I think most would agree that the 2012 class was Calipari's "worst" although I hate to use that term. It was still #2 and included the #1 overall player: Nerlens Noel, Archie Goodwin, Alex Poythress, and some kid named Willey Cauley.
At UofL, that's a little more difficult. Are we talking Pitino's entire UofL time, or just during Cal's tenure? Then are we just talking about the class, or the kids that actually showed up?
1. During Cal's tenure at UK, Pitino's best class was 2011 which had two McDonald's All-Americans in Chane Behanan and Wayne Blackshear, also, Angel Nunez and Zach Price.
2. Best class overall = 2004 - Sebastian Telfair (NBA instead), Donta Smith (NBA instead), Lorenzo Wade, Juan Palacios, and Brian Johnson.
3. Best class to show up at UofL = 2006 - Derrick Character, Earl Clark, Edgar Sosa, and Jerry Smith.
I think under almost any standard Cal's "worst" is better than any of those classes. The only real knock is that the 2012 class went to the NIT in their first year (Poythress and WCS were key contributors to the next 2 teams that went to the title game and final four). But it's also not like the Pitino classes have set the world on fire. The UofL class in 2004 went to the final four followed by an NIT appearance. The 2006 class enjoyed a second round loss (2007) and a first round exit (2010). The 2011 class enjoyed the most consistent success, but only one player wasn't forced to transfer before the end of their junior year, they also lost to UK twice in the tournament.
