It is time for Coach Calipari to retire. We all know the reasons. They have been stated and restated here for several years and don't need to be rehashed, except to say that all of it was on display again today in Tuscaloosa.
Until two years ago, I was always a patient supporter of Calipari. I took my family to UK basketball games in NY, Chicago, Indy, and Gainesville, so I had some skin in the game so to speak. I began to change my mind about Calipari when I noticed his players became more timid the more he yelled and screamed at them. This seemed to be lost on him. He is still a strong recruiter. So when it became obvious that his inability to cultivate team chemistry was keeping his teams from playing up to their talent level, I began to look more closely at rigid tactics like dribble-drive, questionable substitution methods, and stubborn refusal to play zone defense. For me, the nail in the coffin was when Calipari said he has bigger goals than winning championships. When you are being paid $9 million a year to win championships, but you can't win important games anymore, that is a reckless, unglued statement.
Today in Tuscaloosa, Calipari's team gave up on him. You can't expect to win important games when your team scores 50-60 points. There are a lot of pieces to this, and all of us know what they are by now. But the headline is that Calipari is an elite recruiter while simultaneously being a tyrant and an ineffective coach.
It is time for Calipari to retire. I am not saying he will do it. But the longer this goes on, the uglier it gets for everyone. At some point, UK will be forced to eat Calipari's buyout and fire him. Calipari will benefit financially, but his reputation and his career will be in the dumpster. If he wants to resurrect his coaching career, he needs to attempt it somewhere else because his welcome at UK is worn out.
Until two years ago, I was always a patient supporter of Calipari. I took my family to UK basketball games in NY, Chicago, Indy, and Gainesville, so I had some skin in the game so to speak. I began to change my mind about Calipari when I noticed his players became more timid the more he yelled and screamed at them. This seemed to be lost on him. He is still a strong recruiter. So when it became obvious that his inability to cultivate team chemistry was keeping his teams from playing up to their talent level, I began to look more closely at rigid tactics like dribble-drive, questionable substitution methods, and stubborn refusal to play zone defense. For me, the nail in the coffin was when Calipari said he has bigger goals than winning championships. When you are being paid $9 million a year to win championships, but you can't win important games anymore, that is a reckless, unglued statement.
Today in Tuscaloosa, Calipari's team gave up on him. You can't expect to win important games when your team scores 50-60 points. There are a lot of pieces to this, and all of us know what they are by now. But the headline is that Calipari is an elite recruiter while simultaneously being a tyrant and an ineffective coach.
It is time for Calipari to retire. I am not saying he will do it. But the longer this goes on, the uglier it gets for everyone. At some point, UK will be forced to eat Calipari's buyout and fire him. Calipari will benefit financially, but his reputation and his career will be in the dumpster. If he wants to resurrect his coaching career, he needs to attempt it somewhere else because his welcome at UK is worn out.
