Cal: “The program almost got hijacked this year”
In the wake of the most embarrassing loss of his time at Kentucky and probably his entire career, John Calipari was done sugar coating things. With the season over, Cal admitted that this team had some major problems: “The stuff I accepted from this team, the program almost got hijacked.”
Cal said that this season, he’s put up with some things he never would in the past in hopes of “saving some guys.” He said that he wanted to keep coaching in hopes that the light would come on for Alex Poythress, Archie Goodwin, and Kyle Wiltjer. Was Sean Woods right at the beginning of the season when he said some of the players weren’t Kentucky material? “Maybe.”
The good news? Cal said that next year, “we are going to have unbelievable competition at every spot. …We will be a tough team next year. I promise you. We will be. Because I can’t sit through that. I can’t take it.” Even better? “Recruiting is in good shape.”
Now, Cal will sit down with players individually to go over their options. He’s already warned them, “you are going to hear the truth.”
118 Comments for Cal: “The program almost got hijacked this year”
Why in the world did we play at Robert Morris. With an already shaky team, why did we choose to go into a hostile environment. Cut the crap excuse of no staff. Mitch B. needs to be fired for this blunder.
“Ryan, don’t so much as ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever touch a basketball again.”
About time – this was a miserable year
I’m pumped
And the truth will set you free
sounds like someone ( Harrow, Wiljer ?) may be asked to leave, what do you guys think ?
Cal is a good man for trying to defend his players whenever they did not try to defend him.
I want to know more from him. I would like to know what really went on with this team and who had the attitude. I think we can guess but I want to know.
Embarrassssssing!
My God, fire Barnhart? You guys are crazy
Good bye Ryan. Good bye Alex. Don’t let the door hit you….take Kyle too..
harrow should transfer to wku…he would be a solid backup there!
Will Harrow cry in the meeting?
Sounds like a man who may feel like his job is on the line. Funny how twelve months can do that to a top ranked program. That is the pressure that is Kentucky.
I hope Harrow works through whatever his issues are and stays. He’ll probably be back up, but these are life lessons he needs to learn, not just basketball
Maybe try recruiting instead of coaching a Dominican republic team this year.
GAry is right. Try coaching during the summer instead of coaching the DR team.
Travis Ford! Travis Ford! Travis Ford!
This is probably what Julius Randle wants to hear too.
Time to name this team. The Unwatchables
They were put in a no win situation playing that game. Stick a fork in Ryan Harrow because he is done. No heart and no fight.
#14: So Kentucky only gives one of the best coaches in college bball 1 bad season or else?? PFFT…logically doesn’t make sense. 2 in a row…maybe a threat, 3 in a row, for sure.
Do you really think cal is feeling pressure? Damn we had a horrible year get the shit over it and move on and be excited for next year
18 – Are you serious?!
Think the White Boy Academy will make a video tonight?
Goodwin w/b back, WCS too. Poythress back too if he hasn’t burned bridges with Cal. No way Harrow can return, the fit will never work -> in any year. Wiltjer can come back, getting 3 to 4 minutes each half (maybe).
I’d like to see a post comparing our freshman to the top freshman in the country this year. I still think there just wasn’t a whole lot of talent to be recruited this year
Gary how do you think we got carl townes jr DR coaching wake up
We can say our bench won 21 games last year 🙂
The Unballables
Coaching DR got an early commit from Karl Towns Jr. So, yeah, I think that was a smart move. Let’s just talk about the future.
Cal, What did you put up with and why? You owe the bbn something here. Dont put up with that crap. Play walkons, play the water boy, true uk fans dont care if they see five guys on the floor playing their asses off. Thats what we want. We know we cant win every game. We just want five guys out there who think they can. Tell us what you put up with and why we should accept that from our coach. Maybe you need to grow a set and maybe you should be tough enough to lose a few games to make a point to the “punks” on the team. We are sick and tired of excuses Cal, coach with authority or pack your shit too. Be a man and quit letting these kids talk to you like a dog. DEMAND respect or send their asses packing. This in NOT all about their little egos. This is about doing it and doing it the right way. That means they treat the university and you with respcet or send them away.
