The NCAA fanbase seems to be divided into 2 factions;
A) “All that talent and no trophies”
or
B) “Stop it.”
When the “all that talent and no trophies” faction would fire up 6 or 7 years ago I thought it was premature due to getting to final fours or just missing, but the last few seasons (excluding last season due to COVID) UK has been underwhelming, with our 5 star teams being bested by teams with fewer stars but scrappy ballers.
It has become clear to me that Cal can only succeed with overly-superior talent, which has not been seen for a while In Lexington like in the past with exception to Oscar. Someone will say “ . . . and replace him with who!?” One answer to that is; A no-name coach can deliver repeated early-exits just as easy as Cal has.
So, are UK fans just spoiled or should a Blue Blood take a gamble with someone new now?
1. The "hurr durr talent" takes have been, are, and will always be devoid of any critical thinking or nuance. It confuses athletic potential with expected current output, ignoring the aging curve/experience, skill development, practice time restrictions, continuity, and roster fit, among other things. Plus, it's the go-to argument from Auburn AND Kansas fans (and the dumbest UK fans, who are legion), which alone creates a (rebuttable) presumption that the argument is dumb.
2. That said, there are specific critiques of Calipari that absolutely apply. The first is related to point 1, as Cal's recruiting and marketing philosophy inherently creates a situation that devalues the factors noted above that (along with athletic potential) leads to winning basketball games in the present. For all the moral good (yes, it's better that athletes derive revenue from their work, and yes it's an overall moral good even though Cal milks it for his own benefit even while apparently sincerely believing it), it has severe drawbacks for winning games at UK.
3. The other specific critique of Cal that is inarguable is that there is quite literally nothing in the universe that is tighter than his butthole in a close, late game. It's reflected in the many instances of stall ball (intentional or not) that makes the already difficult chore of watching a Cal half-court offense even harder to stomach, and the circumstantial evidence is that it affects the players. This is partly related to having young, constantly churning rosters, sure, but if you have eyes you can see this happening from his time at Memphis through the latest NCAA Tournament disappointment. He needs his Lane Kiffin to Alabama moment - an assistant coach that can help revive a boring and stale offense and reinvigorate his career.
4. That being said, Cal shouldn't be fired because, as fun as college basketball is, there's no universe where it's worth $60 million to buy him out. FFS, spend that money on something worthwhile (this also applies to the athletic budgets at most football "skewls").
5. That said, if he left I wouldn't shed too many tears. I'd sincerely thank him for all that he brought to UK (and for helping push the focus and benefits on players) while also looking ahead to change. Ideally, it'd be like a mutual breakup, where both parties are sad that the good times ended but also happy to go on their separate ways.
