After Arkansas’ Sweet 16 loss to Arizona on Thursday, John Calipari vented about what college coaches are facing in today’s world of NIL and the transfer portal.
In the process, Calipari perfectly outlined what Kentucky basketball is facing.
“There are a lot of people who have no recruits, no idea who’s coming back, who don’t have the money you had a year ago. You do not,” said Calipari. “And now, all of a sudden, you’re trying to keep guys, figure out who else out there wants to come, and who wants to put
on a bidding war, which we won’t be involved in.”
Some took this as a shot at Mark Pope after he compared his first two seasons at Kentucky to what Calipari did toward the end of his tenure, but more than likely, Calipari was just speaking out on what many coaches are facing.
Despite a $22 million roster, Kentucky was eliminated in the Round of 32 by Iowa State and also had to play in the first round of the SEC tournament. It’s now believed that the Wildcats won’t have as much NIL money to work with this offseason, and player retention could be how the bulk of next season’s roster is ultimately formed.
One thing is for sure: Pope and Calipari both have a very busy offseason ahead of them.
