Should John Calipari be in the hot seat? Shaedon Sharpe decision could add to turmoil

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LEXINGTON — John Calipari seems to be getting his wish.

"Please steer your disappointment and acrimony toward me," Calipari posted to his social media accounts Saturday, ii days after his squad'southward shocking NCAA Tournament starting time-round loss to No. xv seed Saint Peter's. "These kids did this all for the BBN and I wish I could have dragged them over the stop line."

Fifty-fifty earlier Calipari's posts to Facebook and Twitter, the vast majority of fan complaints online had been lobbed in the Hall of Fame coach's direction.

The complaints were not new, but a dominant two-month stretch in the middle of the season had marked the full render of the uber-confident version of Calipari fans have dubbed "Swaggy Cal." News conferences following blowout wins turned into justifications of his coaching credentials. A veteran roster built around transfers was supposedly proof Calipari had non been left backside by a sport becoming e'er more reliant on experience in March.

Only injuries to TyTy Washington and Sahvir Wheeler abruptly stalled that momentum and Saint Peter'southward brought the doubts back to the surface.

Kentucky basketball game: After loss to Saint Peter'south, is John Calipari's Britain legacy in danger?

Is the offensive system broken subsequently all? Tin Calipari charabanc a team without the number of elite future NBA pros his early Kentucky teams had? Will name, image and likeness reform be the path to greater roster continuity it was hyped as?

"I wish I had an answer or ii," Calipari said after the loss. "I simply do."

John Calipari's contract details

UK head coach John Calipari, right, was frustrated with UK’s Sahvir Wheeler (2) during their first round NCAA Tournament game against Saint Peter’s at the Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, In. on Mar. 17, 2022. Saint Peter’s won 85-79 in OT.
Great britain head coach John Calipari, right, was frustrated with United kingdom'southward Sahvir Wheeler (2) during their first round NCAA Tournament game against Saint Peter's at the Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, In. on Mar. 17, 2022. Saint Peter'south won 85-79 in OT.

There has been no shortage of calls from angry fans for Kentucky to make a coaching change since the Saint Peter'due south loss, only to be clear, Calipari is in no danger of being fired.

While it is true the last Kentucky coach to miss the NCAA Tournament and lose a first-round game in a two-year period was fired, Billy Gillispie too had not previously coached Kentucky to four Final Fours, two national championship games and i title. More importantly, per the terms of Calipari's and so-called lifetime contract, Kentucky would owe him more than $46 million if it fired him without cause.

The only style Calipari is not Kentucky's coach side by side flavour is if he voluntarily walks away from that contract. The thought of the Hall of Famer admitting defeat in that way seems even less likely than Saint Peter'due south upset was Thursday morning, barring an unexpected chore opening at a school with deep pockets and a motivation to make a headline-grabbing splash.

UK basketball game roster: Which Wildcats volition return, who volition exit after shocking loss to Saint Peter'southward?

Calipari was linked to the UCLA and Texas jobs in recent years, so it is non incommunicable he would leave Kentucky for another college chore, but it no longer seems likely an NBA squad would be interested in his services. He is still ii years abroad from the clause in his contract that would allow him to transition into a cushy ambassadorial office for the university kick in.

"My focus is on these kids and recruiting so nosotros go on beingness a program that has a chance to do something special every twelvemonth," Calipari tweeted Sat. "The culture we've built in this program expects that and demands it. I dearest and appreciate our fans."

How Shaedon Sharpe, Oscar Tshiebwe decisions will affect John Calipari

It may exist impossible for Calipari to bring back all the disgruntled fans before the start of next flavor, but what happens next this offseason will say much near his approval rating.

Additions to the roster, either through the transfer portal or reclassifying high schoolhouse prospects, may motility the needle some, but the return of National Histrion of the Twelvemonth Oscar Tshiebwe and much-hyped freshman guard Shaedon Sharpe could be essential steps to salvaging any positivity this summer.

To recap: John Calipari lays out the example for Shaedon Sharpe to return to Kentucky basketball game

Unfortunately for Calipari, the adventure of either decision working out in his favor looks at best a tossup at the moment.

After the Saint Peter's loss, Tshiebwe said he was uncertain about his side by side step. He planned to talk with Calipari and his family about whether to start a professional career or return to Kentucky.

Tshiebwe is projected as a 2nd-circular choice in the 2022 NBA draft if he leaves school, but it is possible he could climb into the back of the first round. Even if he does non, there is a potent argument that a return to Kentucky faces more than risk than possible advantage in terms of his draft stock.

When Tshiebwe appear in February the visa issues preventing him from engaging in Zilch deals had been resolved, optimism around the programme most a possible return soared. Nevertheless, since that announcement, the expected moving ridge of NIL deals has yet to materialize. If there is any lingering business organization about how those endorsements would touch on Tshiebwe's student visa status, starting a professional career becomes even more attractive.

March Madness: Kentucky basketball's guards struggle in NCAA Tournament upset loss to Saint Peter'south

The more than level-headed portions of the fan base of operations could excuse a Tshiebwe departure after his historic season. It will exist difficult to observe whatever significant portion of Big Blue Nation willing to requite Calipari the benefit of the incertitude if Sharpe leaves too though.

The former No. one-ranked prospect in the loftier schoolhouse class of 2022, Sharpe graduated a semester early to enroll at Kentucky with the intention of but practicing this season before playing in 2022-23. Afterwards reports surfaced that Sharpe was eligible for the 2022 NBA typhoon, Calipari and the visitor publicly flirted with the idea of him playing this season only to eventually announce they were sticking to the plan to only practice with the team.

Sharpe's camp has insisted publicly that he however plans to play for Kentucky side by side season, but NBA draft analysts continue to written report he is expected to get-go his professional career this summer, projecting him equally a possible superlative-10 pick. Even Calipari has acknowledged Sharpe is likely to examination the draft waters to piece of work out for teams.

"I think that was what was all-time for him is how we did it," Calipari said of Sharpe after the Saint Peter's loss. "Would he have been a good actor this year? Yeah, he'd been pretty expert. He'd take been pretty good. Only he joined usa midseason. Trying to get him up to all the stuff that nosotros were doing was hard.

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"Then it came a point belatedly, possibly we could, should have him in there. We only, y'all know, together, chose, allow's just wait."

Because Sharpe plays the position where the current Wildcats crumbled amidst injuries and poor play down the stretch, the fact that Calipari chose non to use a possible top-10 pick in games has already angered many fans. If Sharpe leaves without always playing a game at Kentucky, the complaints will merely increase.

At that point, simply a render to the NCAA Tournament's final weekend for the beginning time since 2015 might be enough to salvage Calipari'southward approval rating.

Until then, Calipari does not need to worry about the displeasure existence directed at anyone but himself.

Email Jon Hale at jahale@courier-journal.com ; Follow him on Twitter at @JonHale_CJ .

This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Periodical: United kingdom basketball: Saint Peter'due south loss spurs calls to fire John Calipari

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