The focus to end the week wasn't on John Calipari or the Kentucky men's basketball program. When Kenny Brooks was introduced as the next women's basketball head coach to take over the Wildcats this 2024-25 season inside the new and improved Memorial Coliseum, UK AD Mitch Barnhart expected to be in the spotlight there. I wanted it. And rightly so.
Because it's Kenny Brooks wonderful It was truly a home run hire for the program. He crushed the opening presser, explaining how grateful he was for the opportunity to wake up this “sleeping giant” of Lexington.
When Barnhart took 15 minutes of questions after Brooks' press conference, most of his time was spent on the women's program and its hopes of moving forward under a team of valuable new additions — “Just a good team. Let's become,” he said. But of course, no media opportunity with the school's director of athletics could come and go without questions about his thoughts on the trajectory of the men's program under Coach Cal.
This led to Barnhart's immediate firing, and the focus returned to Kenny Brooks and why more than 100 people were in attendance at the Joe Craft Center that day in the first place.
“I'd like to talk just about women's basketball today if I can. If I can do that, I'd like to do that too,” he said. “I think there's a standard in all of our athletics, okay? And I've never wavered from that. Let's leave it at that.”
Everything he had to say about men's basketball was said in a conversation he sat down with John Calipari on BBN Tonight earlier this week.So he said this that The NCAA Tournament hasn't had a second weekend since 2019, and the March program has been underperforming recently.
“There is no one who does not meet the standards, we understand that,” he said at the time. “We won the SEC Tournament six times with Cal, won the regular season title six times, made it to the Final Four four times and the Elite Eight seven times. It’s not like we don’t know how to get there. No. We've reached a patch that we didn't get to, but that's not lost on us. He and I are a little competitive and we certainly want to win.
“It's been in our DNA since the beginning of his and my career. We sat here and said, 'Okay, can we just casually talk this through to the end of the deal? I didn't come to this program to say, 'Hey, let's take a look.' I want to win. “
He did not specifically delve into the standards of the men's program in a follow-up interview later this week. However, Barnhart spoke about his expectations. all About his entire program and his pursuit of excellence. everyone — It’s not just basketball and football, as we sometimes assume.
This topic clearly touched a nerve. Although he didn't single out anyone in particular, he pushed back against the concept of victory. it's not That's his top priority for all sports under the University of Kentucky umbrella. Each sport is more important than the next, and each sport is expected to compete at the highest level.
“You all know me well, but there hasn't been a day that goes by that I don't have high expectations for all of our athletic programs. If you want him to tell you everything he's done and what he's doing now, you'll think, “Oh, here he comes again.” I know how this works,” Barnhart joked. “I value the gymnastics team just as much as I value the men's tennis team and the baseball team. By the way, they're all doing very well, you know? If I want them to continue, I will.
“What I'm trying to say is that my expectations are high for everyone. If you've known me for a long time, you'll know that I've never wanted to win at anything. mosquito? No, I'm a pretty competitive guy. I want to win. That's important. I didn't get into this business to finish last. Competing and teaching are two things I want to do incredibly well. 140 children are scheduled to graduate in May. 140 kids are going to walk across to get their degrees, and that means a lot to me. And it changes lives, and we change lives through what they do and what they learn on the playing field. And that's really good. ”
This adds another layer to the $33 million question of Coach Cal's acquisition, and anyone would think Barnhart would have gone down that path. Would they pay Calipari that much money just to walk away when all sports are valued and prioritized equally under his leadership in Lexington? When will that money fund other athletic projects across campus and help build the best integrated department possible?
In some ways, John Calipari is no bigger than UK Athletics. That in itself is a statement, right?
