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John Calipari buyout comes to forefront amid calls for firing after upset loss to Oakland

ns_headshot_2024-clearby:Nick Schultz•03/21/24•

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John Calipari
© Stephen Lew-USA TODAY Sports

For the second time in three years, Kentucky’s season came to an end in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. In 2022, it was Saint Peter’s handing the Wildcats a loss, and it was Oakland’s turn in 2024 as the Golden Grizzlies came away with the 80-76 victory.

Now, the calls are growing for UK to move on from John Calipari after another early exit from March Madness. It also meant there’s increasing chatter about the hefty buyout in his contract.

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On3’s Pete Nakos reported Calipari’s buyout is currently $33 million if Kentucky decided to part ways now. However, after the 2024-25 season, that figure drops to $27 million.

With the loss to Oakland, Kentucky will end its season with a 23-10 overall record. But unlike the Wildcats’ other nine losses, Calipari said Thursday night’s hit a little harder.

“I told them after, this one is painful,” Calipari told TNT’s Evan Washburn. “And the reason is there are other times you lose a game and you know your team is what it is. But this team, I really felt, was built for this moment. Even though we were young, I knew that could catch us. But we had our chances. We threw the ball away, took a bad shot. There were things that happened, and then we give up a corner three the last play.

“But you’ve got to give Oakland credit. They made unbelievable shots at the buzzer. They deserved to win the game. I hate to say we didn’t, but we didn’t.”

Dillingham and Sheppard will likely be among the NBA success stories to come out of this year’s team. However, when looking back on this season, John Calipari said he hoped the loss to Oakland wasn’t the only thing people remember about the group.

“What I hate is this team, that really worked and did some good stuff – we didn’t play great. They did,” Calipari said. “They made some unbelievable shots. We even went to a box-and-one and we fouled him one time, he makes another one. They shouldn’t be, our team in the season, defined by that game. But it will be. This is the profession we’ve chosen. But we had some guys that didn’t play the way they’ve been playing all year.

“We did everything we could. We knew the zone would be tough, but we missed shots we don’t miss. The preparation, I thought they were in a great – trying to keep them loose. But when the game started, you had some guys not play to the level they could play.”