Poll: Cal in the Rafters

[thebluestripes]

A coach that basically mailed it in after the big contract doesn't deserve to be up there imo. Sure the good years were good, but the bad years were prettybad too.
Plus he left uk with nothing and ran to arkansas. I'm just not a fan of hangin' his jersey but I know it eventually will probably happen, but I hope it is years down the road

[wildcatdon]

There was a Wildcat Don on the rafters years ago. Are you the same WCD?

I was on RR under that name and I think there were two of us actually. I changed to big blue Don the last few years there

[KentuckyFlyer]

I was on RR under that name and I think there were two of us actually. I changed to big blue Don the last few years there

I wasnt sure, I think the other guy might have passed away. He was pretty active and popular on RR, then just disappeared. That was a few years ago.

[OldBlueFart]

I will be the minority on this one. Do him the same way they did Pete Rose; after he is gone.
Yes, he earned to have his name in the rafters but the last few years he sure did not seem to care.

[Spiritof96]

The relative lack of grace and gratitude to a Championship winning coach who brought the team back from the brink of disaster is astounding.

It was time for him to go, he did turn on the fans, he was stubborn and lost games he shouldn’t have. But the hostility in this thread!?! He doesn’t deserve that.

[UKWildcats1987]

I said 9 to 10 years.

he won a title and 4 final fours here. His highs were high but lows were lower last 4 seasons.

He did way more here than Tubby and he got in. Tubby stays here 15 years and I can promise u he was heading towards some bad seasons. 06 and 07 were already way down trajectory. Tubby was smart and got out of dodge. Cal should have left after 10 seasons too. His arrogance was his downfall.

[SportsFan]

The relative lack of grace and gratitude to a Championship winning coach who brought the team back from the brink of disaster is astounding.

Are you talking about Rick Pitino, or John Calipari?

Because I remember Pitino taking over a program that had just been put on probation and damn near got the death penalty after the Duane Casey/Chris Mills/Emory Worldwide package fiasco. When he walked away after 8 years he had won a national championship, been to a Final Four, been to an Elite 8, been to a championship game, and then left the program in tact for Tubby Smith to win a national championship with in his very first season (with Pitino's players). But boy, did Rick get treated like absolute dogsh!t for over 20 years!

Or, do you mean John Calipari, who has only been gone one year and we're already discussing if he should have a banner in his name hung from the rafters of Rupp Arena? The same Cal who turned UK into a one and done basketball factory for the NBA that pushed players out the door that weren't ready, didn't believe in player retention, and when he left took a job with a conference rival and had exactly one guy who was still committed to playing for the University of Kentucky the following year (Travis Perry, who ironically, left after one year....like nearly all of Cal's players did).

[blueheretic]

The relative lack of grace and gratitude to a Championship winning coach who brought the team back from the brink of disaster is astounding.

OH GAWD!!!

Cal earned every bit of enmity that comes his way from this fan base.

He was a jerk for the last five years while he was losing. He thought he was a GOD and beyond reproach.

He deserves no grace. He deserves no gratitude after those past five years.

One can look back fondly on the first 7-8 years and still harbor ill will towards Cal for the more recent past.

I have always been of the mind that, in 2017(?), Barnhart should have told Cal that if he has a better deal at UCLA, he should take it. I knew that Cal would never again make it to a Final Four at UK after Bo Ryan stole his soul in the Final Four. It was obvious that Cal believed that HE was the secret recipe that won championships in that moment. His idiotic "prevent offense" that led to late game collapses over the past 8 years was entirely PREVENTABLE with just an ounce of self reflection. Yet, he refused to conduct that self reflection. Cal should have won a couple more championship. Unfortunately, Cal self sabotaged.

I could not have been happier when this goofball took his ball and ran off to Arkansas.

Even so, I think he belongs in the rafters. It should wait until 2-3 years after he departs Arkansas, though.

Cal doesn't deserve grace at this time. The gratitude will be deservedly delayed. Cal did that. He made that happen. Not the fans.

Part of the problem with Cal is that he blamed his failure on the fan base in the exact manner that you are doing right now.

[blueheretic]

What he did with Reed and Rob alone should delay that banner hanging for a decade. lol

Good God!

Those two would have started on any other team.

I can't even fathom what UK fans missed out on because of the stupidity of Calipari as concerns Reed and Rob.

[KCKUKFan]

What he did with Reed and Rob alone should delay that banner hanging for a decade. lol

Good God!

Those two would have started on any other team.

I can't even fathom what UK fans missed out on because of the stupidity of Calipari as concerns Reed and Rob.

Reed still played the majority of the minutes, with Rob not far behind. That they didn't start is still a crime against the sport of basketball, but it's not like they weren't getting minutes.

The biggest travesty from that season is Cal's refusal to play Reed, Rob and Antonio Reeves more together. That, and his failure to install any semblance of basic defense, led to that team's demise.

[blueheretic]

I came close to losing my TV a few times.

[MegaBlue05]

Cal belongs in the rafters period. His credentials are better than Joe B and Tubby, and they're both up there.

I know a lot of my former Rafters cohorts hate the guy, but the numbers are the numbers and he has the same amount of titles as Joe B, Pitino and Tubby, and has more Final Fours at UK (4) than Joe B (3), Rick (3) or Tubby (1).

I know his name won't be hung in our rafters while he's the head coach of another SEC school. My guess is there will be a jersey ceremony within 2-5 years of Cal retiring from coaching. Tubby was gone for almost 15 years before they did his.

[KCKUKFan]

I came close to losing my TV a few times.

By 2025, I didn't have it in myself to scream and break TVs. I had just accepted Cal's failure by that point.

[blueheretic]

Fair point. I can't help it at times.

My wife just stares at me and laughs.

[KCKUKFan]

Cal belongs in the rafters period. His credentials are better than Joe B and Tubby, and they're both up there.

I know a lot of my former Rafters cohorts hate the guy, but the numbers are the numbers and he has the same amount of titles as Joe B, Pitino and Tubby, and has more Final Fours at UK (4) than Joe B (3), Rick (3) or Tubby (1).

I know his name won't be hung in our rafters while he's the head coach of another SEC school. My guess is there will be a jersey ceremony within 2-5 years of Cal retiring from coaching. Tubby was gone for almost 15 years before they did his.

This guy gets it.

My thoughts verbatim.