Ranking the Top 50 Moments of the John Calipari Era (Nos. 20-11)

Try and think of the most impactful moments of the John Calipari Era. This tenure has been WILD. In my initial try, I came up with 93 moments for consideration. And again, these are simply moments; they aren’t big-picture things like the recruiting classes of 2009, 2011, and 2013. They aren’t things like the one-and-done strategy or the dribble-drive offense. I decided to actually pick moments in time that define the John Calipari era. Things you can put a date on. And the word I considered most when making this list was IMPACT. Moments that truly had an impact, whether historic or short-term, on the Kentucky Basketball program.

Make no mistake, I didn’t only choose the good times. In many ways, the struggles have defined the Calipari era as much as the successes. The controversies are part of his tenure at Kentucky. Enjoy this trip down memory lane and appreciate the relevancy that has Cal brought back to Kentucky for the last 14 years.

Here are moments Nos. 20 through No. 11 today. Come back for the rest of the week for 10 moments every day:

• MONDAY: Moments #50-41
• TUESDAY: Moments #40-31
• WEDNESDAY: Moments #30-21

No. 20 Cats finish worst season in school history at 9-16, fall to Mississippi State in SEC quarters (March 11, 2021)

It would be very hard to find any blueblood program have as miserable a season as UK did in 2020-21. Second longest losing streak in school history. Lost to all of your non-conference rivals (UNC, Kansas, and Louisville). A team that did not connect to fans. A team that fans thought was mismanaged by the coach. And a coach who wasn’t particularly apologetic about his team’s performance. The final game of the year was quite forgettable as UK fell behind by 14 points by halftime and, despite a furious rally, fell short with a missed shot at the buzzer by Dontaie Allen. It was particularly poetic that Allen missed the shot that ended the season as he was the one that fans wanted to play more so badly. No matter how the Calipari era ends, this season will forever be a black mark on his record.

No. 19: UK shreds Kansas in Lawrence in one of the best performances of Cal tenure (January 29, 2022)

The Saint Peters loss severely tainted what had the potential to be one of Cal’s great teams. And there was no greater performance from that team than the 18-point drubbing of Kansas in Lawrence in the Big 12 Challenge. Remember that this Kansas team went on to win the national title. But UK controlled from the opening tap is all aspects of the game. Kentucky led by 20 by halftime and never let Kansas threaten. In fact, Kentucky didn’t score in the last 4 minutes of that or the result could have been even more lopsided. At that moment, UK was the hot pick to win the title. Of course, that season crashed and burned at the end, but this was certainly one of the best performances of the Cal era.

No. 18: Aaron Harrison begins historic run by burying Louisville in Sweet 16 (March 28, 2014)

Many fans will call this the most satisfying win of the Calipari era. Louisville was defending national champion and absolutely had a team good enough to win it again. The start of game looked like the Cats were wildly overmatched as they fell behind 18-5. Plus, Willie Cauley-Stein went down with a season-ending injury just 5 minutes into the game. But UK chipped away gradually, taking advantage of their size in the post. Dakari Johnson had one of his best UK games, scoring 15 points. But it was Harrison who began his incredible run, burying a 3 with 39 seconds left to give UK it’s first lead of the game. Also thanks to Russ Smith for his 6 missed free throws.

No. 17: Shaedon Sharpe officially unavailable for 2022 season (February 8, 2022)

The impact on the program of Sharpe’s unavailability wasn’t as much on the court. Although the 2022 team certainly could have used him (cough cough St. Peters). But the entire saga around whether or not Sharpe would play was so poorly mismanaged by John Calipari and staff that fans really felt a fatigue with the circus that is UK basketball under Coach Cal. Whether or not Calipari was dupped by the Sharpe camp or not, his comments really strung fans along. Come see him in warm-ups was funny until it wasn’t. And following the Jared Vanderbilt issue just 4 years before, fans were feeling deja vu all over again (as Yogi Berra once said). Here’s where I think Calipari has misjudged the fanbase. When you are winning like UK was in 2010-2017, you can basically do and say what you want and fans will defend and justify it all. But Calipari felt that fans should have those actions during the low times too. And that just isn’t how it works. I think the Sharpe saga really lost Calipari a ton of support from fans, making it a very impactful moment.

