When a season ends the way Kentucky's did, of course people are going to be outraged and shocked and angry. It is natural to say things aren't working and we need to tear it down and build it up out of the ashes -- get rid of the coach, get different types of players, start over.
The problem is, that's never going to be the fastest way to get back to competing for final fours and championships.
Certainly something went wrong in the last several weeks of the season -- not just the last game -- and it is important for those in charge -- all the way up to Mitch and above -- to figure out what that was and fix it.
But was this team really terribly flawed at its core and incapable of challenging for a championship?
The evidence says no. With 12 teams still alive, Kentucky played four of them: a 28-point win over North Carolina on a neutral court, an 18-point win over Kansas on their court, an eight-point loss to Duke in the first game of the season and a two-point loss while not at full strength against Arkansas on their home court just about three weeks ago.
Kentucky had a team that, at its best, and even not at its best, was capable of competing with, and in some cases dominating, the teams that have proven to be among the best in the country. The team was capable of going to the Final Four. Kentucky 2021-22 was not outclassed by the competition and hopelessly flawed.
There is no excuse that what the team was capable of didn't happen and all of us can hold Calipari and the players themselves accountable for that.
I'd like Calipari to give a full, honest account of what went on inside the locker room beginning with the period where TyTy and Wheeler were out with injuries right after blowing out Kansas.
Some possible answers: The Sharpe fiasco poisoned the locker room. Tyty, who especially seemed to really regress, was never back to full speed. There were internal rivalries over things like playing time or successes with NIL. One or more of the coaches didn't work out and that created factions on the bench.
We need Calipari to step up and answer some of these questions, even if it means admitting there were players who lost their focus. He doesn't have to throw anyone under the bus, but he needs to be honest in general about the emotional dynamics of the team, and without using it as an excuse to explain why the team wasn't at its physical peak.
And he needs to describe how he intends to make sure that type of decline doesn't happen again -- which includes the way players are conditioned to minimize frequent injuries.
After that, the clearest path to Kentucky getting back to the top is to rebuild what this team had as recently as six weeks ago. Calipari isn't going anywhere anyway, so rational fans should push for the kind of accountability I describe and then support the program.
Success in the NCAA tournament is about peaking at the right time. Kentucky has a track record under this coach of doing that. He needs to explain to us why that didn't happen this year. Then get to work to make sure it happens next year.
The problem is, that's never going to be the fastest way to get back to competing for final fours and championships.
Certainly something went wrong in the last several weeks of the season -- not just the last game -- and it is important for those in charge -- all the way up to Mitch and above -- to figure out what that was and fix it.
But was this team really terribly flawed at its core and incapable of challenging for a championship?
The evidence says no. With 12 teams still alive, Kentucky played four of them: a 28-point win over North Carolina on a neutral court, an 18-point win over Kansas on their court, an eight-point loss to Duke in the first game of the season and a two-point loss while not at full strength against Arkansas on their home court just about three weeks ago.
Kentucky had a team that, at its best, and even not at its best, was capable of competing with, and in some cases dominating, the teams that have proven to be among the best in the country. The team was capable of going to the Final Four. Kentucky 2021-22 was not outclassed by the competition and hopelessly flawed.
There is no excuse that what the team was capable of didn't happen and all of us can hold Calipari and the players themselves accountable for that.
I'd like Calipari to give a full, honest account of what went on inside the locker room beginning with the period where TyTy and Wheeler were out with injuries right after blowing out Kansas.
Some possible answers: The Sharpe fiasco poisoned the locker room. Tyty, who especially seemed to really regress, was never back to full speed. There were internal rivalries over things like playing time or successes with NIL. One or more of the coaches didn't work out and that created factions on the bench.
We need Calipari to step up and answer some of these questions, even if it means admitting there were players who lost their focus. He doesn't have to throw anyone under the bus, but he needs to be honest in general about the emotional dynamics of the team, and without using it as an excuse to explain why the team wasn't at its physical peak.
And he needs to describe how he intends to make sure that type of decline doesn't happen again -- which includes the way players are conditioned to minimize frequent injuries.
After that, the clearest path to Kentucky getting back to the top is to rebuild what this team had as recently as six weeks ago. Calipari isn't going anywhere anyway, so rational fans should push for the kind of accountability I describe and then support the program.
Success in the NCAA tournament is about peaking at the right time. Kentucky has a track record under this coach of doing that. He needs to explain to us why that didn't happen this year. Then get to work to make sure it happens next year.
