LEXINGTON, Ky. — University of Kentucky men’s basketball fans were still coming to terms with the news Monday that Coach John Calipari may be leaving the program, to lead fellow SEC school Arkansas.
“I’m excited about the future, but I’m a little nervous about who’s going to accept the job, knowing what our fan base is like,” UK alumnus Shannon Dunn said at the KSBar sports bar near Red Mile racetrack.
Dunn is referring to the way many UK faithful started calling for coach Calipari to be fired after the No. 3 seeded Cats lost to the No.14 seeded Oakland in the first round of March Madness last month.
Kentucky has not made it to the Sweet 16 since 2019.
“We keep getting these first-round draft picks and we’re not producing anything,” Dunn said.
Dunn and others watched the live broadcast of Kentucky Sports Radio from 9 a.m. to noon at the bar. Broadcaster Matt Jones was listing all of the NBA Players Cal has had in his tenure (he got up to around 12 players), and emphasizing the lack of recent success.
“Kentucky’s won more titles with more coaches than any other program in the country. Cal did a great job, but Kentucky basketball is bigger than Calipari,” Jones said.
On the University of Kentucky campus, some students said they were hoping if Cal leaves (neither Kentucky or Arkansas have confirmed the rumors yet) that the program will lose its reputation as a “one and done” school, where many players go to the NBA after their first season.
“I think that is a big issue in a lot of teams because they just keep getting new players and they don’t know how to play with each other, as a team,” Molly Benefiel said, a sophomore.
If Calipari does go to Arkansas, students say he will have a rude awakening when he returns to Rupp Arena as an opponent.
“Everyone’s gonna be roasting Cal like crazy, hoping that we win and he regrets his decision,” sophomore Grace Stanley said.
Fans are reflecting on the good times with Coach Calipari, but hoping a new regime can lead to postseason success.
Calipari coached the Cats to a national title in 2012, four final fours between 2011 and 2015, and two more elite 8s in 2017 and 2019.
“At first he brought a lot of excitement, I mean Drake hangs out with the team. And I wonder what’s gonna happen with Drake now,” Dunn said.
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