By: Keith Kappes
Columnist
Carter County Times
As college basketball fans debate the future of University of Kentucky Head Basketball Coach John Calipari, I suggest we keep two numbers in mind – 9 and 7.
The “9” represents how long it has been since Coach Cal had the Wildcats in the Final Four of the NCAA Tournament, what we lovingly call “the big dance”. That most recent appearance was in 2015.
I could have used the number 12 because that’s how long it’s been since the Cats won their last national championship. It was in 2012 and it came during an incredible run of four Final Fours in five years.
As for the number “7”, that’s how many former UK Wildcats under Calipari played in this season’s All-Star Game of the National Basketball Association (NBA), generally considered to be the highest skill level of the sport in the entire world.
It should be noted that Calipari has coached more NBA players than any other college head coach in history. He gets credit for developing the “one and done” system of recruiting the top players who play one year of college basketball and then move up to become millionaires in the NBA.
Many of his critics in UK’s fan base, the Big Blue Nation, complain that Cal’s recruiting success is based on his reputation as a developer of professional-level players but most of those McDonald’s All-Americans didn’t stay around to play three or four years in Lexington.
With three seven-footers on this year’s squad, UK fans have been mystified by the number of layup baskets scored by other teams like what happened when Texas A&M defeated the Cats twice this season.
All of the chatter about Calipari’s future may prove to be just pure speculation. He makes more than $10 million a year in salary and his buyout likely would be about $35 million if he is fired. He signed a 10-year contract in 2019 worth $86 million and is guaranteed 75 percent of what remains unpaid.
Unless some diehard UK fan wins the lottery, it appears that Coach Cal, now 65, will be on the sidelines at least until that contract expires in 2029. Contact Keith at keithkappes@gmail.com.
