Kentucky basketball question: Have we seen a different John Calipari this season?
Wednesday night is our last chance to enjoy this entertaining Kentucky basketball team at Rupp Arena. Vanderbilt is in town for a 9 p.m. tip-off. It’s the regular season home finale. A Saturday road trip to Tennessee is the forerunner to the all-important postseason.
So it’s a good time to ask this question: Was John Calipari different this season?
That’s what the critics wanted, right? A different John Calipari. After all, the previous Cal was too old, or too stubborn, or past his prime, or broken. Take your pick. After three straight NCAA Tournaments without Kentucky reaching the second weekend, a slice of Big Blue Nation demanded change.
True, this season’s success won’t be determined for another couple of weeks. College basketball is about March. Kentucky basketball is about March. Disappointing UK teams have blossomed in the Madness. (Think 2013-14 edition.) Promising UK teams have fallen surprisingly short in the Madness. (Think 2021-22 edition.)
Still, even through ups and downs, this has been the most enjoyable Kentucky basketball team to watch in quite some time. It has players who can, as the mantra goes, dribble, pass and shoot. It plays at a fast pace. It can put the ball in the basket.
Calipari’s critics would argue this proves the previous Cal was holding his troops back. I disagree. Calipari has always been one to recruit the best talent available and then figure out how it should play. Run, walk, in-between. Didn’t matter. Not sure any of Cal’s Kentucky teams have played the exact same way.
It is true that this team has taken more 3-pointers than recent Kentucky editions. Previously, Calipari gave the impression he didn’t love the 3-point shot. The fewer the better. This team can really shoot from beyond the arc, however. He’s let it shoot. As of Tuesday, the Cats led the nation in 3-point percentage.
Defense is a different story. Calipari’s best teams have featured lock-down defenders. The 2010-11 Final Four edition boasted an elite defender in DeAndre Liggins. Anthony Davis led the 2011-12 championship team. Enough said. This year’s Cats have failed to jell on defense.
That deficiency makes me question their ceiling come NCAA Tournament time, but I don’t think it’s from a lack of effort on Cal’s part. As a pair who regularly attend practice, Tom Leach and Jack Givens both say they have watched the staff stress defensive principles, only to see them abandoned during games.
I haven’t seen much difference in Calipari’s personality either. Cal is Cal. Upon seeing a pair of writers he’s not fond of in the postgame press conference after UK’s surprise win at Auburn, Calipari gloated. He couldn’t help himself. Four days later, after a last-second loss at LSU, he took a quick exit, claiming the Cats had an “early game” on Saturday. That game was a 4 p.m. start.
I’d make the case that if Calipari did change, that change came a couple of years ago. That’s when the coach shook up his staff. Recruiting had slipped a bit and he knew it. In came Orlando Antigua and Chin Coleman. Intensity increased. The result is the No. 1 recruiting class we’ve enjoyed watching this season.
There have been additional adjustments. Cal hired his old friend Chuck Martin as an assistant. He brought in long-time NBA assistant and basketball junkie John Welch for player development. He used former UK point guard Tyler Ulis as a student assistant. Ulis is a future star in the profession, if he chooses.
I know, I know, Kentucky has lost eight games. It’s not likely to win the regular season SEC title. Several things must fall into place for the Cats to even achieve the coveted double-bye in the SEC Tournament. A deep NCAA Tournament run is no guarantee.
And yet there’s been a different feel to this season. Rupp Arena has been packed. The crowds have been loud. The team is electric. If you want to say John Calipari changed to bring about that change, so be it. But I don’t think he did.
