John Calipari calls to apologize to Markquis Nowell for 'little kid' comment

5-foot-8 guard Markquis Nowell put forth one of the best individual performances of the NCAA Tournament in Kansas State’s win over Kentucky in the Round of 32 on Sunday. Going for 27 points and nine assists in 40 minutes, he was the shortest, but best player on the floor inside Greensboro Coliseum.

UK head coach John Calipari went out of his way to credit Nowell for helping flip the momentum for K-State and push the other Wildcats to victory. In the process, though, he referred to the senior guard as a ‘little kid’ while also calling him the wrong name, Howell instead of Nowell.

“We did a pretty good job on (Keyontae) Johnson, then he makes that three. Then the little kid makes the three, Howell, he made a deep three,” Calipari said. “We miss a couple, then it gets out of hand. But these kids fought, they never stopped.”

Calipari followed it up with a similar comment during his call-in radio show Monday evening, referring to the 5-8 point guard as ‘the Howell kid’ when describing Kansas State’s late-game daggers.

“I thought the way we played the Howell kid, he had four points at half. Everybody will say, ‘Well, he scored all these points in the second half,’ 10 of them were free throws,” Calipari said. “One was — Jacob fouled, which I didn’t think he touched him. Then we fouled on purpose because we were trying to stop the clock. But yeah, he made three bombs in the second half.”

After the head-to-head battle, Kansas State assistant Jareem Dowling called out the Kentucky head coach on social media, telling him to ‘say his name.’

“U done this for a long time and one of the best on the mic. Never (seen) you refer to a great player as little kid!” Dowling said. “Put some respect on (Markquis Nowell) you know he could play for you too! Say his name!”

Yo! @UKCoachCalipari U done this for a long time and one of the best on the mic. Never 👀 you refer to a great player as little kid! Put some respect on @MrNewYorkCityy you know he could play for you too! Say his name! Like you would @Drake he do right and kill everything! #EMAW https://t.co/20dbkgMsjd

— Jareem Dowling (@Coachreem4ever) March 20, 2023

Now, an apology has come from Calipari, the standout guard announced. The Kentucky head coach personally reached out and said he was sorry, with Nowell publicly accepting the apology. And just like that, controversy over.

“Just Spoke To Coach Cal,” he said. “We Are Good!!”

To counter the Kansas State assistant’s point for a moment, though, it should be made clear that Calipari has referred to smaller point guards as ‘little guys’ in the past. One of his best players during his time in Lexington was a ‘little guy’ in Tyler Ulis — Nowell’s role model and a current student assistant at Kentucky.

It was a go-to for Calipari when coaching Ulis back from 2014-16.

“When I watched him, I just said this kid is unbelievable in pick-and-rolls. And he’s got the heart of a lion. And I’ll put enough big guys around him, he’ll be fine,” Calipari said following a win over Vanderbilt in January 2016. “He has a burning desire to win. And I watched him.

“And I’m just like — Kenny Payne just kept on me because I said I don’t like little guys. And I even call him little guy. Makes him so mad. ‘Give the little guy the ball.’ He just smokes, it’s coming out of his ears when I do that. But the reality of it is he’s really good. He’s really competitive. He’s really smart.”

Clearly nothing personal, but a solid gesture from Calipari nonetheless.