‘Do I change because of that?’ This March Madness wreck stings for John Calipari and Kentucky
John Calipari was warned. He knew the downside of a roster like this, and he signed up for it anyway without checking both sides of the street. It’s tantalizing when it’s the No. 1 recruiting class in the country (or a root beer sucker).
We had a rule in our house. Look both ways before you cross the street, and when you’ve done that, look twice.
But I was 10, sprouting taller and growing more invincible by the day. When my mom, an insurance rep, asked me to take an envelope across the street to the bank, I not-so-willingly obliged. I’d rather be shooting hoops, perfecting my corner jumper. But I did it. The bank tellers were nice and they had suckers. I liked the root beer flavor. Before I left, I heard the words of wisdom.
“Look both ways before you cross the street.”
I briefly looked both ways and started to cross, assuming a car in the furthest lane would cruise past and I’d whisk behind them. There were no crosswalks. My hometown is a small one in central Illinois. But you know what happens when you make assumptions …
That car in the furthest lane went from from 20 miles per hour to a halting stop. I started walking across when I saw a truck turn out of a driveway and hit the gas. It smashed into the car that had stopped for me. The bumper-car effect was real. The car slid right in front of me, a mere three feet away. I can still feel the breeze. I can still see it.
It wasn’t my fault, but I should’ve known better. I started crossing the street when it wasn’t clear. I was warned, did it anyway and luckily avoided any serious consequences.
Kentucky wasn’t so lucky.
John Calipari was warned. He knew the downside of a roster like this, and he signed up for it anyway without checking both sides of the street. It’s tantalizing when it’s the No. 1 recruiting class in the country (or a root beer sucker).
Calipari paid the price. Kentucky was felled by No. 14 seed Oakland 80-76 in Thursday’s first round. It was a slow car crash, but a disaster nonetheless. Kentucky was always in striking distance until it wasn’t. It got Jack Gohlke’d.
Calipari knew the risks of loading up on freshmen in a college basketball ecosystem that was jam-packed with older veterans. That’s why getting Antonio Reeves back at the last second was so important. It’s why the improbable, unprecedented West Virginia splinter that resulted in Tre Mitchell in Lexington was so enormous.
The two fifth-year seniors changed the outlook for Kentucky in 2023-24, but a young team’s peaks were tantalizing and the valleys, while rough, were easy to overlook because the flashes looked like maybe the best team in the country.
You can’t pretend the warning signs weren’t always here. The loss to UNC Wilmington at home on Dec. 2 came less than two weeks after Kentucky escaped a St. Joe’s upset bid in overtime. The defensive mistakes were a staple all year long. The few games during SEC play when a few teams bricked almost every 3-pointer weren’t the salve to Kentucky’s defense. The think-pieces determining Kentucky’s defense was fixed were incorrect. It was just a mirage clouded by a killer offense that hit supernova notes without even trying.
And that’s the thing that makes all of this so gutting. This Kentucky team was easy to love.
It’s a darn shame Rob Dillingham only got 40 minutes in the Big Dance (28, really). The look on Reed Sheppard’s face late in the game against Oakland was gut-wrenching. A cold-blooded killer looked like the moment was just a little too big for him at the worst time. Was that the last time Sheppard suits up in his beloved Kentucky blue? That’s not the way his storybook Kentucky dream was supposed to end.
The nightmares. The worst potential outcome. Those jump-scares. That dreaded dark side. All of it came out for the whole world to see.
Kentucky hasn’t made a Sweet 16 since 2019. It’s not the worst loss in March Madness (the loss to 15th-seeded Saint Peter’s will sting more) but it’s up there.
The South Region was wide open. Houston is hurt. Marquette is hurt. Duke hasn’t looked like itself. Florida is hurt. The road to the Final Four was there for the taking, and Kentucky has to live with a brutal missed opportunity.
Of course, no one is feeling pity for the slick Kentucky coach. Calipari is one of college basketball’s highest-paid coaches and owns a $33 million buyout. The portal is right around the corner, and this roster is about to look way different. Kentucky’s brass has to decide what direction it wants to go with both its coach and its roster.
If he gets another shot at Kentucky, maybe this time Calipari will check both sides of the street.
“It’s changed on us,” Calipari said. “All of a sudden, it’s gotten really old. So we’re playing teams — our average age is 19. Their average age is 24 and 25. So do I change because of that?”
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