No. 16: Players Kneel For National Anthem at Florida (January 9, 2021)

Whatever side of the issue of kneeling for the national anthem you stand on, that moment may have caused the largest firestorm in UK fan history with its coach. Of course, the fact that Coach Cal knelt next to his players was a factor too. But UK players making a social/political statement in the middle of the worst season in school history just exploded a fanbase from a conservative state already on edge. Without question, John Calipari lost a lot of fans from that moment. Whereas fans can be flighty when it comes to wins and losses on the court, when you start to mess with their personal beliefs they become much more stubborn. What’s truly sad is that UK went on to beat Florida in Gainesville by 18. But for some fans, that night was unforgivable.

No. 15: WVU shocks Kentucky in Elite 8 (March 27, 2010)

The first real bump that John Calipari experienced after what had been an almost perfect first season at the helm. But there is no other way to say it except he was outcoached by Bob Huggins. The 1-3-1 zone fooled the Cats all night as they chucked up 32 three point attempts, hitting just 4. UK also missed 13 free throws in this game, a common denominator in several UK tournament losses. Of the three Elite 8 losses under Cal, this one was definitely the most shocking and disappointing. Of course, UK would go on an unprecedented run after this but 2010 was clearly the best in the country. But a Hall of Fame coach got the better of Calipari that day.

No. 14: Harrison Twins announce return for sophomore season (April 25, 2014)

Without the Harrison twins, the 2015 squad would have still been one of the nation’s elite. But a backcourt of freshman Tyler Ulis and freshman Devin Booker would not have had the impact that 2nd year Harrison twins did. Additionally, the story always goes that John Calipari was out the door if the Harrisons had not returned. So their return not only impacted an entire season but also impacted the direction of the program for the next 10 years. With no John Calipari, what would have happened to the program in 2014? We’ll never know but there has certainly never been a returning player (or players) that had a greater impact than the Harrisons. Not even close.

No. 13: Luke Maye buries UK dreams in Elite 8 (March 26, 2017)

There is only one word that can describe this loss: BRUTAL. It was brutal for many reasons. First, UK had beaten UNC earlier that season in the famous Malik Monk 47 point game. Second, UK was coming off one of its best performances against UCLA in the Sweet 16. Then, despite trailing for much of that game, UK gets a huge 3 from De’Aaron Fox and then two from Malik Monk which appeared to take the game to overtime. But the final knife was that it wasn’t one of UNC’s star players to hit the game-winner. It was role-player Drew Franklin Luke Maye. But you must also look big picture. If UK gets that win and goes to the Final Four, maybe they win another title. But either way, it’s a bit of a rest after the 2015 disaster and forgettable 2016. Instead, another season ended without a Final Four and we haven’t seen one since either. This was Kentucky’s best team in the last 8 years. And it was a brutal way to end.

No. 12: Cats return to Final Four for first time in 13 years (March 27, 2011)

John Calipari essentially had the program rebuilt by the time John Wall-Demarcus Cousins-Eric Bledsoe arrived on campus but the official rebuild was completed in Newark in 2011, when a Deandre Liggins three clinched an elite eight win over North Carolina. People also forget that Liggins had a huge block with 60 seconds left to save the lead before his clinching three. The fact it was Liggins was especially sweet as he was one of the few leftovers from the Billy Gillispie era and a guy that took a long time to fit into Calipari’s system. The kiss between Cal and Liggins was a terrific moment of happiness for the coach and fanbase. It felt like UK had finally, and permanently, arrived back onto the major scene. And they would remain there for the next 6 years.

No. 11: Calipari proclaims 2010 NBA Draft as “greatest night in UK basketball history” (June 24, 2010)

At this point in his tenure, John Calipari had really made zero major mistakes. The loss to West Virginia was devastating, and there were some complaints about his coaching in that game, but his overall rebuild of the program was so swift that fans were still jubilant. And the 2010 NBA Draft was a culmination of that ascension as John Wall (#1), Demarcus Cousins (#5), Patrick Patterson (#14), Eric Bledsoe (#18), and Daniel Orton (#29) became the first collection of 5 teammates to go in the 1st round. But Calipari’s comments proclaiming it the greatest night in UK history riled some fans up as it did put clearly into focus Cal’s overall mindset when it came to the program. A players first mentality meant getting these guys into the league, and their dreams fulfilled, as an almost equal priority to results on the court. Calipari believed he could do both and he has accomplished that for much of his tenure. But fans were forced to face the reality that John Calipari viewed his role as UK basketball coach much differently than those before him.