The Kentucky basketball team suffered yet another agonizing defeat in the early stages of the NCAA Tournament on Thursday. The Wildcats were big favorites against Oakland basketball, and Jack Gohlke and the sharpshooting Grizzlies found a way to make the winning plays down the stretch to earn the massive upset win. Kentucky lost the game 80-76, and now, Wildcats fans are thinking about bringing a new coach to Lexington after recent tournament woes under John Calipari.
John Calipari has had a lot of success as the head coach of the Kentucky basketball, but he hasn't had a lot of success as of late. He has been to four final fours and he won a national title with the Wildcats back in 2012. Now, Wildcats fans are starting to doubt him.
One issue with Calipari being out as the Kentucky head coach is that he has a very large buyout of $33 million. Gary Parrish of CBS thinks that this is a pretty similar situation to former Texas A&M football head coach Jimbo Fisher. Fisher had a major buyout as well, but it was over double of what Calipari's is, and the Aggies still decided to move on from him. Should Kentucky make the move?
“I think he should be done,” Gary Parrish said, according to a video from Grind City Media. “I don't know that he is because obviously it's a lot of money. I believe if they want to pay him to go away, it costs $33 million. And that's, it's, I mean, obviously it's a ton. But the point I made last night on CBS Sports Network is Texas a&m just agreed to pay roughly $75 million to get rid of a football coach nobody believed in anymore. And I know football is bigger than basketball, but is Texas A&M football bigger than Kentucky basketball? Because if Texas A&M football is willing to pay $75 million. When we've reached the point where your entire fan base is out on a coach who hasn't been to a Final Four since 2015, or a Sweet 16 since 2019 despite having one future billionaire after another on his roster. When we've reached that point where nobody buys the recruiting classes anymore. Nobody believes in anything anymore. That $33 million might just be what you have to pay to move on.”
Should Kentucky basketball fire John Calipari?
That's a question that no one would think they would ever have to ask about five years ago. Now, it's a very common question that Wildcats fans are asking. Calipari is one of the most successful college basketball coaches of all time and he is in the Hall of Fame. However, maybe his method just isn't working anymore.
The Wildcats have now lost to a 14 seed or worse in two of their last three March Madness runs. The year before last, they were upset in the first round against 15 seed Saint Peter's. The thing is, Calipari has found success in the regular season in both of these big upset seasons. Being a top three seed in the NCAA Tournament is not easy. Still, Calipari needs to be better in March, and he could lose his job because of his recent woes.
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