Doron Lamb on John Calipari departure: 'I will be the last team to win in UK history'
It’s looking more and more like a messy breakup between John Calipari and Kentucky. Following the news of Calipari agreeing to become Arkansas‘ next head coach on Monday, former Wildcat Doron Lamb made it crystal clear where he stands.
“I will be the last team to win in UK history now!” Lamb wrote on a post to Instagram.
Lamb was the starting shooting guard on Kentucky’s 2012 team that won the national title. It was the only national championship Calipari won in his 15 seasons at UK. In the 2012 season, Lamb started 35 games, averaging 13.7 points per contest while shooting 46.6% from beyond the arc.
Like many former Kentucky players, Lamb is loyal to Calipari. After all, the 65-year-old head coach helped guide Lamb to a professional career. Following his two years at UK, Lamb was selected by the Milwaukee Bucks with the No. 42 overall pick in the 2012 NBA Draft.
Over the span of four seasons and stints with two separate teams, Lamb played in 100 games in the NBA. He averaged 3.5 points per game while shooting 38.1% from the field and 39.4% from downtown.
While Lamb’s sentiment comes from a place of loyalty, it isn’t historically accurate. Joe B. Hall, Tubby Smith, Rick Pitino and Calipari all reeled in one national title while at Kentucky. The only head coach who won more than one national championship while at UK is Adolph Rupp, who won it all four times.
John Calipari heading to Arkansas
On Sunday, ESPN’s Pete Thamel reported the program is signing Kentucky’s John Calipari to a five-year deal to be the Razorbacks’ next head coach.
Calipari is coming off a disappointing postseason. Kentucky fell in its opening matchup against Texas A&M in the SEC Tournament. The team’s nightmare scenario only worsened when it lost to No. 14 seed Oakland in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
Kentucky has only won one game in the Big Dance in the past five seasons. Despite Calipari’s recent struggles, he boasts a stunning résumé. In Calipari’s 15 seasons at the helm of Kentucky, he has a 410-122 record, three Final Four appearances in 2011, 2014 and 2015 and a national title in 2012.
Kentucky allegedly considered parting ways with John Calipari this offseason. However, the 65-year-old head coach possesses a massive $33 million buyout, the largest in the country. Now, per KSR’s Matt Jones, neither Kentucky nor Arkansas will have to pay the hall-of-fame head coach’s buyout fee.