Ranking the Top 50 Moments of the John Calipari Era (Nos. 10-1)

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. 10 through No. 1 today:

• MONDAY: Moments #50-41
• TUESDAY: Moments #40-31
• WEDNESDAY: Moments #30-21
• THURSDAY: Moments #20-11

No. 10: Anthony Davis Commits to Kentucky (August 13, 2010)

I’m not sure anybody knew at the time just the impact that Davis would have at Kentucky. But you have to look back at that moment as maybe the biggest commit in UK history, certainly under Calipari. Davis not only became the national player of the year and #1 NBA Draft Pick, he brought Calipari’s long-lost title to Kentucky. Does that team win the title without him? Very likely not. But he also had a cultural impact on the program as well. What John Wall had started, Anthony Davis finished. Kentucky was never “cooler” than when the unibrow was patrolling the paint and finishing lobs. He likely will be the first one-and-done player ever to have his jersey retired and rightfully so. You could argue that Davis was the best player to ever play at the school. Not the most statistically accomplished. Just the best.

No. 9: Calipari creates intra-program drama by calling Kentucky a “basketball school” (August 11, 2022)

It’s one thing to cause drama with another school or the NCAA. Calipari certainly brought with him, and created, many rivals during his time in Lexington. But to create drama within your own athletic department is a different level of error.

Calipari’s flippant comments during the Bahamas trip were in response to facility upgrades with other sports at UK but an unwillingness from Mitch Barnhart to do the same for the basketball facility. What followed was a week-long squabble between the school’s two most prominent coaches and the athletic director, not to mention a firestorm of sports radio from the fans. It even led Barnhart to conduct one of the more bold press conferences in his tenure. And then a bit of a delayed response from Calipari recognizing his error led many to side with the football program. But what is without question is the relationship between Cal and Mitch was fractured, maybe beyond repair. And fans were forced to choose sides against their fellow fan. One the truly worst missteps of the Cal tenure.

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No. 8: NCAA Tournament canceled due to COVID (March 13, 2020)

Obviously from a societal standpoint, there has been nothing more significant in the 14 years since Cal was hired. But the cancellation of the 2020 tournament also had a dramatic impact on the program as well. First off, the 2020 team was likely headed towards a No. 2 seed and appeared to be playing its best ball at the end of the year. This was the staple of Calipari’s best teams. If that team could have made the Final Four, what happens then? Does 2021 happen the same way? Are we in a funk as much as we are today? But you can also see a noticeable personality change within Calipari too. He became more withdrawn from the fans. The relationship between him and the people who were his passionate soldiers for so many years began to deteriorate. How much did COVID play a role? Hard to say. But that is a clear breaking point when things really did start to slide.

No. 7: Aaron Harrison sends Cats to title game with 3-pointer against Wisconsin (April 5, 2014)

Is this in the running for the greatest shot in UK history? I think it has to be. Even if it didn’t come on the heels of two other game-winners from Harrison that got Kentucky to the Final Four, it would be one of the most monumental shots in school history. But putting it all together created the greatest run of shots, maybe in NCAA Tournament history. When you watch the video closely, I have two favorite things. The first is Andrew Harrison yelling for him to shoot. And the second is the reaction of Harrison’s father after burying the three. Thank god Wisconsin wasn’t able to convert their final attempt as that would have been Laettner-levels of heartbreak. Instead, we saw the most exciting two weeks of Kentucky Basketball continue.

No. 6: Cats suffer worst defeat in Cal era, get drubbed by Zion and Duke by 34 (November 6, 2018)

If you want to know when I think Kentucky was no longer the “gold standard” in college basketball, this was it. Some argue losing the recruiting battle for Zion Williamson is a better point when things changed but I’d argue otherwise. I think until we saw on the court what a player like Zion Williamson could do, the impact of losing him was not apparent. Let us not forget that hopes for that UK team were so high after a dominating summer series in the Bahamas. Instead, we have not seen Kentucky take a beating like that under Calipari. The fact it was Duke who did the beating was just the icing on the cake. Kentucky trailed by 21 points less than 10 minutes into the game. The style of play, the talent gap, the coaching; it was all so obvious 118 points later.

