When WCS went to Kentucky, we were coming off a national championship and a string of arguably the most loaded recruiting classes year over year since Wooden's UCLA haul. At the time, it was one of the greatest harmonious symbiotic relationships we have seen in college sports.
It was Calipari, but it was also Calipari at Kentucky.
Then covid happened and shit got weird. I don't know how else to explain it... and don't see a reason to overthink it.
Personally, I didn't want Calipari to leave, but also, since he left, it's never been more evident that Calipari's philosophy of players first also extended to Calipari first. He left Kentucky giving no shits about his reputation or legacy here. The stats, the bravado, the legacy, the conservation of tradition, he burned it all through his actions that were no fault but his own. He took every player & every recruit except one (who would've been here regardless). He has done little, at least publicly, to bridge that divide. Taking an in-conference job to a conference Rival was another F you on top of everything else.
And that's who Calipari is. It's also arguably why players liked Calipari. It's not about fans, the program or the university. It's about them. The thing is that it didn't have to be a polarizing choice. Calipari's inability to push a philosophy that satisfied both the player and the program is arguably why his relationship broke here (on top of a few absolutely abysmal sub-par seasons), but that attitude is reflected in many of his past players, who also have a sense of loyalty to him. And to be fair, Calipari did help those guys (and still does evidently), but the program is irrelevant in his equation.
