Skip to main content

John Calipari repeats message that 'crisis' changed Kentucky mindset

On3-Social-Profile_GRAYby: On3 Staff Report01/25/23
Oscar Tshiebwe, Kentucky Wildcats big man
Kentucky big man Oscar Tshiebwe celebrates with a clenched fist during a game on Dec. 31, 2021. (Andy Lyons / Getty Images)

Kentucky won its fourth straight game on Tuesday night, topping Vanderbilt 69-53 on the road. And coach John Calipari continues to harp on one theme: Crisis changed Kentucky for the better.

What was that crisis, exactly? It appeared to be a second straight loss in early January, a 71-68 defeat at home by South Carolina.

“Crisis brings about change. A crisis,” Calipari said. “What was the crisis? Now we had two starters out. You guys all wrote about that, right? They had two starters out. You did, right? You talked about two starters out? We did. But it brought about a change and a crisis, and that’s where their meeting came in.”

Following that South Carolina loss, players apparently held an impromptu get-together to discuss the team’s problems. At the time Kentucky was 10-6 and had a 1-3 record in SEC play.

Things weren’t exactly going swimmingly.

“I wasn’t in the meeting. Couple staff members were in there,” Calipari said. “But my staff said it made me emotional because everybody admitted things that they need to admit, and they did.”

Kentucky’s crisis changed the outlook

Whatever was said in that meeting sure seems to be working. Immediately after that, Kentucky went on the the road and knocked off No. 5 Tennessee.

Since that win, Kentucky has backed it up with wins over Georgia, Texas A&M and Vanderbilt. All the sudden Kentucky is once again a team no one wants to face.

If it took a little pain to get there, so be it.

“And now, like I said… the only thing that brings about change is a crisis,” Calipari said. “And a crisis in this sport is you lose.”

Kentucky is decidedly out of crisis mode at the moment. The Wildcats will put it to the test again this weekend when they host No. 9 Kansas at 8 p.m. ET on Saturday in Rupp Arena as part of the SEC/Big 12 Challenge. The game will be broadcast nationally on ESPN.