John Calipari’s message to Kentucky basketball fans after March Madness exit is weak sauce

Kentucky basketball fans expected more from coach John Calipari after the team’s devastating loss at the hands of Saint Peter’s.

The Saint Peter’s Peacocks, pride of Jersey City, NJ, took out the No. 2-seeded Kentucky Wildcats in a shocking result on Thursday night. Kentucky is one of only a few blue bloods in college basketball, and surely was expected to make it further in the NCAA Tournament than just the first weekend.

After the defeat — arguably the worst in Kentucky program history — head coach John Calipari urged patience. While he understands that fans are upset, the players are as well.

Kentucky basketball: John Calipari disappointed after loss to Saint Peters

“I’m disappointed for our fans because I know they are here en masse and they were shell-shocked like we all were, but I would tell them, we have got the greatest fans; that they travel, and we hate letting them down,” Calipari said, per Kentucky Sports Radio.

Had Calipari’s comments ended there, perhaps Kentucky fans would’ve understood. But he took matters a step further, asking fans to focus on the positives from this season.

“But you know, we just—don’t take away from what these kids did. This was really disappointing, devastating. But this team brought a lot of joy to a lot of us. Just hate that it ends this way,” Calipari continued.

Coach Cal will be under a ton of pressure entering next season given how the 2021-22 campaign ended. Calipari still has just one National Title with Kentucky, and given the constant turnaround and frequent top-ranked recruiting classes, Wildcat Country expects more.

Calipari hasn’t delivered in quite some time.

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