John Calipari’s Kentucky Wildcats exited the NCAA Tournament in the first round for the second time in the last three years. And former ACC Coach of the Year Seth Greenberg believes he knows exactly why that is happening.
Calipari’s future in Kentucky has been the talk of the college basketball world over the past few days after the Wildcats’ latest NCAA Tournament upset. Nonetheless, Greenberg doesn’t think firing the coach is the solution for the team. But he knows something needs to change.
John Calipari, Kentucky Wildcats’ Upset Loss
Calipari and the Wildcats entered the NCAA Tournament as the no. 3 seed and faced off against the no. 14 Oakland Golden Grizzlies on Thursday. Instead of easily handling their opponents as many expected, they had a hard time and ended up losing 80-76.
Jack Gohlke played hero for Oakland, dropping 30 points on 10 triples made. He fell just one 3-pointer short of the all-time single-game record for most triples made.
The Wildcats simply had no answer for Gohlke and the Golden Grizzlies’ hot shooting. Oakland matched up pretty well to Kentucky’s production on the floor, and it certainly helped them that they forced their higher-seeded opponents to 11 turnovers.
It was quite the forgettable performance for Calipari’s men, and it only sparked demands for changes. After all, it’s the third straight year that Kentucky didn’t even make it past the Round of 32. In 2021-22, they lost to Saint Peters in the first round. Then in 2022-23, they bowed down to Kansas State in the Round of 32.
Seth Greenberg Wants John Calipari To Bring Back Kentucky Wildcats’ Toughness
Speaking on ESPN’s First Take, Seth Greenberg–who was a two-time ACC Coach of the Year–shared his belief that the Kentucky Wildcats have lost the toughness that John Calipari is known for. With that being said, he believes the legendary head coach needs to bring it back in order to revitalize the program.
Greenberg knows Calipari very well from his coaching stints, and for him, the ‘Old School Cal’ is what the Wildcats need.
“The last five years are unacceptable. It’s unacceptable for John Calipari’s program and it’s unaccepted for the Kentucky program. He’s been behind the curve … ‘Swaggy Cal’ needs to go. ‘Old School Cal’ needs to come back,” Greenberg shared, via The Spun.
“And what I mean by that is, (with) old school Cal, you defended, you rebounded, you were physical. you were tough… That’s the John Calipari from UMass. That’s the John Calipari at Memphis. That’s John Calipari in his early Kentucky years. ‘Swaggy Cal,’ yeah we bring great talent. Talent without toughness does not win.”
After Kentucky’s display against Oakland, it’s hard to argue with what Greenberg is saying. The toughness simply wasn’t there for the Wildcats.
It remains to be seen what will happen to Calipari and the program. But if the team does keep him, he really needs to implement some massive changes if Kentucky were to return to relevance.
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