Report: John Calipari, Kentucky AD don’t speak to each other
Mar 28, 2019; Kansas City, MO, United States; Kentucky Wildcats head coach John Calipari speaks during a press conference for the midwest regional of the 2019 NCAA Tournament at Sprint Center. Mandatory Credit: Jay Biggerstaff-USA TODAY Sports
Kentucky is in the middle of yet another bad season, which has brought further scrutiny to John Calipari. Some new information about the Wildcats basketball program also reflects poorly upon the school’s athletic leadership.
The Athletic’s Kyle Tucker answered fan questions about Kentucky in a mailbag column he published on Thursday. The column sought to answer where Kentucky has gone wrong.
In the story, Tucker revealed that Calipari and athletic director Mitch Barnhart barely talk.
“For whatever reason, he and Calipari no longer have a relationship of any significance. They don’t speak to each other, Barnhart attends fewer games and he hasn’t been to a Kentucky basketball practice in ages,” Tucker wrote in his article.
Tucker noted that Barnhart also seemed to stand with Mark Stoops after Calipari called Kentucky a “basketball school.”
Barnhart gave Calipari the “lifetime deal” the Kentucky coach currently has (10 years for $86 million signed in 2019). Calipari is owed so much money that he’s not going anywhere anytime soon.
That’s not a great sign if Barnhart and Cal barely talk.
The Wildcats went 9-16 two years ago. Last year they were 26-8 but lost in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. This season, the team is 10-6 and just lost to South Carolina.
