John Calipari takes another L via Jack Gohlke: ‘He already looked defeated’

The Kentucky Wildcats entered the NCAA Tournament as the No. 3 seed in the South Region. That generally comes with a certain level of expectation, such as "this team should beat the No. 14 seed from Oakland County, Michigan."

Alas, Kentucky failed to live up to those expectations. Reed Sheppard heard the No. 1 pick buzz and promptly scored three points on 1-for-5 shooting. The Wildcats' offense was fine enough to muster 76 points, but the defense fell apart. John Calipari stood on the sideline, a dumbfounded look etched on his face, while the Oakland Golden Grizzlies ran circles around Kentucky's taller, faster, more athletic players.

In the end, Calipari managed to keep his job despite a chorus of detractors in the Kentucky fanbase. Maybe getting embarrassed (again) on national TV was punishment enough. Cal's UK teams have consistently underperformed since COVID (and NIL) turned the college basketball world upside down.

Now, Calipari is taking another L at the hands of Jack Gohlke, the most famous bench player in America (for about a week). Oakland's sharpshooter, now represented by TurboTax and done with his college basketball responsibilities, appeared on the 'Mostly Sports' podcast to pile on college basketball's most scrutinized head coach.

"I usually talk a little s**t to the opposing coach. And I was about to say something to [John Calipari], but he just had this, like, already defeated look on his face. And I was just like, I can't even say anything to him," said Gohlke. "We're 10 minutes into the game and they're already scrambling, so I was just like alright, we got them."

Oakland star Jack Gohlke takes one last shot at Kentucky head coach John Calipari

Gohlke inked his name in the NCAA history books against Kentucky, drilling 10-of-20 attempts from 3-point range to become the fifth player ever to sink double-digit 3s in a men's college basketball game. He was the first since Purdue's Carsen Edwards in 2019.

That earns you a little bit of leeway to talk smack. I'm not sure it's the best look to go around various podcasts bashing one of the game's most accomplished head coaches, but hey, it's fun. And Calipari is the source of a lot of frustration at the moment, so the environment is ripe for this sort of public shaming. Gohlke certainly has the correct read on the room.

Oakland's Cinderella run was brief, with No. 11 NC State winning comfortably in the Round of 32 despite another respectable effort from Gohkle. If it's any consolation to Oakland, NC State is now in the Final Four. The Wolfpack have won nine straight and are the hottest team in college basketball, despite their persistent mediocrity during the regular season. Perhaps it was all a ruse.

Either way, Oakland will be remembered for a long time because of who they beat. Kentucky is brimming with NBA prospects and five-star recruits, and Oakland took them down with a swift punch to the jaw. It was an impressive win, and Gohkle supplied one of the tournament's most memorable individual performances.

We shall see if John Calipari and the Wildcats can recover in 2025.