For the third year in a row, the Kentucky Wildcats have failed to make the second weekend of the NCAA Tournament. On Thursday, they were upset by the Oakland Golden Grizzlies in the opening round.
There are plenty of reasons as to why Kentucky came up short. Some of John Calipari’s freshmen struggled mightily and Oakland’s Jack Gohlke couldn’t miss from downtown.
And yet, ESPN’s Peter Burns believes Calipari’s refusal to treat the SEC Tournament with the proper respect it deserves led to Kentucky’s demise.
“Biggest mistake Coach Cal made with this Kentucky team…,” Burns tweeted. “He dismissed importance of the SEC Tournament when this team of ALL TEAMS needed to some 1 & done pressure experience.”
Burns isn’t wrong about Calipari dismissing the SEC Tournament. He literally told reporters that it didn’t matter to him.
“You know the only tournament that matters to me,” Calipari said after Kentucky defeated Tennessee on March 9. “After this weekend, that tournament.
Following Kentucky’s loss to Oakland, Calipari talked about his coaching future. He acknowledged that college basketball has changed, but that doesn’t necessarily mean he’ll stop prioritizing freshmen.
Calipari said, “I’ve done this with young teams my whole career, and it’s going to be hard for me to change that, because we’ve helped so many young people and their families that I don’t see myself just saying, ‘OK, we’re not going to recruit freshmen.'”
If Kentucky wants to return to its glory days, Calipari will need to make some changes. There’s no other way around this problem.