KY — LEXINGTON John Calipari was the college basketball king on April 4, 2015. For the fourth time in five years, he had led Kentucky to the Final Four. This time, he had an unprecedented 38-0 record and a chance to win his second national championship and have one of the greatest seasons ever.
With five minutes remaining on April 5, 2015 in Indianapolis, his Wildcats had a four-point lead over Wisconsin and appeared to be headed for a title-game showdown with Duke and Mike Krzyzewski’s rival. That is, until Calipari told a team that had seven future NBA draft picks to play stall ball, thereby deflating the basketball. This isn’t to my taste. The last time, it ended in a bad shot,” renowned broadcaster Bill Raftery said to the
After learning that Calipari had been elected into the Naismith Hall of Fame the following day, he chose to remain in Indianapolis in order to receive the awkward honor. Still reeling from the previous night’s shock, he sat in front of reporters and alternately answered questions regarding the most significant setback and highest accolade of his career. It appeared as though he had slipped and fallen off Kilimanjaro not far from the top, only to awaken on top of Everest. That day, he said, “I feel fake.”
Since then, Kentucky and its coach have undergone significant changes.
Calipari and the Wildcats have not returned to a Final Four in more than eight years. In the past three years, they have only won one game in the NCAA Tournament. The peak is no longer visible, so the question for 64-year-old Calipari is now whether he will continue to descend in his 15th season in Lexington or if he can climb once more. The decline started in those closing minutes against Wisconsin, but it was initially fairly subtle. Kentucky was one game away from making it back to the Final Four in 2017 and 2019, and they won the Southeastern Conference by three games in 2020 before COVID-19 forced the postseason to be canceled.
An anonymous former support staff member stated, “I really believe that game broke him.” Four other former staff members also made the same request.
