Critics have targeted John Calipari following Kentucky basketball's early exit from the NCAA Tournament against a 13-seed, suggesting that the Wildcats' head coach has not adjusted to the modern landscape of college basketball.
Calipari partially attributed Kentucky's defeat to youth, but ultimately, as the architect of the team, he must be open to change to alter the team's trajectory. Kentucky hasn't reached the Final Four or held a No. 1 seed since 2015, a concern echoed by ESPN's Seth Greenberg.
Seth Greenberg's dislike of ‘Swaggy Cal'
Seth Greenberg, a two-time ACC Coach of the Year, spoke on ESPN's First Take and criticized “Swaggy Cal” for not meeting the expectations set by both his own program and the Kentucky basketball program.
“They didn’t compete at the level his UMass teams competed at. His Memphis teams competed at, his Kentucky early teams competed at. Old-school Cal? He drew a line in the sand every single game. Old-school Cal? They rebounded. Old-school Cal? They defended. Old-school Cal? They were physical. Old-school Cal? They had a chip on their shoulder,” Greenberg said.
“This team doesn’t have that DNA. They didn’t have that toughness that the really good John Calipari teams had,” Greenberg added before mentioning that “Old School Cal” was known for being tougher, more physical, and a better rebounding team.
“To me, he’s gotta adjust his model. His model’s always been to recruit the best players in the country, freshmen, and then go out and compete.”
Greenberg also advised Calipari to utilize the transfer portal to acquire players with toughness, winning mentality, and specific roles to build a cohesive team, highlighting the portal as the new avenue for one-and-done talent.
John Calipari, Kentucky basketball's poor defense
Despite Calipari's history of fielding top-notch defenses during his tenure and initial years at Kentucky, the recent four-year period has seen a noticeable drop in defensive performance. This was highlighted in the most recent season as they allowed an average of 79.7 points per game.
This season marked Calipari's best overall offensive performance in his 15-year tenure at Kentucky. However, their deficient defense limited their potential, as evidenced by their 10 losses throughout the season.
Calipari's Wildcats wrapped up the regular season ranked No. 15 nationally. However, their early exit in the SEC Tournament against Texas A&M led to a 3-seed placement in the NCAA Tournament. Unfortunately, they suffered a surprising loss to Oakland University, a team with just one March Madness victory in their history prior to this matchup.
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