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Kentucky basketball: 10 potential replacements for John Calipari

By Brad Berreman

LEXINGTON, KENTUCKY - JANUARY 12: John Calipari the head coach of the Kentucky Wildcats gives instructions to his team against the Alabama Crimson Tide at Rupp Arena on January 12, 2021 in Lexington, Kentucky. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images)
LEXINGTON, KENTUCKY - JANUARY 12: John Calipari the head coach of the Kentucky Wildcats gives instructions to his team against the Alabama Crimson Tide at Rupp Arena on January 12, 2021 in Lexington, Kentucky. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images) /
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John Calipari, Kentucky Wildcats
John Calipari, Kentucky Wildcats. (Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports) /

An ugly loss to Auburn on Saturday has turned up the heat on John Calipari, but who could replace him as the Kentucky basketball coach if he’s fired or resigns?

The Kentucky Wildcats dropped to 4-8 on the season with a 66-59 loss to Auburn on Saturday. The Wildcats were blown out by Alabama 85-65 last Tuesday night, so a three-game winning streak prior to that suddenly feels like a distant memory. During and after Saturday’s game, and really all season, the lineup choices made by coach John Calipari have been in the limelight.

In particular, on Saturday, the decision to not start the second half with Dontaie Allen and Jacob Toppin on the floor drew scrutiny, as B.J. Boston and Olivier Starr struggled.

This year’s Kentucky team is not flush with future NBA players like many of Calipari’s past teams, but that’s not stopping “Big Blue Nation” from questioning the coach and expecting better.

If there’s ever a year for a coach to get a mulligan, it’s this one with COVID-19 altering schedules across the board. What amounts to a lifetime contract also means Calipari isn’t going anywhere, and that leaves aside the equity afforded by his past success.

So Calipari isn’t being fired, and he doesn’t seem likely to leave Kentucky on his own motivation anytime soon. But it’s interesting and fun to speculate anyway, and these coaches make sense as potential replacements if things totally go off the rails.

Who could replace John Calipari as the Kentucky basketball head coach?

10. Richard Pitino, Minnesota head coach

The Golden Gophers added another “resume win” with a blowout victory over previously unbeaten Michigan on Saturday, to go with wins over Iowa, Ohio State and Michigan State as part of their 11-4 mark thus far. Pitino is already in his eighth season as Gophers coach, and he surfaces once in a while as a periphery candidate for other jobs.

Pitino of course has a tie to Kentucky, as his father Rick had a very successful run as Wildcats’ coach. He was once seen as a candidate to succeed his dad at Louisville, but that idea is gone now. But the Pitino name may still mean something in Lexington, if only as a highly speculative candidate to replace Calipari.

9. Greg Gard, Wisconsin head coach

Staying in the Big Ten, we have Gard. The No. 9 Badgers are 11-3 so far this season. In three of Gard’s four full seasons as head coach, they’ve won at least 21 games, and he is 67-34 (.634 winning percentage) in conference play.

Gard has been at Wisconsin since 2001, as he followed Bo Ryan to Madison from Wisconsin-Platteville and Milwaukee as an assistant before Ryan retired as Badgers’ coach early in the 2015-16 season. So he may not be compelled to leave at all, and his contract goes through the 2024-25 season.

Still, if Kentucky wants someone most coaches would have to listen. Would Gard listen to a possible “offer he can’t refuse”?