First, Calipari deserves blame for this season. You guys talk about the “sorry” players. Guess what? He recruited them. I will acknowledge that they probably didn’t perform like he thought they would. Regardless, he brought them to UK. The second thing I would like to bring up is number of players he may try to “run off”. I heard UK fans bash Bobby Petrino a few years ago because he did not keep a scholarship commitment to one of his football players. So you are telling me its “ok” for Cal to run off some of these players??? I think we might call that hypocritical.
Way to go Cal. It’s time to buckle down and not let this happen again. And stop blaming Cal! You can recruit really good High school players, then they come in and the transition is overwhelming for them and they don’t adjust to the college level. When a young star comes in they’re used to dominating high school competition but when you some into college, you suddenly start competing against players who are just as good as you if not better. This happened to be one of those teams. However, I do agree that we need to clean house and recommend transfers and walking on. But Cal is not to blame, you can only do so much, the rest is up to the player. Here’s for getting next years roster right and having a great team next year!!! Go cats!!
16 &17, He was recruiting when he was coaching the DR team fools! You ever heard of Karl Towns?
How about the Undermyballs
25- dead serious. Unfortunately i feel like cal cant win unless he has the best team in the country. I want a COACH, not a recruiter
Heck I would have played tonight.
IU will not win the ncaa, nor will UL. UK will win it in 2014.
I’m all for the truth, and I hate to see Archie’s name in this list. I’ve like Wiltjer for what he is (catch and shoot), but even this year he was a liability on both ends. What I have questions about is Cal speaking candidly about these kids in the media NOW when we praised him all season long for taking the hits. These kids were fundamentally unsound…and where does THAT blame lie? With the kids who didn’t listen / wouldn’t learn, or with the coaching staff who didn’t work hard enough? And here we go again about Calipari’s teams having difficulty on the free throw line. It’s proper technique and repetition. So easy a hoosier can do it.
Remember, a few weeks ago we were lamenting Hairpiece Bill Self for throwing his kids under the bus. Is that what Calipari is doing now?
“I still like my team”
😀 F*ck you Cal! You robbed us for 5 million this year you POS!
@22 : spot on
How about this? Instead of Rupp’s Runts, we name his team Cal’s C*nts
pitino ran off lots of players that could not cut it, time to do it again.
Wait, a first round NIT loss for one of the most storied programs in college basketball isnt considered Hijacked?
34. Elisha Justice says, “But I thought you said I was a Card for life!”
Cal tell harrow to get himself
And his tampons outta here
Tell Alex to stop being the pivot, look it up under urban dictionary, and go home and. Cry to mamma
Tell Kyle to get his weak asz out
Remember last year? Hell, we’re still the Champs. Leave Cal out of this. Meatheads.
May not be popular to say but I wish Pitino was our coach. He can recruit and coach. Had he stayed at UK we would be at 15 titles or more with 0 losses to RMU and 0 NIT appearances in last 18 years.
This is CALIPARI’S fault. YOU THINK THE COACH OF RMU CALLED A TIMEOUT IN THE CORNER CAUSE HE IS AN IDIOT!!!! HE KNEW CAL CAN’T COACH XS AND OS AND WOULD NOT BE ABLE TO STOP THAT IN BOUNDS!!! HE GOT OUT COACHED!!!!
#38 lay off the stupid pills it shows in that comment.
40. BEST POST OF THE YEAR RIGHT THERE!
UL AND IU WILL NOT WIN THE TITLE THIS YEAR!!!!
2012 and 2014 CHAMPS IS THE UNIVERSITY OF KENTUCKY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
This season made the 2-10 football season look like a runaway success.
Coach Cal:
To Nerlins: “You know I’d love to have you back, but you gotta go if you’re still in the top 3”
To Archie: “You’ve shown improvement, and you’ve shown fight…2 things that will help make us better next year.”
To Kyle: “Son, you know I love ya, but it’s not gonna be easy to find you playing time next year. I won’t be mad if you decide to transfer to somewhere closer to home for your last 2 years. I’d love to have you for depth and veteran leadership though.”
