I have enjoyed the Calipari era, but it must end now because of three main contradictions: 1) his philosophy, 2) his rigidity, and 3) his limits. Over time, these contradictions have compounded on each other to produce the current state of the program.
His Philosophy
Today, the game of basketball is moving in two opposite directions. One is focused on the team, the other is focused on the player.
Calipari is the ambassador of the players' first direction, but he paradoxically coaches the program that most heavily relies on its tradition. His coaching philosophy is self-defeating. Cannibalistic, even. When the appeal of your program becomes how quickly players can leave it, your window for success is small. After the initial wave of success from 2009-2015, our program became, in the eyes of recruits, an NBA farm system.
His strategy — relying on freshmen more concerned with their draft stock than Kentucky basketball — was always flawed. Hidden in the success of 2009-2017 are the decisions of Teague, Dakari, Skal, etc. that unnecessarily hurt the next years' teams. Add in the fact he coaches KENTUCKY basketball, where elite players should be begging to play at instead of Turkey or Santa Cruz, and this strategy is downright heretical.
His Rigidity
Another contradiction is, despite the shooting revolution of c. 2015-2017, Calipari's "players' first" strategy refused to embrace the modern, open style of basketball that Zion, Paolo-level players have wanted to play. Today's recruits want to play like AD, KAT, Cousins, and Bam do in the NBA, not how they played in Cal's Kentucky system that kept them pegged to the block. Why do you think we haven't landed an elite big recruit since 2016 despite our bigs' NBA success?
His Limits
Because his rigidity is preventing him from landing recruits needed for his overall philosophy, Calipari is forced into his Plan B: grab whatever mid-tier five stars he can and fill the gaps with solid college players through the portal. This formula has worked excellent for Baylor, Gonzaga, Villanova, Auburn, and others. But, Calipari is limited as an in-game coach. Whereas elite talent made up for this in the past, there is a reason Oscar, Grady, Mintz, and Wheeler have remained in college this long. They may execute a game plan well, but when the game plan is fundamentally flawed, they lack the NBA talent to overcome it.
So, here we are. We have a Hall of Fame coach who sells his program as players' first, cutting-edge, and modern, yet has not been any of those things for half a decade. Drake and Magic aren't coming to Lexington anytime soon. SLAM and SI aren't putting us on covers anymore. And we either make a coaching change now or quit pretending they will.
His Philosophy
Today, the game of basketball is moving in two opposite directions. One is focused on the team, the other is focused on the player.
Calipari is the ambassador of the players' first direction, but he paradoxically coaches the program that most heavily relies on its tradition. His coaching philosophy is self-defeating. Cannibalistic, even. When the appeal of your program becomes how quickly players can leave it, your window for success is small. After the initial wave of success from 2009-2015, our program became, in the eyes of recruits, an NBA farm system.
His strategy — relying on freshmen more concerned with their draft stock than Kentucky basketball — was always flawed. Hidden in the success of 2009-2017 are the decisions of Teague, Dakari, Skal, etc. that unnecessarily hurt the next years' teams. Add in the fact he coaches KENTUCKY basketball, where elite players should be begging to play at instead of Turkey or Santa Cruz, and this strategy is downright heretical.
His Rigidity
Another contradiction is, despite the shooting revolution of c. 2015-2017, Calipari's "players' first" strategy refused to embrace the modern, open style of basketball that Zion, Paolo-level players have wanted to play. Today's recruits want to play like AD, KAT, Cousins, and Bam do in the NBA, not how they played in Cal's Kentucky system that kept them pegged to the block. Why do you think we haven't landed an elite big recruit since 2016 despite our bigs' NBA success?
His Limits
Because his rigidity is preventing him from landing recruits needed for his overall philosophy, Calipari is forced into his Plan B: grab whatever mid-tier five stars he can and fill the gaps with solid college players through the portal. This formula has worked excellent for Baylor, Gonzaga, Villanova, Auburn, and others. But, Calipari is limited as an in-game coach. Whereas elite talent made up for this in the past, there is a reason Oscar, Grady, Mintz, and Wheeler have remained in college this long. They may execute a game plan well, but when the game plan is fundamentally flawed, they lack the NBA talent to overcome it.
So, here we are. We have a Hall of Fame coach who sells his program as players' first, cutting-edge, and modern, yet has not been any of those things for half a decade. Drake and Magic aren't coming to Lexington anytime soon. SLAM and SI aren't putting us on covers anymore. And we either make a coaching change now or quit pretending they will.
