Kentucky, Calipari frustrated by season-long struggles

LEXINGTON, Ky. (AP) — Kentucky All-Americanforward Oscar Tshiebwe is wondering whether the Wildcats’ walk-onsshould play at this point in a frustrating season, just to showsome fire.

For college basketball’s reigning player of the year tochallenge his talented teammates speaks volumes of the crisiswithin one of the sport’s most prestigious and successfulprograms.

“Play the people who are willing to fight, even some walk-ons,”the usually affable senior said after Tuesday night’s 71-68 homeloss to South Carolina. “Put the people who try to look cute onoffense where they don’t want to play defense, put them on thebench. We’re here to fight and to try to do something.”

Kentucky began the season No. 4 and was favored to win theSoutheastern Conference — along with its own usual highexpectations of a national championship. At this point, theWildcats have some work to do to even just get on the NCAATournament bubble.

The team’s passionate fan base has unleashed hurt and anger ontalk shows and social media, even calling for coach John Calipari’sexit. Reports that Texas has reached out to the Hall of Famer forits coaching vacancy have only fueled that once-unthinkablesentiment to the point that one fan was escorted from Rupp Arena onTuesday night because of a sign that said, “Please go toTexas.”

Yes, it has come to that within Big Blue Nation.

Calipari will earn $8.5 million this season with $53 millionremaining on a “lifetime” contract through the 2028-29 season thatdoesn’t have a buyout. He said this week he has not spoken withTexas, and insisted that he ignores the noise.

But Calipari knows the discontent is there and getting louderwith each discouraging defeat.

“And are fans mad? They should be,” he said Tuesday afterKentucky’s 28-game home winning streak was snapped. “We lost athome. We don’t lose at home. We lost at home.”

Calipari also addressed the obvious: a 10-6 Kentucky team that’s1-3 in the SEC must improve, starting with himself.

The Wildcats are struggling with chemistry and consistency onboth ends of the floor. Calipari’s strategy and recruiting areenduring harsh scrutiny. Injuries haven’t helped, though Tshiebweis averaging 16 points and 13.1 rebounds per game after a preseasonprocedure on his right knee. Still, a physical Alabama squadlimited him to six rebounds and four points in a 78-52 shellackingin which Kentucky’s starters tallied just 27 points against thenow-No. 4 Crimson Tide.

ESPN analyst Jay Bilas believes it’s too soon to panic, butnoted that the Wildcats must step it up in the second half of theseason.

“This is not an X-and-O issue, this is a player issue,” Bilassaid in a phone interview. “And the players have to bring more, domore collectively and individually than they’ve done. Some playersare going to be more capable of doing more than others. But thisisn’t an issue of run a different offense and all of a suddeneverything gets better.”

Whatever needs to be done, Kentucky athletic director MitchBarnhart expressed faith in Calipari’s ability to fix it during aninterview Friday on Kentucky Sports Radio.

“We’ve battled some injury bugs, we’ve battled some confidencebugs and hopefully we can get those things put behind us,” Barnhartsaid. “We’ve got 14, 15 games left in the regular season and getwhere we want to get to postseason and make a run. We’re famous fordoing that and Cal’s teams are famous for doing that.”

In a hoops-mad state that expects championships and annualtop-three recruiting classes, the problem is that Kentucky hasn’twon an NCAA championship since 2012, made a Final Four since going38-1 in the 2014-15 season or been a serious national titlecontender since an overtime loss to Auburn in the Elite Eight in2019. The COVID-19 pandemic wiped out the Big Dance in 2020, and9-16 collapse the next year left the Wildcats out altogether.

Tshiebwe’s phenomenal breakout keyed last season’s rebound, butthe team was upset in the first round of the NCAA Tournament by No.15 Saint Peter’s — considered Kentucky’s worst NCAA loss ever.

With the 6-foot-9 Tshiebwe returning, there were, again, highexpectations. As of now, Kentucky’s tournament resume lacks a Quad1 victory after losses to Michigan State, Gonzaga, UCLA, ’Bama andnow-No. 20 Missouri by double digits.

This week’s loss to the Gamecocks demonstrated everythingKentucky has done wrong. The Wildcats never led against the SEC’slowest-rated team, and it took a furious rally to get within apoint before missing attempts to tie it up in the final seconds.Afterward, Tshiebwe lamented.

“Some of us coming in are taking things for granted,” he said.“I just tell them, (that) the coaches, they cannot do it for us.They just come out with the game plan with who we are going todepend on and how we are going to play offense.

“We come to Kentucky for a very good reason, we come chasinggreatness. And if you come not willing to fight, it’s going to betough.”

Kentucky’s immediate outlook looks dire with a visit Saturday toNo. 5 Tennessee, which won last year’s meeting 76-63 in Knoxvilleand four of the last six matchups overall. Volunteers coach RickBarnes nonetheless expects the Wildcats’ best this weekend andbeyond with Calipari.

“I’m not sure he’s had his whole team together all year,” Barnessaid Thursday. “One thing I do know is his teams always get betterand play their best basketball late in the year.”

Then the Wildcats host No. 2 Kansas, the reigning nationalchampions, on Jan. 28 in the SEC/Big 12 Challenge. The Jayhawks nodoubt will aim to avenge last season’s 80-62 rout at AllenFieldhouse.

Kentucky also has two meetings against No. 15 Arkansas and ahome rematch with the Volunteers.

Considering the Wildcats lost to a South Carolina team that gotdrilled by 43 at home by Tennessee, they can’t afford to look pastany SEC opponent. But right now, the concern is whether theWildcats can beat one.

“Every game we play is going to be a dogfight with us beingKentucky,” forward Daimion Collins said. “We just have to fight,work hard, rebound and defend. If we do those things we’ll win somegames.”