To WCS: “Willie, you’ve done about as well as most anyone could expect of you, especially in the last 10 games, as our only center. Next year we will still be lean in that position, but will be much deeper and more athletic. If you can continue to compete hard…and for God’s sake work on FTs…you’ll be a welcome addition.”
To Ryan: “Ryan, I’ve given you every opportunity I could, but you’ve shot yourself in the foot too many times for me to continue sticking my neck out for you. Next year, you’ll likely be reduced to walk-on minutes, and you’ll be lucky to beat out Jarrod, because he’s smarter and works harder than you.”
To Alex: “You need to take some time away from campus, and decide if you even want to play basketball any longer, because you’ve shown little this year to convince anyone that you have that desire. If you want to come back here next year and compete your ass off, I’ll at least guarantee you a shot at playing time….nothing more.”
#22 Tubby had a National Championship team delivered to him his first year
Almost got hijacked. What the hell would have happened if the program were hijacked? Would it have gone to the NIT and lost to a no-name team in a 3056 seat gym? Thank god Cal stepped in and took control;otherwise, we could have had a bad season.
My goodness people….enough with the criticism. Alex and Archie are FRESHMEN. They will be very good players for years to come. Be thankful we will have guys that stick around for 3-4 years. Wiltjer is who he is…a good spot player coming off the bench. WCS was a project who played VERY LITTLE basketball before now. The only one who I definitely see not returning is Harrow. He was clearly over his head at UK.
ALL THE BLAME LIES WITH CAL. He spent waaaay too much time messing around with the Dominican National team last summer instead of doing his job he is paid MILLIONS for. He could have EASILY added a couple of players to the roster at PG and PF to shore up this team. Instead we got only Mays…who was who he is…a good mid-major player not big enough or skilled enough to play at UK.
We will be fine….unless the guys coming in are as overrated as this bunch.
44 – Lol. Pretty rough but funny.
#50 are you and # 38 sharing stupid pill prescriptions
42. When was the last time Pitino won a title with UL???? NEVER!!!!!!!!!! Spent $40,000,000 and yet ZERO HARDWARE. You need to check on who was the better investment, FREAKING IDIOT.
Cal still needs to accept more liability for this train wreck though. He was the one that should be looking for heart, fight, and passion in these prospects. He has been this too long to get as much wrong this year as he did.
#18..you are an [email protected]&$”@! Idiot Cal has taken us to an elite 8, final 4 and won our 8th national championship and you’d rather have Travis ford? You are the exact type of uk fan that causes everyone else to hate..remove your head from your ass and disconnect your Internet access
#42 and he was worth every penny dumbass! No one cares what you say. SUCK IT!! You are a POS/PUS! IN CAL WE TRUST! GO CATS!!
22 and 43 you are idiots. Tubby was handed a championship by slick Rick in 1998. He never built and coached a national championship team. He’s a Minnesota or Georgia caliber coach. A good man but not UK material.
I agree with 28.
Archie wasn’t over rated, if he was ranked 14 or whatever, i honestly can’t name 13 better freshman, not even 10, but being a Top 25 recruit doesn’t make you a one and done.
Nerlens lived up, WCS exceeded, Goodwin lived up, Poythris did not..
55. Kevin C….Nice job…think u pretty well nailed it.
Cal costed this season and the team followed his lead. He quit wearing ties small thing I know but he has too much power. The whole play for the name on the back of the Jersey crap was a thumb your nose momment at UK. Can you imagine Tubby Smith taking a team to High Point in the NIT. I didn’t expect much from this team put Cal didn’t coach worth a darn. Some of these guys don’t know how to play the game and Cal sure as Hell didn’t teach them. I have been defending Cals coaching ability since he was at Memphis but this year he tried to coast his way through the season IMO he grades out at a D minus.
Oh yeah…
To Jarrod: “JP , we’re gonna need you to fill Uncle Julius’ shoes next year. I think you’ll do just fine 😉 “.
i love my team always…f this negativity…It sucks and all, but these players will grow..maybe goodwin will be the darius miller of the team next year..
