Former Kentucky player Wenyen Gabriel has harsh words for John Calipari

Former Kentucky Wildcat Wenyen Gabriel had some harsh words for John Calipari

As he prepares for the NBA bubble, Portland Trail Blazers forward Wenyen Gabriel finds himself involved in a different drama dating back to his college days. John Calipari is royalty in Lexington, but it’s completely fair that some may not have loved their experience as understudies given the immense expectations and year-over-year NBA talent Cal brings in. To that end, it’s not surprising that Gabriel hasn’t always had kind comments about his former head coach and the culture at UK as a whole.

Gabriel’s vocal opposition to Coach Cal goes as far back as 2019 during the recruitment of then 5-star prospect Jaden McDaniels, who eventually committed to Washington. In a since-leaked DM, Gabriel told McDaniels that Kentucky wasn’t all it was made out to be, despite the brotherhood he feels he has with his former teammates. Calipari, it would seem, is at the center of that discussion.

Wenyen Gabriel continues to fire shots at John Calipari

In the Instagram comments of Bam Adebayo’s post, Gabriel got into it with some fans, insisting that he tried to reach out to Calipari months before the McDaniels text leaked to avoid a confrontation. However, per Gabriel, Cal never responded, and “cut him off.”

Gabriel went on to add that he came to Kentucky as a top-15 recruit, but Calipari did very little to help him develop into the collegiate player he thinks he could have been. Pinning this on Cal is a direct shot at his player development.

Calipari is always a vocal supporter of his former players when they see success at the next level, so it’s a surprise — if we’re taking Gabriel’s word as truth — that Coach Cal wouldn’t simply address the elephant in the room and move on from an awkward situation.

Of course, BBN fans will always side with Calipari, and most view Gabriel in a negative light given he hurt them in recruiting.