Very Bad News: Kentucky Head Coach Angry and Announced resignation immediately….
Eleven days ago, John Calipari and Mitch Barnhart sat side-by-side in the Kentucky basketball office conducting a painfully awkward TV interview.
Barnhart had just publicly confirmed the previous day that Calipari would return to lead the school’s storied men’s basketball program for a 16th season. Now it was time for the embattled coach and his longtime athletic director to set aside any lingering tension and put on a united front while discussing the future of Kentucky basketball.
Insisting the notion that he and Calipari had no relationship was “garbage” and “misinformation,” Barnhart likened their partnership to that of a “semi-married” couple. When Calipari interrupted to ask if Barnhart ever had an argument with his wife, Barnhart replied, “Just occasionally. I think you and I have too.”
That entire uncomfortable conversation is a hilarious watch given the stunning news that broke on Sunday night on the eve of the men’s national title game. The “semi-marriage” between Calipari and Kentucky is over. Calipari, per numerous reports, is finalizing a five-year deal to become the next head coach at Arkansas.
For Calipari to leave the highest-profile job in college basketball to take a second-tier gig in the same conference, he had to be desperate to move on from Kentucky. He had to know that he was never going to recapture the magic from the first half of his Kentucky tenure when the Wildcats were competing for Final Fours and national titles and he probably could have run for state governor and won in a landslide.
Calipari was under increasing pressure at Kentucky because his last four seasons doubled as one of the worst stretches in program history.
In 2021, Kentucky endured its most humbling season in decades, going from preseason top 10 to a 9-16 face plant. In 2022, the Wildcats suffered their worst-ever NCAA tournament loss, a 2-versus-15 upset at the hands of Saint Peter’s. Last year, Calipari’s team earned a No. 6 seed but failed to survive the NCAA tournament’s opening weekend.