Mike, UL will not win a title. And your mother gives the best.
It’s to late now Cal…. who was running the program? The players?
#51 – i totally agree, Cal did a really shitty job this year. Did we go to the NIT during Tubby’s years?
Amen #56. That wasn’t his team. Not one of those guys was his.
Folks, it is about to get brutally ugly. I think Harrow is all but gone. In normal year, Cal would have dumped him from the team when he left the team at the start of the season but because of the thin squad, he had no choice but to keep him around. I think there is hope for Archie, Wiltjer and Poythress. That being said, I would not be surprised to see Wiltjer and Poythress transfer out too. Fat chance Noel comes back and WCS likely going pro but hope not. Cal will rebound from this season and be an even better coach. I truly pity the teams that have to face us next season.
Keep Archie, Alex, WCS, and Wiltjer and all the rest go packing. Hood and Polson graduate early.
Mike is a UL fan. I know him. He told me his handle after we exchanged emails. He drives a blue Subaru and is 38 years old.
Didn’t Cal say the same thing after the 09-10 season?
I don’t buy that this is Cal’s fault. He has to shoulder some of the blame that’s understood but he ran into a very rare situation. Most programs bring in 1-2 players into a starting line up so if they decide to lay down, you can easily replace them. Cal brought the absolute best he could get and did what he needed to do and then left it up to the players. They decided to lay down night in and night out. Cal tried to motivate them. He called some of them uncoachable they even then, no response. So how do you move or humble 4, 5, or even 6 players? You can’t. He didn’t recruit one, try him out, and sit down. It’s the nature of our game right now and you just saw how this system to bite you in the butt. In Cal’s defense, who would have thought they would respond this way.
14- you’re an idiot if you think his job is on the line. 42- you ARE an idiot.51- So you are saying Cal told Poythress to stand to the left and let the guy pass the ball under the basket? REALLY?
Cal should forfeit his salary for this year for allowing this. Almost got hijacked? This team took a jet airliner and crashed it into the ground.
name them the shameful five…
Chane thinks I’m sexy
Nice way to throw your players under the bus…what a sheister coach! Everyone’s fault but his own.
Dont be stupid, leave Cal outta this. LOVE his post-game comments. Been saying it all year, this team is SOFT. Cal didnt see it, but he will from now on I’d bet. All we needed was 1 skilled tough guy. We’ll have it next year. Can’t win games when team is scared to death.
We should have called a timeout at the end and got the ball to Archie. Bad coaching job.
BBN…………………worst lost ever.. pre-season #3 can’t win season in weak sec. Choke in sec tourney. Overall #1 seed in NIT and lose . That is worse than a 1 losing to a 16
BOY YOU MONDAY MORNING QUARTERBACKS HAVE EARNED A LOT OF MONEY
COACHING,BUT YOU’VE NEVER BEEN IN A POSITION THAT CAL IS GETTING
PAID TO DO. ALL OF YOU TALK ABOUT HAVING SOME BENCH PLAYERS AND IN
THE SAME SENTENCE YOU WANT TO SEND THIS WHOLE TEAM SOMEWHERE ELSE.
WOULDN’NT THE BEST THING IS FOR CAL TO HAVE A TALK TO THE PLAYERS AND
DECIDE WHO WANTS TO STAY AND GET SERIOUS. THAT WOULD GIVE UK SOME
BENCH PLAYERS TO BACK UP THE INCOMING CLASS AND GIVE THEM SOME GOOD
COMPETITION TO PRACTICE AGAINST…LOOK AT GOODWINS STATEMENT- HE
KNOWS THAT STAYING WILL ONLY MAKE THEM STRONGER…….
I support Coach Cal! I support the UK Basketball Program! I do not support or condone the actions of the players on this years team!!! They should take their Jerseys (except Polson and Noel) and show them the door. They should never be allowed to play another game wearing that Jersey that means nothing to them. They are selfish baby’s that will be in the D league and then out of the league quickly. They will have blown their money, and be sitting at the house with no college degree, no pride, no loyalty to their university, and no life!
