He stays: Kentucky to keep John Calipari despite more NCAA tournament woes

After days of fervent speculation, the Kentucky Wildcats are running it back with John Calipari as the head men's basketball coach next season. The three-time Naismith Coach of the Year met with Kentucky AD Mitch Barnhart before the decision was made, per Matt Jones of KY Sports Radio.

This comes less than a week after Kentucky, a No. 3 seed in the NCAA Tournament, lost to No. 14 Oakland in the first round. Cal's postseason success has been limited in recent years, with the Wildcats failing to advance past the Round of 32 in each of the last four seasons.

While Calipari has been the subject of extensive criticism, both inside the outside the Kentucky fanbase, it's hard to replace a coach with his resumé. There are few more accomplished leaders in the sport, and in the end, Kentucky is choosing the status quo over foundational change.

Kentucky won't fire John Calipari, set for 16th season in Lexington

Only time will tell if Kentucky made the right choice. Cal's tactics have been maddening over the last few years. He was especially egregious in virtually every respect last season, fumbling NIL deals and consistently misutilizing his best players. The man brought Reed Sheppard and Rob Dillingham, his two best players, off the bench for an entire season. What gives?

While Cal has an impressive track record of developing players for the NBA, that isn't really what the college game is about. At least, I'm sure the Wildcats would love to perform in the postseason, even if it means fewer NBA-bound freshmen and a more modern approach to the ever-shifting recruitment landscape.

The Wildcats are set to lose at least Sheppard and Dillingham to the NBA draft, barring a truly unexpected development. Justin Edwards, D.J. Wagner, Zvonimir Ivisic, and Aaron Bradshaw are all solid candidates to follow them out the door. Kentucky is used to resetting with a young roster every season, but that is precisely why the Wildcats have failed so often since COVID shut things down and NIL changed how teams are built.

Calipari has hinted at potentially recruiting more upperclassmen in the transfer portal and bringing in fewer freshmen, but it's hard to teach an old dog new tricks. We have seen it time and time again with accomplished head coaches at every level of basketball. Once you've reached a certain level of success, it can be hard to grow beyond that success. Ask Doc Rivers, who is the definition of insanity made flesh. Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.

Before Kentucky's loss to Oakland, Cal teased the possibility of improving Kentucky's defense and rebounding numbers by pairing his two 7-footers in the frontcourt, a decision that would have completely tanked the offense. He's too old-school in his thinking sometimes. Maybe the college game has passed Cal by.

It's hard to argue with the resumé, the charisma, the boatload of NBA players who tout his mentorship. But, at the end of the day, it feels like Kentucky is not making the best decision for its basketball team.

The recruits will come naturally. It's Kentucky. The question is, can Cal coach them to postseason success? His seat is officially hot. Now, we find out.