Ranking the Top 50 Moments of the John Calipari Era: Nos. 40-31

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. 40 through No. 31 today. Come back for the rest of the week for 10 moments every day:

MONDAY: Moments #50-41

No. 40: Dontaie Allen scores 23 in double-overtime win at Mississippi State, Fans Take Victory Lap (January 2, 2021)

In the midst of the worst UK basketball season in modern history, one lightning rod of criticism about Calipari’s handling of that team was his usage of freshman Dontaie Allen. Leading into the first conference game of the season in Starkville, UK sat at 1-6 overall and Allen had played a total of 20 minutes in 5 games. Fans revolted, largely because Allen was a Kentucky kid but also because that team struggled to score so mightily.

So what happened in Starkville? Well, John Calipari got ejected with 9 minutes left in the game. At that point, Allen had a total of 6 points and UK trailed by 6. From that point forward, Allen played nearly the rest of the game, scored 17 points and UK pulled out a double-overtime win. Allen would go on to play 15 or more minutes in 8 of the next 9 games before his minutes trailed off again to end the season. He would barely see the floor in 2022 and would be off to WKU in the offseason. But for one moment, fans had one over Coach Cal and a tiny bright spot in a miserable season existed.

No. 39: Brandon Knight hits last-second jumper to beat No. 1 Ohio State in Sweet 16 (March 25, 2011)

I asked several UK fans about this game and they almost all said they remember Josh Harrellson trying to burst Jared Sullinger’s heart with the ball as a greater memory. But I think this shot is criminally underappreciated in UK lore. His jumper knocked out the No. 1 overall seed and title favorite, and that team ended up in the Final Four. I think it’s easily one of the 5-10 best shots in UK history. As far as impact, it truly couldn’t have been much bigger. Cal had followed a shocking 2010 NCAA loss with a decent but not great 2011 season and many thought the season would be over here. So two years in and John Calipari would have had an Elite 8 and a Sweet 16 team. Fans would have cooled a bit on him for sure. Instead, Knight saved the Cats in the 1st round and hit this shot and a run of Calipari tournament runs began.

No. 38: Cats end disappointing season with 2nd round loss to Kansas State (March 19, 2023)

This is such a weird game and season to describe. Pretty much every UK season has either ended with a very surprising loss (2010, 2015, 2018, 2019, 2022) or a great run (2011, 2012, 2014, 2017). But this season’s end was almost expected. I don’t think fans feel like the team was awful but they also weren’t very good either. They were simply a decent team with no real NCAA title aspirations. But to lose to a program like Kansas State was a stark example of where the program has dipped. And I think that is why this game was impactful. Because I think it is hard to claim “gold standard” anymore when it certainly seems Kansas State is at your level.

No. 37: De’Aaron Fox pours in 39 points to dominate Lonzo Ball and UCLA in Sweet 16 (March 24, 2017)

I think for pure individual performances in the NCAA Tournament, this game by Fox has to be in the Top 10. And to completely control the game against the other top point guard in the country, Lonzo Ball, only further solidified Fox’s legacy with Kentucky fans. His 39 points were the most ever scored by a freshman in the NCAA Tournament and the 3rd most by any player in UK tournament history. Plus the Cats got a bit of payback after the Bruins took a game at Rupp Arena earlier that season.

No. 36: Cats drop NIT game to Robert Morris (March 19, 2013)

At that point in the Calipari tenure, this was unquestionably the low point. Maybe there have been other options now but this was just the most embarrassing performance. It was only made worse by the fact that UK had to play this game on the road in Moon Township, which was also Calipari’s hometown. It’s one of the few times in my fanhood where I was okay with a UK loss. It was so awful to watch that team, especially after Nerlens Noel’s injury. If you think this wasn’t an impactful loss just say the words Robert Morris to any college basketball fan and the words Kentucky come right after. Just like UMBC and Virginia. Forever linked together.

No. 35: Cats thrash Kansas in Champions Classic, previewing dominating season ahead (November 18, 2014)

This was the moment we knew something special was at hand. The suffocating nature of that UK defense will never be appreciated enough. In this game, Kansas scored 12 second-half points. 12. On the national stage, the Cats solidified their #1 ranking and had commentators wondering how they could be beaten. The length in the interior and skill on the perimeter were just overwhelming. That Kansas team ended up Big 12 champions and won 27 games. And UK dispatched them like they played in the local Saturday pickup game at the Lexington YMCA. I know it’s hard for many fans to talk about this team and how the season ended (more on that later) but some of their performances were just so sweet to watch.

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No. 34: Enes Kanter ruled permanently ineligible (January 7, 2011)

This moment actually had two prongs to it. The first is that Kanter could have been immensely valuable to a team that still went to the Final Four without him. He ended up the #3 pick in the NBA Draft and had a solid NBA career. The Cats were thin in the post and while Josh Harrelson flourished because of Kanter’s absence, an overly physical UCONN team took down the Cats in Houston. Secondly though, it only secured the NCAA on the UK fan hate list. John Calipari came in with the reputation that the NCAA was out to get him and this decision only amplified that belief. And this was at a time when UK fans were ride-or-die for Calipari, so anybody that upset our leader upset us. It would have been really interesting to see where the 2011 squad had ended up with Kanter manning the post.

No. 33: UK fails to hit a 3-pointer for the first time in 1,047 games (March 15, 2018)

Ultimately, is this record important? Not really. But it was a record that was impressive and Kentucky held it. And I do think that the inability to hit a three-pointer was somewhat a signal of Calipari’s inability to emphasize the shot, something that continues to this day. Calipari would respond they won this game, an NCAA Tournament win over Davidson. But nonetheless, we were subject to witnessing something that had not happened in 30 years. For a program that was revolutionary in its use of the shot under Rick Pitino, to see them only attempt six and miss all of them was a bit of a shock to the system.

No. 32: Anthony Davis and Michael Kidd-Gilchrist become first teammates to go 1-2 in NBA Draft (June 28, 2012)

Calipari would go on to have six guys selected in the 2015 NBA Draft but this accomplishment might be even more impressive. This was right in the middle of a run where UK absolutely ruled the NBA Draft. But for a pair of teammates to go 1-2, after winning a national title together, is unparalleled. I know John Calipari called the 2010 NBA Draft the greatest night in UK history (more on that later this week) but he would have been more justified to use this night. If you don’t think watching those two men walk across that stage first paid dividends for years to come, you just aren’t paying attention.

No. 31: Cats suffer one of biggest upsets in NCAA history, fall to Evansville at Rupp (November 11, 2019)

Several stats to keep in mind for just how absurd of an upset this was. Kentucky was a 25-point favorite in this game. For comparison, Virginia was a 23-point favorite over UMBC. Evansville had lost all 33 games in its history against Top 25 opponents on the road. Kentucky had won 52 straight at Rupp against unranked competition. Evansville would go on to finish 9-23 overall and 0-18 in Missouri Valley play that season. It was absolutely an all-systems failure on the part of the Cats and spelled doom for that team. Ultimately, Kentucky would turn that season around before COVID shut things down but the national impact of that loss resonated for a long time. And just another example of the types of happenings that didn’t exist much in the first eight years of the John Calipari tenure.