I love bumpkins!
I hope some of these posts are from Loserville fans posing as UK fans because some of these posts are so ridiculous that I am ashamed to be a fan of the same team as you are….so I am really hoping that you are Loserville fans posing as UK fans. I am sure there are more but #42,51 stick out to me….they are not true UK fans…no way
Of course Cal throws players under bus one last time. What a joke.
I still love this team. I’m gonna miss Nerlens and Uncle Julius. Wish they could have had a more memorable year while they were here. Come back WCS, and get that ring next year. Come on down tomorrow Cousin Julius!
Well, sports fans, this miserable season is finally over and here we are looking to point the finger(s). I can only place so much blame on the players. We should have known that Wiltjer was not “ever” Div I material. WCS has not played competitive that long. AP doesn’t want to play and Archie just needs “hard” coaching. Harrow is absolutely the biggest baby to ever play college ball, and he sat on the bench and practiced all of last year. I really believe that coaching killed this team’s competitive chances.The problem is Cal didn’t have any bench options…the alternative was to play NAIA guys and lose far worst than they did. It goes back to last year, Jones, Lamb and Teague should still be on this team. God help us next year, nothing is guaranteed here. I just wish someone or a few are held accountable for putiing this sorry group on the court this year.
Cal Slimy recruited these 5 stars…then throws them under the bus…what a chump!
Whew boy, now I have some good company….
#41 said cal robbed US? Of 5 million this yr! Ha! What part of ur Burger King salary did u chip in to pay him douche bag?! Fu**in moron
KW must redshirt, he needs conditioning
Archie must go, Harrison and Young in front of him for playing time
AP must learn a jump shot with Lee, Johnson and Randle ( ? ) underneath he wont need to rebound
Harrow, he must go, period ! Great kid, thank him for his time here, but he will get Saul Smithed if he stays and plays any
WCS, he may go just for the money, but if he came back, he would be amazing 2nd team swatter if he can learn what free throws look like
Hood, Polson and Willis will be hard pressed to find time, but atleast they realize what passion and desire for UK Bball are
and if anyone else comes ..
Maybe he can send Wiltjer, Harrow or Poythress to Northwetern, FIU or Bellarmine? Whoever ends up at Bellarmine can get called back when a scholarships opens up
Here’s what should happen. Those players that earn the right to stay in wildcat lodge get to, the ones who were a cancer to the team stay in the econolodge. They lock up that new fancy locker room in Rupp next year until the team is deemed worthy to use it. Cal needs to stick that players first crap where it belongs in the trash and think about what’s on the front of the jersey first.
Cal needs to remind recruits and players this is Kentuckys Program, not the players program.
Newsflash….Archie is the Double S’s! Stupid(as a basketball player) and selfish. Nothing has changed since November! If he comes back we will have problems
Days like this will make winning later that much sweeter. Take a deep breath. clear your head and relax. The world is not ending because UK did not advance in the NIT. Would we really feel any better had we made the Big Dance and got beat by whoever we played? NO we wouldn’t. Just remember, this too shall pass.
101, good grief, trolls are the last of our worries on this site….the crazy obsessed fans, our people, are our own worst enemy….they make us look bad. Archie Goodwin is the only reason that we were in that game at the end. The kid played his heart out and responded to a cheap shot with fire. I hope he comes back because he could be great next year with the new line-up and some more experience. In addition to Noel’s injury, the main thing that sunk us this year was the lack of a true floor general, and we’ll have one next year….one whose sheer talent and skill-set will make up for the lack of experience…..and that WILL MAKE EVERYONE LOOK MUCH BETTER!
Calm down, this team had no older leadership. It will all be good. I love our kids and our coach. Maybe a few of these guys will be here three years and we go back to back. I’ll take a bad year 1/4 of the time
#87 agree WILDCATS YESTERDAY TODAY AND FOREVER !!!!
