Jeff Borzello explains how John Calipari's relationship with Kentucky fell apart
Following another consecutive shortcoming in the NCAA Tournament, Kentucky athletic director Mitch Barnhart announced that John Calipari would be returning for his 16th season as the Wildcats head coach. But on Sunday Calipari flipped the scripted, as reports revealed that he’d be exiting Lexington to become the next head coach at Arkansas.
The move is a seismic one within the SEC and across the entire college basketball landscape. But one that college basketball insider Jeff Borzello believes the move stems from Barnhart’s aforementioned statement regarding Calipari’s future with the Kentucky program.
“He would’ve entered next season on the hot seat,” Borzello told ESPN’s Pete Thamel on Monday. “Another season without multiple NCAA Tournament wins and he probably would’ve been fired at this point next season. The 33 million that they owed him after this past season was probably enough to give him another year. But once you get to the point where your athletic director has to release a statement saying you’re coming back as the coach, it’s kind of hard to come back from that.”
Following a decade of dominance, the last five seasons have been headlined by postseason disappointment for the Wildcats under Calipari. Failing to make it out of the first weekend of March Madness since the 2019 season for a blue blood program with national championship expectations and aspirations inside and out.
“And he had lost the appreciation of the fan base, I guess I’d say, and like you said it was more than just the Oakland loss. It was more than the St Peter‘s loss. He had essentially refused to adapt to the changes in college basketball roster construction,” Borzello explained.
Upset losses in the NCAA Tournament are one thing, but Calipari’s formula for success also wore thin for Kentucky fans as well according to Borzello. As Calipari continued to rely on young and talented players, many of whom depart for the NBA following one season with the Wildcats, who lately have fallen short in the postseason.
“He was still going heavy on freshmen, he was going into the portal to get one or two guys. But he was still saying, ‘Okay, we’re gonna win young, we’re gonna win with freshmen, we’re gonna win with McDonald’s All Americans.’ And that hadn’t really worked,” Borzello said. “And like I said, he was still putting guys in the NBA, but the fan base was saying, ‘Hey, we don’t want to consider a player good when he gets $100 million contract. We want him to win championships at Kentucky.'”
Calipari’s track record regarding sending players to the NBA is undeniable, as the Wildcats boast a robust list of NBA Draft selections and successful players at the next level. But in a new era of the transfer portal and NIL, Calipari’s inability to adapt was put on full display after falling No. 14 seed Oakland in the most recent NCAA Tournament.
“And I just think that the final straw for most of the fan base was the Oakland loss. Because this past season he had he’d shown at least an interest in modernizing his offense. I mean, they played faster, they shot more threes. So it seemed like he understood hey, I have to change this, this, and this to move forward,” Borzello said. “But the loss to Oakland and the press conference after where he said we might go into the portal, we might not, we might be young.”
“I just think some of the faith, or whatever remaining faith, the fan base had in Cal was kind of eroded by that point.”
At the end of the day, Calipari’s departure may be the best move for both himself and the Kentucky program moving forward. But only time will tell, as there’s no question that all eyes will be on the Razorbacks and the Wildcats this season and beyond to see who gets the last laugh in one of the most surprising moves in recent college basketball history.