Tenured head coach John Calipari has been at the helm for the Kentucky Wildcats since 2009 and has steered the program to become one of the country's best over the years. He has also turned Lexington into a premier hotbed of prospects before sending them as first-round draft picks to the NBA.

Despite the recognition, Calipari recently suffered the worst upset of his coaching career after being dealt with an 85-79 loss at the hands of the underdog St. Peter's Peacocks in the first round of the 2022 NCAA tournament. It was certainly not a pleasant sight for the blue blood basketball program as the Wildcats didn't live up to the expectations that everyone had for them in March. With that said, Kentucky's most recent downfall may suggest that maybe its time for them to move on from Calipari who has held the post for 13 long seasons.

Looking back, the team was pegged as a significant contender for the national title as they compiled a 26-9 regular season record to nab the second seed in the tournament. Their prized transferee in big man Oscar Tshiebwe has been stellar all season long en route to being hailed as the SEC Player of the Year and a Consensus first-team All-American in 2022. He also had a huge game in their game against the Peacocks where he notched 30 points and 16 rebounds.

Tyty Washington Jr., Kellan Grady, and Keion Brooks Jr. are all solid NBA prospects as well although they didn't get to put up enough numbers in the NCAA tournament to reverse their fortunes. With this emerges a thought that the Wildcats program under Calipari might have been focusing too much on being a ‘farm league' for prospects that are aiming to get into the league after a one-and-done season.

There's nothing wrong with being able to mold and package young talents into future NBA stars but I think that the Wildcats also need to put a level of emphasis on winning in the collegiate ranks. Looking back, Kentucky has only won a single national title under the leadership of John Calipari back in 2012 when he had Anthony Davis at the helm.

However, it was all downhill from there as the Wildcats only nabbed two Final Four appearances (2014, 2015) within the next decade. For comparison, a relatively smaller school in Gonzaga was able to become a premier destination for top high school prospects while also attaining relevant success in the NCAA tournament.

Head coach Mark Few has steered the team to three Elite Eight appearances, two Final Four appearances, and two runner-up finishes since 2015. The Bulldogs also sent names like Rui Hachimura, Jalen Suggs, and Corey Kispert to the NBA while Chet Holmgren and Drew Timme are bound to follow suit in the near future. Despite not having the same brand and amount of resources that Kentucky has, Gonzaga still managed to turn things around and build a reputable program in recent years.

Certainly enough, the Wildcats are more than capable to emulate or even exceed what the Bulldogs did in just a short amount of time. Yes, a bevy of previous Wildcats were able to carve out solid careers in the NBA with the likes of John Wall, Devin Booker, and Karl-Anthony Towns becoming household names in the pros. However, the Wildcats failed to attain a significant level of success despite having great players at their disposal through the years. If combining a fleet of talented prospects still doesn't bring them closer to winning then maybe they have to fix things with the man in charge instead.

At the end of the day, John Calipari previously inked a 10-year, $86 million contract to stay at Lexington through 2029. With a lucrative contract comes high expectations and he must realize that coaching jobs don't last forever, even after signing a long-term deal as he did.

It would be interesting to see what will happen in the upcoming offseason, especially after seeing such a disappointing ending to their 2021-22 season. Will they continue to stockpile one-and-done talents or switch towards building a team that can be a stable title contender for the next few years?

Ultimately, there will certainly be pressure for Calipari to gain better results and have a stronger season in 2022-23. His ability to do so will definitely determine the kind of legacy that he will have in order to be considered as one of the greatest coaches in the collegiate ranks.

One thing is for sure though, the Wildcats must seek a change if they want to create a winning culture and not just merely provide a gateway for young talent to quickly go to the NBA. If they move on from John Calipari, then the Kentucky basketball program can definitely increase its chances of rising up to the top of collegiate ranks sooner than later.