John Calipari embraces "disappointment and anger" from fans, promises turnaround

John Calipari is shouldering the blame for Kentucky’s embarrassing NCAA Tournament loss to No. 15 seed Saint Peter’s.

After a day of reflection following the 85-79 overtime loss to the Peacocks, the Kentucky head coach released his first public statement since his postgame press conference in Indianapolis. In it, Calipari asked fans to direct their “disappointment and anger” his direction, not the players.

“I feel for our team, our fans and our staff,” Calipari wrote in a message on social media. “This team deserved something good to happen because of how they worked and what great teammates they became. Our fans deserved it too. You stayed with us when Covid shut down the tournament two years ago, and we all wanted to see that team make a special run. We all went through last season, which started late and never really got going, and was disappointing to all involved.

“We were all ready for this year. This team didn’t disappoint and I remain proud and fond of each of these players. Please steer your disappointment and anger toward me. These kids did this for all of the BBN and I wish I could have dragged them over the finish line.”

He added that his next step will be recruiting at an elite level to ensure Kentucky’s standards are met under his watch, something that clearly didn’t happen this postseason.

“My focus is on these kids and recruiting so we continue being a program that has a chance to do something special EVERY YEAR,” Calipari said. “The culture we’ve built in this program expects that and demands it. I love and appreciate our fans!”

Calipari shared his frustrations and disappointment immediately following the loss, adding that he let Big Blue Nation down on college basketball’s biggest stage.

“Just disappointed. I’m disappointed for our fans, because I know they are here en masse and they were shellshocked like we all were,” Calipari said. “I would tell them, we have got the greatest fans; that they travel, and we hate letting them down. I do as a coach and I know these players do.

“Just don’t take away from what these kids did. This was really disappointing, devastating. But this team brought a lot of joy to a lot of us. Just hate that it ends this way.”

It’s going to be a long offseason.