3x SB champ Shannon Sharpe calls out former Kentucky HC John Calipari over NCAA tournament struggles: "35 first-round draft picks, he got one title"

Coach John Calipari left the college hoops community in shock when he left his job as coach of the Kentucky Wildcats to take the vacant Arkansas Razorbacks job due to the departure of coach Eric Musselman to the USC Trojans.

Calipari left the Kentucky job after 15 years in charge, where he won one national championship in 2012 as the highest point of his tenure.

Three-time Super Bowl champion Shannon Sharpe questioned the pedigree of coach John Calipari during an episode of "Night Cap" pointing out the quality of the players he had as recruits and the ones who ended up being first-round picks in the NBA Draft vis-a-vis his accomplishments.

"Think about all the number one draft picks. He had John Wall and Boogie Cousins and didn't win nothing. He had Karl Anthony Towns, Shae Gilgeous Alexander, he had Devin Booker," Sharpe said.

"He had all those guys and do you know what he had to show for it? One national championship. He had 35 first-round draft picks, Tyler Herro and one title!"

Since 2018-2019, John Calipari has never made it past the second round of the NCAA tournament and only won one game in the last five years in the tournament, giving credence to Sharpe's allegations.

Most recently, Calipari's team lost 80-76 to the Oakland Golden Grizzlies in the opening round of the 2024 March Madness.

John Calipari departs Kentucky

John Calipari became a part of the furniture at Kentucky over his 15-year tenure that yielded 410 wins, just behind Rick Pitino and Adolph Rupp but it did not end well for the seasoned coach.

Kentucky Sports Radio host Matt Jones recently revealed that before the coach left, relationships had broken down behind the scenes.

“It was a disaster behind the scenes. It was a disaster,” said Matt Jones. "Calipari became, for the people at UK, impossible to work with. He did. That’s why people connected to him left. He was just too much. I think they all still loved him, he’s not a bad person, but he just became too much."

Calipari's Kentucky contract ran until the 2028-2029 season but there was no buyout for an early exit. He would have been owed a mammoth $33 million were he to have been fired by the Wildcats after their just-concluded season.

John Calipari led the Wildcats to four Final Four and seven Elite Eight appearances during his tenure. Their last Final Four appearance came in 2015 but his departure is still one of the shocks of the college basketball season.