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John Calipari and the Kentucky Wildcats were eliminated from the NCAA Tournament with Sunday's 75-69 loss to Kansas State. During the postgame news conference, Calipari made a remark that got the attention of someone on Kansas State's coaching staff.
Calipari talked about how the Wildcats did a good job defending Kansas State star Keyontae Johnson. But then Calipari referred to a Kansas State player as "the little kid." The player he was talking about was senior guard Markquis Nowell.
"We did a pretty good job on Johnson, and he makes that 3(-pointer). The little kid makes a 3, how he made a deep 3, and, you know, all of a sudden we miss a couple and it gets out of hand."
Listed at 5-foot-8, Nowell has been one of the most important players for the Kansas State Wildcats throughout the season. He got the last laugh, as he put forth a sensational performance, finishing with 27 points, two rebounds, nine assists and three steals while shooting 7-for-14 in the 75-69 victory over UK.
Kansas State assistant coach Jareem Dowling took to social media to call out Calipari for his comments:
"U done this for a long time and one of the best on the mic. Never @MrNewYorkCityy you know he could play for you too! Say his name! Like you would @Drake he do right and kill everything!"
Kansas State assistant coach calls out John Calipari
The comments made by Kentucky Wildcats coach John Calipari in the postgame could be blown out of proportion. It could have simply been a bad judgment call by Calipari after a competitive matchup against Kansas State.
Calipari was noticeably frustrated after Kentucky suffered another early exit in the NCAA Tournament. Markquis Nowell's performance simply didn't come out of nowhere. The senior guard has been one of the top players on this roster throughout the 2022-23 season.
Nowell is averaging 17.1 points, 3.5 rebounds, 7.8 assists and 2.4 steals per game while shooting 38.6%. Kansas State (25-9) got the last laugh as they moved onto the Sweet 16. They are set to take on No. 7 seed Michigan State (21-12) on Thursday at 6:30 p.m. ET on TBS.
