It Feels Like We Are Trapped with John Calipari (BTI's Rants and Ramblings)

This post almost certainly comes from a place of recovery from the worst loss in UK basketball history. The wound is still very fresh and will stay fresh throughout the off-season until next November. And this post also comes 10 minutes after seeing John Calipari was going to pre-record his coach’s show and not take live calls, thus dodging this fanbase’s one chance to communicate with him. Again, following the worst loss in UK history. Following the worst season in UK history.

But nonetheless, here we are. An off-season unlike any other in the Calipari era. And while emotions are running high throughout this fanbase, there is one word and one word only that I think describes how I feel right now as a UK basketball fan: TRAPPED.

TRAPPED BY JOHN CALIPARI’S SUCCESS

Here is the reality of the situation. This fanbase is terrified about what comes after the John Calipari era. We just are. The success on the court, on the recruiting trail, against our rivals, and in every way imaginable from 2010-2015 was unlike any of us had really experienced. The run between 1995-1999 under Pitino-Tubby brought more titles but in the pre-social media world, it was just different. John Calipari took the scorched disaster of a program that Billy Gillispie left, repaired it in one season, and then built new teams each and every year and continued the dominance.

He was ahead of the curve in how to build a roster in that era. When you look back at the talent and on-court wins that came through Lexington, it’s actually unfathomable and unmatched in college basketball history. He brought one title to Lexington and four Final Fours. The success made us all drunk to the fact that it was always going to be really hard to replicate that forever.

So we are trapped because we still hold out hope that John Calipari could get it back to the way it was. And we are trapped into thinking, whether right or wrong, that no other coach could get us back to that way. While we can all admit that John Calipari’s program has serious cracks right now, we also can admit that it could be worse.

There are a lot of people comparing Tubby and Calipari right now. It’s not a fair comparison. Tubby Smith was NEVER going to get Kentucky back into serious, consistent, national title contention. His program was asleep. They were never going to miss the tournament but they also were never going to threaten to win a title again. It had grown stale and a change was needed. Calipari still has the juice to make national title contenders. Say what you want about this team, but when they walked off the floor in Gainseville on March 5, we thought they were winning a title. There was never a single moment in Tubby’s last two years you thought that. So the program is nowhere near as low as it was at the end of Tubby.

TRAPPED BY JOHN CALIPARI’S PERSONALITY

John Calipari’s coaching persona is exactly what we need as the UK basketball coach. That is until it isn’t. Following the subdued era of Tubby Smith and the drunk era of Billy Gillispie, when John Calipari came in, brash and cocky, calling us the “gold standard”. He then backed it up on the court, it was a match made in heaven. Seriously, when things were really cooking here, nobody fit the job better. Because despite being an outsider from the Northeast, he was more “man of the people” than Rick Pitino ever could dream of being. He resonated with the fanbase because he had the attitude that we had about the program.

But then a strange thing happened. The results started to slip but the cockiness didn’t. And then the results stayed stagnant and the “man of the people” began to talk down to the people. And then we went 9-16 and none of that changed. The personality that we fell in love with in 2010 is now the same personality that is a big problem now. It’s not that John Calipari really changed all that much. It’s that his results did. But when you are cocky and going 9-16 and losing to St. Peters, now it becomes foolish.

At the same time, we want a personable coach here. If we had Chris Beard, that wouldn’t be the same. The only way Chris Beard works is to win BIG. John Calipari has a way of keeping us engaged, excited, and upbeat when the results don’t actually match the hype. His teams have been disappointing, at the end of the day, in 2016, 2018, 2021, and 2022. We don’t really know how the 2020 season would have ended either. Only his 2017 squad matched the hype and his 2019 squad, while great, flamed out in the Elite 8 in an upset. The point is, it becomes harder and harder to take the personality only to be disappointed at the end. It feels like a waste of time.

TRAPPED BY STYLE AND IDENTITY

The biggest problem in the John Calipari program right now is not playing style or recruiting; it’s ego, plain and simple. I can not imagine how difficult it will be for a man with the success of John Calipari, and the ego and arrogance that comes with it, to take a step back and say it is time for a complete makeover. I am sure, in his head, he is saying that he has done this with great success for many decades and the fans have done it for none. Why would he change the thing that brought him so many Final Fours and wins?

But the reality is we now see where the ego can burn us. Ego says I don’t need to call timeouts in clutch situations because my guys will make the plays. His ego says I recruited these guys, they are stars, they will make it work. Ego says I can educate the fans on the way it should be, not realizing how condescending that can feel. All of the issues we have with John Calipari, namely the style of play, come down to ego. Is he willing to recognize the flaws in his system? A system that was so perfect for so many years, or will he be too stubborn? All too often, college coaches choose stubborn.

John Calipari’s style is arrogance. He wants to be arrogant and “us against the world” and he wants this fanbase to do the same. I think we’re all for it. But only when things are good. When you have sustained disappointment like we have now for a few years and still want us to carry that same kind of arrogance, you are not going to get compliance. It feels foolish.

Ultimately, John Calipari will decide how this all goes. The contract he was given means we really don’t have a say in what this program will be until he leaves. It is very possible that he will roll out a top-five team again next year and right about the time we are pummelling Louisville by 25 this disdain will have passed. But, his tenure at Kentucky has never been on shakier ground when it comes to fan approval. We are trapped right now. A tenure that has brought great joy for sure. And certainly, a tenure that can be great again. But if we stay on the same track as we have been for six years now, the train will derail eventually. And then we’ll find out for sure what comes after the John Calipari era.