We better hear more about these comments from Cal. This is our program, not theirs. They rent it for the short time they are here. It belongs to us and I want to know what kind of behavior and attitude he was allowing this year in hopes of a turn around.
I think everyone is frustrated but taking aim at these kids is not going to fix this season’s problems. If Julius Randle was going to pick UK after reading some of this comment he just might change his mind. Thanks everyone for giving other coaches some ammo to lure guys in to their campus.
All of this blaming Calipari…Please get a reality check…you can’t teach a kid every single step to make…you can’t teach will, aggressiveness, being selfless, intensity, wanting to be the best player on each court you step on…that’s the difference, I was a good athlete and had qualities and played with guys that had the same…only difference is we weren’t super athletes like these guys…you can’t teach those things that come from within….I watched every game this year…and the vibe and presence on the court was just straight up timid…what can Cal do…knock the shit outta them, kick them to the curb send them home? His hands were tied…got a core of recruits with heads full of bad wiring…believe it or not some 18 year olds won’t listen no matter what or how many times you tell them…I’m sorry but when you stay after practice to work with a kid one on one just you and him…plus get his father up there to talk…He tried and worked his ass off with this team…Cal never quit, can’t say that about some of the players…but a guy in his position he knows what he’s into…first 3 years final 8, 4, then the title…and now this…all of a sypudden he’s a terrible coach….he’s a tuff dude to take this job cause nothing is ever good enough…not even a national championship the year b4…it took coach K at duke well over a decade to win one at duke…but Cal has a 2 face fan base…he knows it and still does his job and doesn’t let the talk around town get to him…He’s a special man…I have no clue on earth how he handled himself like he did this year and even tonight…With the media up his ass waiting for him to lose his cool…I would have went ape shit told 3 or 4 to stay at your lodge/room and would have played the practice squad an entire week during the season…So the Cal haters need a reality check just like he got this year…See how you could handle such a colossal goat f*ck of a year…So what I’m sayin is F*ck off all of you seriously
89 (basketballjones): I think you misspelled “blumpkins”. Don’t worry, I got your back. And your mom’s.
As long as Cal learns from this experience I am fine. I love Cal.
part of the problem is Cal using the fanbase and the media attention it brings to his advantage in the recruiting cycle. Most of the time I think the fanbase can use their Calipari decoder ring to read what he was saying but this year something was lost in translation between I like this team and this team almost got hijacked
#108: Excellent!
OK it is over and lets get real. There was just NO floor leadership on this team. Cal had a disjointed group of freshmen who would never ever form a cohesive team. The pieces were just not there. There was no take charge guy and there was a real lack of toughness and will. Six players all starters in their own right left to the NBA and you just do not reload from that kind of loss. To you morons who blame Cal, did you blame him last year for the National championship? Get real and support this team it’s coach and all the incoming players next year. There will be sunshine again soon you will see.
So…..Cal can’t say anything bad about the players? If he does he’s throwing them under the bus? Get real. Cal is telling it like it is. Stop being stupid. These guys deserved to be called out more than Cal did. Get over yourselves.
The team had no heart.No leaders.No one wanted to get hit.Some of the team better stick around 3 more years.They can’t handle the pros.Ky deserved to get beat.Robert Morris played like a team that was behind by 5 with 10 seconds to go.Great job.
# 54 has it right. Cal is the best thing that has happened to kentucky in a long time. His only mistake this season was not checking the recruit’s general attitude to coaching,We really get hit with a short playing roster
Well at least the season is mercifully over. Hopefully a learning experience particularly for the players. Next season the team will have depth (which they didn’t have this year) and a load of talent. Plus some of these players will have been humbled and I’d assume will try to erase this stigma they are going to be stuck with.
21 wins is still a lot, most schools would take that in a heartbeat but there’s no question from Kentucky’s standpoint it was a bad year and as many were writing about last night, very disappointed that the players just didn’t seem to care far to often. The chemistry just wasn’t right and they were short two players who could have given them some depth and given Cal something to use over the players who didn’t ‘buy’ in.
Only eight months till Midnight Madness!
Mark Liptak
Boy Shaun Woods looks like a profit now.