'Where's Cal's toughness?' National media reacts to Kentucky's 1st round NCAA Tournament exit

Everyone and their mother has thoughts on the state of the Kentucky men’s basketball program and its head coach, John Calipari. Turn on ESPN or any national radio show and it won’t take long for the conversation to come up.

We all know why at this point. Kentucky suffered another early NCAA Tournament, this time falling to 14-seed Oakland, 80-76, on Thursday night in Pittsburgh. For the fourth straight postseason, the Wildcats failed to make it to the second weekend of the tournament.

Which begs the awkward question: what happens next? Where does Kentucky go from here? Some of the biggest names in college basketball media have provided their thoughts over the last 12-plus hours. We’ve gathered a handful of them below.

Jay Wright (CBS Sports)

“The era of taking these young freshmen and trying to play against older players is over. I think he did a phenomenal job with these guys all year getting them to be as successful as they were. You can see, they’re playing against grown men. The guys on Kentucky will be far better pros than any of these guys on Oakland or any of these guys in the tournament, but they’re not as good college basketball players.

“At this point in their career, they’re not as disciplined yet as the guys from Oakland. And it’s not Cal’s fault, it’s they’re 18 years old and they’re in this era where everyone is telling them how great they are. Just show up in college and you’re gonna win. It doesn’t happen that way, and the more the guys stay in college because of NIL, it’s gotta be tougher for young teams like this to be successful.”

Stephen A. Smith (ESPN)

“I gotta tell you something right now about John Calipari. You talk about the toughness of his teams, with all due respect (Seth Greenberg), where’s Cal’s toughness?

“…He’s being soft. The fact of the matter is you’re trying to win. You’re trying to win. And the John Calipari I knew, read the tea leaves and said this is what it’s gonna take to win and dammit that’s what I’m going to do. He didn’t get caught up in all the pomp and circumstances. What you saw John Calipari say last night, in that press conference… What you saw last night (Seth Greenberg), is what I have called players out before…

“The point is, you are a great coach who knows how to win basketball games, and perhaps the problem is you’ve gotten soft because you’ve gotten so caught up in bringing these young kids and prioritizing being a father figure to these guys, that in the process of doing all those other things, you haven’t prioritize doing what it takes to win, the way you did when you were at Memphis.”

John Gasaway (ESPN)

How significant was this loss for Kentucky?

“Enormously significant, because it comes on the heels of the loss to No. 15 seed Saint Peter’s just two years ago. Now it has happened again, and this isn’t the way things are supposed to work when you’re Kentucky. Look at history, and consider what the fans of Big Blue Nation have come to expect based purely on reality. The Wildcats were 26-1 in the round of 64 from 1988 through 2019. Now, in the past three tournaments, UK is just 1-2 in that round. That will not be tolerated.”

Myron Medcalf (ESPN)

How significant was this loss for Kentucky?

“It’s significant because it prompts legitimate questions about Calipari’s approach to winning in this climate, which is changing in real time. Calipari said he told his team after the game that ‘this one is painful.’ The scar from this loss could linger a long time and ultimately lead to a leadership change for the winningest program in college basketball.”

Jeff Borzello (ESPN)

What does this mean for John Calipari’s future in Lexington? And is there an obvious solution?

“That’s the elephant in the room. The $33 million elephant. Calipari would be owed just over that amount if the program fired him after this season. In theory, there are ways Kentucky can come up with the money to buy out the rest of his contract. Zero Sweet 16 appearances, a single tournament win since 2019 — there’s going to be a large segment of the Kentucky fan base that wants Calipari out.

“The challenge is who to turn to after Calipari. Baylor’s Scott Drew just announced he was staying at Baylor after Louisville knocked on his door for its current opening; Alabama’s Nate Oats just signed an extension with a huge buyout; Iowa State’s T.J. Otzelberger would cost about $18 million to poach; UConn’s Dan Hurley probably isn’t leaving Storrs. Does Kentucky make a run at someone like Billy Donovan? Between Calipari’s guaranteed money, buying out its next head coach and then paying the new coach’s salary, we could be talking about a $50 million-plus investment. But it will undoubtedly be a talking point.”

Dan Wolken (USA TODAY)

“At some point in the next few days, John Calipari and Kentucky officials need to get in a room, lock the door and agree not to come out until they’ve reached a number that will end this agony. 

“It’s over. 

“It needs to be over. 

“It’s time for college basketball’s premier program and the sport’s most underachieving coach to go their separate ways and do something different.

“If Calipari returns to Kentucky next year after another March disasterclass — this time a loss to Oakland Thursday in the first round of the NCAA men’s basketball tournament — he will be the most miserable multi-millionaire in a state that no longer wants him there and no longer envisions a revival in whatever magical abilities he once had. 

“So what’s the point?”

Kyle Tucker (The Athletic)

“Asked what he might’ve done to help those players Thursday night, Calipari cited a timeout he should’ve called sooner. Maybe gone to the box-and-one defense a little earlier, he said.

“‘But in hindsight when you’re coaching, if you did something and we had won this game, you’re a genius — and if you don’t do it, you know, you’re the bad guy,’ he said. ‘Like I said, I thought the preparation was what it needed to be.’

“That’s highly debatable. And it ignores any possibility that mistakes were made at the top. Which brings us to the other burning question: If Kentucky can’t or won’t pay the buyout, if Calipari returns for a 16th season, what then? What, if anything, would be different? A stone-faced Barnhart declined an interview request after the game.”

Matt Norlander (CBS Sports)

“So, here is John Calipari, a 65-year-old man who, in his first year at Kentucky in 2009-10, said he’d almost certainly not last in Lexington more than a decade. It’s been 15 years. To say the past five have been taxing on him and the fan base would be an understatement. Calipari also has a fractured relationship with his athletic director, Mitch Barnhart. 

“The money to fire him is just above $33 million. A gargantuan amount. 

“So, where does Kentucky go from here? Would Barnhart be able to rally that much money to fire Calipari? Are endings like this so demoralizing that Calipari might consider working with Kentucky on a split for less than $33 million? At what point does the frustration and failure of these end-of-season catastrophes lead to a change in the head coaching position of Kentucky’s men’s basketball program?”

Jeff Eisenberg (Yahoo! Sports)

“What this means is that Kentucky may be stuck with a coach who no longer is the right man for college basketball’s most high-profile job. Calipari is still bringing in McDonald’s All-Americans and future NBA lottery picks year after year, but it hasn’t translated into success like it did in the glory days of John Wall, Anthony Davis and Karl-Anthony Towns.”