John Calipari insists he’s going to work tirelessly to uphold the championship standards at Kentucky — even if he can’t beat the likes of Saint Peter’s and Oakland in the tournament anymore.
“I talked again about the standard, that is the standard that I believe in, that I think we can do. That standard of national titles has been here, from coach (Adolph) Rupp on. The only thing I am saying to all our fans — I’m going to work, work for this state and work for this program and this university. Really work for these young people and that’s my commitment. I’m not changing, 24/7, let’s go,” Calipari said on the “John Calipari Show” on Monday.
“Whether it’s recruiting, all the stuff, we go to to do, that is a commitment that I give to the fans and I haven’t changed. This is like wearing a coat, it never goes away but I love it. This is what I want. This is what I wanted. This is why I never left. This is it. And now its let’s come together and let’s go do something, let’s do something special. And we can do it, we’ve done it, let’s do it again.”
Calipari is having to sell a picture of better days ahead as he has upset the commonwealth following yet another season featuring championship aspirations that ended with a dud.
And fans are now calling for his replacement.
The Wildcats seemed like a legit national title threat after beating Tennessee on the road in the regular-season finale but lost to Texas A&M in their first SEC Tournament game, and then fell to 14th-seeded Oakland in the NCAA Tournament as they had no answers for Jack Gohlke.
Kentucky has now gone four straight seasons without making it to the second weekend of the tournament — not counting the canceled Covid season — and last made the Final Four in 2015.
For all of Calipari’s recruiting triumphs and regular-season success, the Wildcats have won just one championship in his tenure in 2012.
Those failures resonate more in Lexington than most other college hoops hotbeds, but Kentucky would owe Calipari $33 million if it decided to move on.
Calipari said on his show he had a Tuesday meeting scheduled with Kentucky athletic director Mitch Barnhart, according to Kentucky Sports Radio.
“We have a standard here. … They don’t put Final Four banners up, only national championship banners,” Calipari said, per On3.com. “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.”
