the former didn't pan out was just a pledge of "I've changed, and I will do better." The reinvigorated and Swaggy Cal became a tired act for the partner who had had enough.
Where that started is up for debate. Some say the program never recovered from a devastating loss to Wisconsin in the 2015 Final Four. An undefeated and heavily favored Kentucky team saw Frank Kaminsky become one of the biggest heels in Wildcats' history. Instead of the 38-0 team finishing as the first unblemished team since 1976 the nation watched the hated Duke Blue Devils cut down the nets after beating Bucky Badger.
The program was still in good hands however. The 2017 group was led by De'Aaron Fox and Malik Monk, and was another very strong team. But a late second loss to North Carolina in the Elite Eight served as another gut punch that was tough to get over.
Fast forward to 2019, and another team that seemed at times like one of the best in the nation. But there was an additional Elite Eight loss that was hard to swallow. This time it was to Auburn by six points in overtime. This was the same Tiger team that was blown out by 27 in Rupp Arena just five weeks earlier.
Calipari's program was in a position of strength, but it started to look like one that couldn't get over the hump to another Final Four. It was still drafting in the lead pack, but unlike just a few years earlier it didn't have the rest of the college basketball world in the rearview mirror.
The COVID pandemic changed the world as we knew it in 2020, and whether it was related or not, the Kentucky program under Calipari would never be the same again either. The 2020-21 season ended with an abysmal 9-16 record. It was the worst one in program history since 1926. The 2022 team was eliminated by a 15-seed. The 2023 group would lose a dozen games, and only earn a six-seed.
It was easy to put up a guard. I had even made the claim that I would not get reeled in again two years ago. The Cats would show promise, and build hope, but sputter at the end of the season when the stakes were the highest.
But this past season would be different. This would be a return to the glory days when Calipari went to four Final Fours in five years, and won a national title. The incoming group of freshmen was the most ballyhooed in a decade. The 2nd, 3rd, 6th, 15th, and 28th ranked players according to Rivals would bring the Cats back.
It started with a trip to Toronto last summer with Coach Cal serving as the team's Don King promoting every dunk and three-pointer with a feverish pitch. The rabid fan base ate up every morsel, and was left starving for the main course that would be served in November.
A hot 6-1 start satisfied the hunger pangs despite an early season loss to Kansas. A four game stretch in late November saw the Cats pour in 410 points. But the unexpected happened on the first Saturday afternoon in December. They were shocked by UNC-Wilmington of the Colonial league 80-73. The opponent's guards scored at will in what would be a problem all season long.
But instead of seeing this as a precursor to a season that would do Calipari in, this was seen as a speed bump for a very talented offensive team that could score at will. They would win six more games in a row, and look unbeatable at times. That was followed by a segment that would see the Wildcats split the next dozen games.
That run would define the season. They could not defend their own bucket. They would lose three games in a row at home, something that hadn't been done in decades, to Florida, Tennessee, and Gonzaga despite averaging 89.3 points.
The team looked totally unprepared. There was a lack of defensive fundamentals, technique, position, strategy, and effort. There were communication and assignment breakdowns that one would witness with bad middle school teams.
The ship was righted down the regular season stretch with five wins in a row including the finale in Thompson-Boling over first place Tennessee.
That trend would not hold. Texas A&M scored 97 in the quarterfinals of the SEC Tournament, and Oakland's Jack Gohlike would become a March Madness legend at the expense of Calipari's tenure at Kentucky.
Any faith of Coach Cal being able to get the program back to it's lofty standards was finished when the buzzer sounded in Pittsburgh. But in actuality that ship had sailed at least a year or two earlier. Kentucky fans were hoping against hope. I did pick Kentucky to get through the first weekend in my bracket, but I couldn't trust them any farther than that, and there was one reason. John Vincent Calipari.
The Wisconsin loss was always in the back of my mind, and with every debacle against Evansville, Richmond, UNC-Wilmington, Saint Peter's, and Oakland the evidence mounted against him. Remember the improbable run by Loyola-Chicago to the 2018 Final Four? Kentucky was in their region. The same can be said for Florida Atlantic who came out as a nine-seed in 2023.
The loss to Oakland rang differently however. Even the national analysts with no ties to the state or the university understood things were at a point of no return. When Calipari and Mitch Barnhart appeared together in a show of solidarity I wondered if the coach knew how badly frustrated the fans were with him. When he said they would get over it and move ahead to next season I wondered if he had a clue of how toxic the relationship had become.
I got my first tip of the seriousness of the conversation between Calipari and Arkansas Saturday from a college coaching friend. That is when it hit me that Cal indeed did understand. My source told me as much. Reports also came out Sunday night that one reason for leaving was Calipari's hurt feelings about the fan base's turn.
He could no longer be trusted to lead Kentucky back to Final Four. For that matter, all faith was gone that he could get out of the first weekend. His teams had not done that since 2019, and they were 2-8 over their last ten post-season games.
It is a shame that it came to this end, because the Hall of Fame member gave Kentucky fans plenty of wonderful memories, and for that we should all be grateful. The one-and-done philosophy was ahead of the game in 2010, and it was a fun ride when recruiting high school studs was the only option for everybody. Nobody did it like John Calipari.
The 2012 national title run was electric. The March mayhem to the championship game from the eight-seed in 2014 was a fun ride. The first 38 games a year later gave the fan base a feeling that yes, they are supporting the greatest basketball team ever in the college game. It was a huge sense of pride fans across the state, and beyond in Big Blue Nation.
A common statement among fan and foe alike was that John Calipari was born to coach at Kentucky. He had the swagger and bravado to handle the fishbowl. He reveled in the biggest stage. He always said he wondered what he could accomplish with a brand like that behind him, and for the first part of his reign he found out with staggering success. Coach Cal understood the citizens of the Commonwealth. He helped an untold amount of people both publicly and privately. When tragedy hit the state rest assured that he would rally the troops. He was a wonderful ambassador who could have been elected to any public office in a landslide. The intense pressure that is the world of Kentucky Basketball never got too big.
But just like Tom Landry with the Cowboys, Nick Saban at Alabama, or Joe Torre with Cal's beloved Yankees, it came time for a change. A 330-76 record over an 11-year span that saw him win 31 NCAA Tournament games, and 81% of his contests dropped to 63.5% and zero wins in the Big Dance since 2019.
History will smile on John Calipari. When individuals look back at him decades from now there will be the Adolph Rupp era, the Joe B. Hall era, the Rick Pitino era, the Tubby Smith era, and the John Calipari era. His reign is probably in the top three.
But it is the end of an era, and rightfully so. Big Blue Nation is ready, and has been ready for a change. The shoes to fill are immense. Calipari understood the job, and finding someone to do it as well is not a slam dunk. Reward is equally accompanied by risk. However, this is Kentucky. I am old enough to understand that Kentucky Basketball is a magical brand. It did not start with Calipari, nor will it end with him. Take a look at the Mount Rushmore of college basketball programs, and a big UK will be prominently engraved in the center.
But one can not live in the past. Progress and continued excellence is impossible without change.
That time is now.