4-Point Play: I love John Calipari. I no longer trust John Calipari.

Of all the weeks I’ve had doing this job, this has certainly been one of them. From the open practice and locker room interviews in Pittsburgh, excitement regarding homecomings for John Calipari, Tre Mitchell and Adou Thiero, a chance to enjoy this group for this big run, knowing one of the most fun rosters we’ve seen come through Kentucky in recent memory would see a massive overhaul whenever it all came to an end. And then Oakland happened, the unthinkable and inexcusable, shutting down the ride before it even took off.

That led to speculation regarding Coach Cal’s future and whether or not Mitch Barnhart would welcome him back for year 16. Would he take another job? Would he be bought out for all $33 million? And should he return to Lexington, would it come with stipulations? Maybe mandatory staff changes or home-run swings on returning talent? Then came Calipari’s call-in radio show, talking matter-of-factly about returning for another season and what needed to be done to bring this program back to the championship standard it has fallen short of in recent years. Then he talked about certain players wanting to return to get the bad taste out of their mouths about how the season ended. To get there, it’d take getting “back to who we’ve been defensively.”

Word season is officially underway

Barnhart then confirmed Calipari would be back roaming the sidelines inside Rupp Arena to open the 2024-25 season. Love it or hate it — there are plenty of fans in both boats, fewer in the former today than eight days ago — that’s just the reality of the situation with no clear upgrades in would have been a historically expensive breakup. When it came down to it, the Kentucky AD couldn’t look past their six SEC regular season and tournament titles, seven Elite Eights, four Final Fours and one national title together. “It’s not that we don’t know how to get there,” he said. “We’ve hit a patch where we haven’t, and that is not lost on us.”

He added that this season was frustrating because Kentucky was in a position to light fireworks in March, then “stubbed our toe a couple of times” — those fireworks becoming duds.

“We want to be better in March. There’s no mystery in that either,” Barnhart said. “Our fans know what the standard is. We know what the standard is and that’s part of it. The mantle we’ve been entrusted with is critically important to both of us.”

Therein lies the issue for me and a vocal section of the fanbase — a minority, at minimum, but maybe now the majority.

I can’t trust John Calipari anymore.

Man, I love the guy. He’s given me some of my most precious, cherished memories growing up pouring everything I had into this program as a fan and transitioning into my professional (if we want to call it that) life. I remember where I was for every euphoric Kentucky win and heartbreaking loss, from punching the ceiling of my grandma’s house when Aaron Harrison threw in his third straight game-winner against Wisconsin to throwing my first F-bomb in front of my dad when the triple-zeroes hit against those same stupid Badgers a year later. Every high and low, I trusted the vision because you could not build up more equity with Big Blue Nation than what he did in his early years. That dude shot out like a bat out of hell from day one, a wrecking ball through the college basketball landscape. No one did it like Coach Cal.

Messaging has fallen upon deaf ears

That’s what makes today’s feelings so damn weird, because in my heart of hearts, John Calipari can still coach his ass off. We all saw Miami (FL) and North Carolina and Auburn and Alabama and Tennessee. Those were title-level performances. He put forth some coaching clinics beyond just the high-profile wins, too, starting with style of play and bringing that freshness back to the program after going a bit stale. It was different and fun, even when frustrating. He adapted when the world said his system was archaic after 9-16 and Saint Peter’s and Markquis Nowell.

That’s not the problem. I’m not personally doubting his ability to do this job or win at a high level. The issue is that his messaging has fallen upon deaf ears in Lexington and a toxic season is now inevitable, no matter the roster he puts together — it’s always competitive and loaded with talent. Individual wins and losses will not matter, everything up to March will be a waste of time. That’s what this season became with one of the most entertaining teams Cal has ever had due to the results of the previous three years. And then they lost again.

March is unpredictable and unforgiving, the worst and best way to decide a champion. The randomness that helped him reach legendary status to begin his time here is now working against him. Balancing the early exits with Final Fours rather than splitting the front and back halves down the middle would probably take the pressure away. But that’s not how it unfolded and that’s how we get no second weekends in a half-decade stats for a dude who led this program to four Final Fours in the same span when he got here.

I’m sure this team will be older, tougher and more physical while keeping some of the same offensive philosophies that worked this season. I’m sure we’re going to “get back to who we’ve been defensively” — hell, you can’t get worse.

“This is Kentucky. This is a standard.”

“We’ve got to evaluate everything. At the end of the day, we know this is Kentucky and it was unacceptable what just happened. It’s unacceptable what we went through. I’m going to look at whatever I’ve got to to make sure (it doesn’t happen again). We all know why we’re here: We want to compete and win national titles. I’m not satisfied. My whole mission now is to put this behind us. Let’s continue to say, ‘This is Kentucky. This is a standard.'”

Sounds great, right? Only that came at the conclusion of the 2020-21 season when the Wildcats went 9-16.

This is what he said this time around.

“We have a standard here. I said early on, they don’t put Final Four banners up, only national championship banners,” Calipari said. “My standard is we’re playing to play deep into the NCAA Tournament and compete for national titles, win national titles. I wanted this job knowing that was the case. I love this job knowing that was the case. I’ve never left this job. That is what the standard is for me.

“… We’re not changing the standard and we’re chasing what we chase here, which is championships.”

The Boy Who Cried Wolf

This was the ‘Kentucky good’ roster to change all of that, to wipe away all of the other postseason struggles. We lived with valleys while enjoying the peaks of this year for that very reason. Who cares about UNC Wilmington or three straight home losses in Rupp Arena for the first time in the building’s history? We get to see Rob Dillingham in March Madness!

For one game. In the SEC Tournament, too. “Built for March” meant zero. He pushed all of his chips in on this historically young group after previously going old and portal-crazy, now switching back to experience and physicality while signing six new freshmen ranked lower than the last batch. The buttons continue to be pressed, but they’re not inspiring true, genuine hope.

Calipari has become The Boy Who Cried Wolf in Lexington. And that wolf is his lasting legacy as he looks to “exit the way you want to exit,” as Barnhart put it this week, no one here to save him as the one-on-one fight begins to prove he’s still got it. He’s got supporters — I’ll continue to be one whether he wins another game the rest of his career or not (ideally at another school, in the latter case) — but how many true believers does he have left? Nothing he says this point forward will change that number. His actions, particularly in the case of winning basketball games that matter, will.

I love John Calipari. I no longer trust John Calipari. I’ll support and love this next group and I’ll root for every win like I do every year, but man, my belief is just shot. Maybe that changes after I get out of this stage of grief, but the only thing I’m certain will get me back on my feet is not having to write it’s been a decade since Kentucky’s last Final Four fun facts next April.