No. 5: UK defeats UL in Final Four (March 31, 2012)

This was the most highly anticipated game in the series’ history and potentially in school history. And all of the pressure was squarely on the Cats. But that team was absolutely destined to win a national title and they largely controlled most of the game. The Cards were stingy in the second half but Anthony Davis only furthered his argument as the greatest UK player in history, finishing with 18 points, 14 rebounds, and 5 blocks. The Calipari-Pitino rivalry was also at its peak as well and Calipari would forever have this to hold over Rick. It almost seemed as if the Kansas title game was a foregone conclusion after getting over this hurdle. Who knows if these two teams will ever meet in the Final Four again. Hell, who knows if UL will ever have a winning record again. But for one night in New Orleans, Kentucky earned the greatest bragging rights you could ever ask for.

No. 4: Big Blue Madness officially launches John Calipari era (October 16, 2009)

The John Wall dance. The gold standard. Players-first program. All of the pillars of what the John Calipari program would be were on display on that night in Rupp Arena. The energy in that building had not been felt in any game for many years and this was just a preseason practice. But we also got the iconic John Wall moment that lives on to this day. Calipari’s speech made many believe he could have been Governor the next day. It was the kind of motivational speech this fanbase had been yearning for. UK basketball was officially back for this fanbase. And the ride would be even better than we could have imagined on that night 14 years ago.

No. 3: Cats drop one of biggest NCAA Tournament upsets, falling to Saint Peter’s (March 17, 2022)

Kentucky has had several disappointing losses under John Calipari in the NCAA Tournament. And while many of them would have been called “upsets” by a point spread standard, I’m not sure any of them would have been considered shocking. Losing to a MAAC school that lost 11 regular season games went beyond shocking. Kentucky had the reigning national player of the year. They had McDonald’s All-Americans. They had advantages at every position and then some. And yet, despite holding a late lead, Kentucky couldn’t hold on and was largely controlled in overtime. It seemed as if UK played tight the entire game and criticisms many fans had about John Calipari at that point bubbled over. Despite a losing season the previous year, this was certainly the low point in his tenure. It is a game that will forever stick with this program. Forever. And for many fans, they were done. The 2023 season probably didn’t bring them back. But a program that seemed to be slowly declining since the 2018 season crashed to rock bottom at this point.

No. 2: Cats see 38-0 season crash and burn, fall to Wisconsin in Final Four (April 4, 2015)

The obvious is that for a majority of Cats fans, this will be the most crushing loss in their life. For fans over 45 years old, it might be Duke 1992. But for the younger portions of this fanbase, losing to Wisconsin in 2015 was their Laettner game. If that team had been able to complete the 40-0 season, it would have gone down as the greatest college basketball team in modern history. And would probably not have been challenged for that for a very long time. But the game itself had multiple moments that would not be forgotten. Kentucky getting three consecutive shot clock violations. The uncalled shot clock violation on Wisconsin. Sam Dekker torching the Cats.

For many, that loss fell on Calipari, whether fairly or not. Kentucky led 60-56 with 5 minutes remaining and then was outscored 15-4 the remainder of the way with poor offensive possession after poor offensive possession. It is a team that will never get the credit they deserve because of one bad 5-minute stretch. But the impact that win, and hopefully a win over Duke two days later, would have had on Cal’s legacy and UK’s program would have been immeasurable.

No. 1: Kentucky wins National Title No. 8 over Kansas (April 2, 2012)

Ultimately this is what it is all about. And this moment should be the first line of Calipari’s “obituary” whenever he leaves the school. There have been ups and downs during his tenure but winning a national championship for the school will be his lasting legacy. The game itself was quite uninteresting as Kentucky was clearly the better team and largely kept the Jayhawks at bay. A key Michael Kidd-Gilchrist block was the big highlight. But it doesn’t matter if John Calipari never wins another SEC title, SEC Tournament, or game against a rival. It doesn’t matter if every tournament loss moving forward is a crushing upset. Bringing home a national title will forever be the top moment of his tenure.

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