A lot was put into question after the Kentucky basketball program faltered yet again in the NCAA Tournament. March Madness has not been kind to the Wildcats as of late and their most recent loss to Greg Kampe's Oakland did not help them at all. With Rob Dillingham and Reed Sheppard heading to the NBA Draft, another departure was expected by the college basketball world, John Calipari's. Apparently, it is not at all happening, at least for next season.
John Calipari will remain as the Kentucky basketball program's head honcho, per Matt Jones of ESPN. He will now enter the fifth year of his contract with the Wildcats which extends until 2029. However, NCAA Tournament expectations might be higher for him. This comes especially after he let Jack Gohlke and Oakland demolish his team which was led by great NBA Draft prospects, Rob Dillingham and Reed Sheppard.
The past couple of years have been unfortunate for the Wildcats. In 2023, they could not escape the Round of 32 after getting pummeled by Kansas State. A season before that, their NCAA Tournament hopes came to a screeching halt when they faced a March Madness legend in Doug Edert. Kentucky would lose in the first round with a 79 to 85 scoreline to St. Peter's. The deepest they have gotten in the past years has been their 2019 and 2015 runs. Still, programs like Auburn and Wisconsin bested them despite the NBA-caliber talent their squad had.
Kentucky's recent nightmares
It was the same story for 2024. The Kentucky basketball squad matched up fairly well with Oakland. They had great guards who had the defensive upside to be NBA Draft lottery picks. But, they crumbled right off the gate. John Calipari's schemes played second fiddle to what looked like a game that was controlled by Greg Kampe. Guys like Trey Townsend, DQ Cole, and Jack Gohlke all blazed up from different parts of the court.
The fact that Kentucky could not respond because they were only able to knock down 32.1% of their three-pointers while Oakland was shooting at a 48.4% rate from outside did not help. Rebounding and ball security were also large concerns. Kampe's frontcourt was able to reset and grab 14 offensive rebounds. This should not have been the case for a 14th-seeded team that was facing one of the most renowned blue bloods in college basketball history. Moreover, their 11 turnovers with five of them coming directly from steals were not at all good.
Expectedly, Calipari drew a lot of criticism from the Kentucky basketball faithful due to the horrendous outcome of their March Madness run. The coach who once always got close to the national championship on a yearly basis could not escape the first round. Now, he has the opportunity to shift the narrative starting in the offseason. Recruitment and formulating better plays while not taking any opponent for granted will be the keys to Kentucky's success.
Like it or not, he is here to stay because of his resilience and capability to adapt. It might not have shown in this past years for Kentucky but a redemption tour is long overdue.
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