The Kentucky Wildcats basketball team and John Calipari failed again in March Madness.
However, they will have more attempts to repeat their 2012 win, as the school confirmed that the 65-year-old coach will stay with the team.
The decision dismissed calls for him to resign or be fired after the third-seeded Wildcats bowed out of the March Madness following their 76-80 loss to the 14th-seeded Oakland Golden Grizzlies.
"As we normally do at the end of every season, Coach Calipari and I have had conversations about the direction of our men's basketball program and I can confirm that he will return for his 16th season as our head coach," Kentucky athletic director Mitch Barnhart announced on X.
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While this decision does not please many Kentucky fans and alumni, the school might have dodged a bullet.
3 reasons Kentucky keeping Calipari is a good decision:
1. Bad optics concerning his salary
Calipari accepted the Wildcats' lifetime coach position in 2019, centered on a 10-year coaching extension.
The deal came with a buyout option of $33 million. This means that if they fire him, they will have to pay him that amount.
It must not be forgotten that the UK is an educational institution, and with the tuition fee continuously increasing, paying the coach $33 million to walk away is bad optics.
After that, they will have to look for a replacement coach, which will definitely come at a price, given the prestige and status of the Kentucky Wildcats basketball team.
2. Good regular season
Calipari led the team to its last national title in 2012. However, the team has had little luck in recent years. Aside from the Oakland loss, they went out in the second round of 2023 March Madness and were ousted as the No. 2 seed by 15th-seeded Saint Peter.
The better takeaway here should be the part that says they are the higher seed.
A regular season is long and hard. The recruitment and orchestration of the defensive and offensive schemes all take work.
The team finished with a 23-10 overall record and a 13-5 mark, good for a tie in second place.
The Wildcats consistently rank among the top basketball programs in America, and that is all thanks to Calipari.
3. Hard to find a replacement of the same level
"I don't understand how we get to the point where our next-best option is to replace this coach," former Kentucky Wildcat and former NBA All-Star DeMarcs Cousins said in the "Bully Ball" podcast.
"That doesn't even make sense to me. With what? ... Everything Calipari brings to a program is going to go down if they replace this guy. Everything is going down."
Cousins made a great point here. It will be like starting over again for the Wildcats, and those dissatisfied with their most recent loss will only get angrier.
There is no available coach with a better record than him. The NBA will make other suggestions, which could mean a major overhaul of the Wildcats' basketball program.
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