Kentucky And John Calipari Are Having Issues

Didn’t realize things were this bad.

Although we respect the site, we’re not big fans of Kentucky Sports Radio. It is really influential in the Commonwealth though and a good way to keep up with what’s happening with BBN.

So what’s up with BBN? Well, to judge by this article, they’re not happy. Not happy at all.

Well, at least Matt Jones isn’t. He’s upset and apparently not too far from panicked, saying that the program is “in complete disarray.”

He’s not quite giving up on John Calipari - he says he thinks he can still turn it around - but basically, he’s pulling the fire alarm.

The Wildcats lose Cason Wallace, Jacob Toppin, Oscar Tshiebwe and Chris Livingston to the draft and Sahvir Wheeler, CJ Fredrick, Daimion Collins and Lance Ware transferred. Antonio Reeves apparently may not be back either.

Right now, Kentucky ‘s roster consists of five freshmen and two sophomores. UK only gets back 3.4 percent of scoring and 4.4 percent of minutes played, according to Jones.

He points to problems with the portal and NIL, which frankly shocks us. We figured Kentucky would be way out on front on that since they’ve, uh, done it informally for decades.

A bigger problem may be an increasingly isolated Calipari. Jones says that he hasn’t nurtured relationships with boosters, and particularly the “main couple.”

This is a really surprising situation to us but understandable in a way. Kentucky has been on a gradual slide since peaking in 2015 and, like Jones, fans and supporters have been critical of Calipari.

You may remember us talking from time to time about the issues he had with the Nets, when he struggled and some of the worst aspects of his personality came out. Our sense is that this is a guy who thrives with praise but struggles with criticism, as he apparently did with the Nets.

So if this year is a slog again, things are going to be very dicey in Lexington. Stay tuned.