Stephen A. Smith says Calipari is 'running away' after underachieving at Kentucky

The Big Blue Nation has known for a few weeks that the marriage between John Calipari and Kentucky had run its course. However, there did not appear to be an easy way out, until Calipari found one.

On Sunday night we learned that Coach Cal was ready to move on and become the next Arkansas head coach. For many outsiders, the move doesn’t make much sense, but the recent results tell a different story. On Monday’s edition of First Take, Stephen A. Smith put the facts on the table. They don’t reveal a pretty picture.

“I love Calipari. I’ve known him for close to 30 years. But he’s underachieved over the last decade. Hasn’t made it to a Final Four since 2015, hasn’t won a national championship since 2012. It was the only championship he’s won…” Smith said. “In Calipari’s first six seasons at Kentucky, they won 83% of their games, they had three 35-win seasons. They had four Final Four appearances and they won a national title. In his last nine years, he’s dropped by 11% in winning percentage and zero in every category – the 35 wins, the Final Fours, the NCAA titles.

“When you’re at Kentucky and you see North Carolina and Duke keeping themselves relevant – even when they don’t win, they’re knocking at the door, they’re in the mix. And over the last four years you’ve had two first-round exits, to a No. 14 and a No. 15 seed, you didn’t make the tournament once, and then you got to the second round and that’s all you have to show for it at Kentucky. They were saying it’s unacceptable and there were rumblings about Calipari.”

Those rumblings led to the inevitable departure of John Calipari.

“It does give you the impression that he’s running away from something, rather than being pushed out, because they weren’t going to push him because they would’ve owed him a $33 million buyout. In the end, I still find myself shocked because to go from Kentucky to Arkansas, that’s not about a better opportunity as much as it is a better environment for you because the environment where you were evidently soured and that’s why you left.”

.@stephenasmith is shocked by the reports of John Calipari leaving Kentucky for Arkansas. pic.twitter.com/FpdxO26Ar0

— First Take (@FirstTake) April 8, 2024

First Take not pulling punches on Calipari

Stephen A. Smith’s tone was rather reserved. You can’t say the same about his First Take cohorts.

ESPN invited Seth Greenberg onto the program. The former Virginia Tech coach is a friend of Calipari and arguably his most ardent supporter in the media. On Monday, that made him a punching bag. Shannon Sharpe is not well-known for his college hoops analysis, but he doesn’t need to be a Basketball Benny to point out where Calipari fell short at Kentucky.

“Let me get this straight,” Sharpe said. “Sixteen recruiting classes, counting 2024, eight times he’s had the No. 1 overall recruiting class. Seven times he’s landed the No. 2 overall recruiting class. And even when he didn’t get the first or second, he was top five.

“Eighty-one four and five-star recruits. Fifty-three five-stars, 28 four-stars. The names go without saying… So let me ask you a question. What would have happened to Coach Seth Greenberg if he had 81 four and five-star recruits and he only won one national championship?”

Greenberg noted that recruiting results don’t equate to wins. Calipari is not the first coach to fall short with superior talent. Sharpe didn’t care.

“He started the model of recruiting the one-and-done. He created Frankenstein, and can no longer control it,” Sharpe said. “How many [championships] was we supposed to win? More than Tubby Smith. More than Joe B. Hall. How about that? Is that asking too much?”