Coach Cal ain’t done yet.
Kentucky Basketball head coach John Calipari is staying in Lexington.
Following a Tuesday meeting with athletics director Mitch Barnhart, news broke that Kentucky will retain Calipari. The program will likely undergo changes moving forward, but those have yet to be unveiled.
Going into Monday, there was seemingly a chance that Calipari would not be brought back. Combined with the public outcry for him to be fired, this has easily been one of the most tumultuous periods in the Coach Cal era, one that began with immense success — four Final Four berths and an NCAA National Championship — but has sadly been a shell of that since 2019, the last time the program even reached the second weekend of the NCAA Tournament.
Saying this, we pretty much knew by Monday evening that Cal would be staying, and final confirmation came Tuesday evening.
This will now be a very big year for both Calipari and Barnhart.
Now, here is how Twitter reacted to the news.
After the meeting, John Calipari will be the coach at Kentucky next year
— Matt Jones (@KySportsRadio) March 26, 2024
John Calipari, your legacy is on the line.
Let’s do something special and rewrite this story, Coach.
— Kentucky Sports Talk (@KentuckyZone) March 26, 2024
Calipari is back and anything but would have been surprising given the last couple days. So, that’s that.
Next season, as most are, will be fun if they win and miserable if they lose. Probably a few extra doses of miserable given the circumstances. The regular season will…
— T.J. Walker (@TJWalkerRadio) March 27, 2024
UK feels like a 10-year job, like Joe B. Hall once told John Calipari.
That’s when things began to go downhill for Cal.
Going to be a lot pressure on the players next season which is unfair.
Don’t see next year going better but if wrong, I’ll eat crow happily.
— Aaron Gershon (@agershon99) March 26, 2024
John Calipari is returning to #Kentucky. Boycott!! pic.twitter.com/PW0Iq7wjqn
— Message Board Geniuses (@BoardGeniuses) March 26, 2024
A John Calipari championship then riding off into the sunset would complete my life
— Big Blue Carti (@BigBlueCarti) March 26, 2024
In my opinion, John Calipari’s job was never in danger. Hopefully BBN can come together and support the program moving forward. Go Big Blue!
— Anthony Wireman (@awireman) March 26, 2024
.@WalkerAntoine8 is still all in on John Calipari as the coach of Kentucky. @CBSSportsRadio @UKCoachCalipari pic.twitter.com/7NQKANvtgS
— Zach Gelb (@ZachGelb) March 26, 2024
Alright… now that it’s happening I hope we wins every game. Go Cats.
Let’s get back to the “Gold Standard”! https://t.co/3nCJPjNGtQ
— Dylan Ballard (@DylanBallard_UK) March 27, 2024
Plot twist: Mitch fired John Calipari and then hired John Kalipari.
— Owen (@75toRupp) March 26, 2024
And that’s that.
Love him or hate him, John Calipari is going to be the head coach at Kentucky next season.
As a fan, I’ll root him on as I would any coach here. And since he gets another chance, I really hope he kills it and gets to rewrite his ending in a happy way. #BBN pic.twitter.com/5cNay8pGSw
— Buddy (@BigBlueBud) March 26, 2024
Sources say John Calipari plans to start his meeting today with Mitch Barnhart with some good ideas, but not his best ones. He will save those for later when Mitch B is up 10 points. #bbn pic.twitter.com/SnXcvqn1rP
— Rob Pedigo (@RAPedigo) March 26, 2024
Everyone has a right to be angry. You also will have a right to remain silent if you start invading people’s personal space and private property. That’s just gross. https://t.co/S7anmlbPOv
— Kyle Tucker (@KyleTucker_ATH) March 26, 2024
As I said, John Calipari is back. We’ve got a bruised fan base. I get it. I am one. We’ve heard these interview answers. I’m not smiling but I know I’ll be excited when November rolls around again. Cal loves UK. He’s help built this program. He ain’t done yet.
I’m in. Go Cats.
— JD Shelburne (@JDSHELBURNE) March 25, 2024
I genuinely hope John Calipari wins every game next year, wins the National Championship and gloats in all his critics face (which included me) after cutting down the nets next year
It would be the best thing for Kentucky Basketball and everyone
— Matt Jones (@KySportsRadio) March 26, 2024
Cal’s first responsibility should be to the fans and the university. making generational wealth for your players is admirable. But your employers who pay your salary want to win national championships. there’s a lot of pride in this program.
— Dick Weiss (@HoopsWeiss) March 26, 2024
@KySportsRadio pic.twitter.com/1bdlUtBisD
— DeMarcus Cousins (@boogiecousins) March 25, 2024
I hope it’s not too late for a refund. pic.twitter.com/ayFB9hNc8C
— Message Board Geniuses (@BoardGeniuses) March 26, 2024
I still think as bad as the last several years have been, the majority of Kentucky fans still love John Calipari and want him to be the one to fix it. I just think they’ve lost the faith in his ability to do so.
— Chris Fisher (@ChrisFisher247) March 27, 2024
John Calipari says to fix Kentucky’s defense, the Cats need to get more physical.
Fixing the worst Kentucky Defense of the KenPom era will take significantly more than that, @RoushKSR tells @Andy_Staples.
MORE: https://t.co/l3IZeI67ze pic.twitter.com/bd3IxYV4fu
— KSR (@KSRonX) March 26, 2024
With that said, when Calipari deserves criticism, he should get it. Benefit of the doubt probably ended on Guhlke’s 10th made three.
He is not a deity. He is a basketball coach. And this job involves a fanbase who has earned their right to an opinion
It’s part of the job
— Matt Jones (@KySportsRadio) March 27, 2024
Did we miss any good ones? If so, send them in the comments section!
If John Calipari is back for one last run: pic.twitter.com/UqcXdHSz8p
— TheCatsPause247 (@TheCatsPause247) March 26, 2024
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