Speculation has been running rampant about Kentucky's post season chances since their embarrassing 30 point loss down in Knoxville. Truth be told, no one, not even the great Joe Lunardi (although I wouldn't bet against him) knows for sure what's to come for the rest of the Cats' season.
Calipari believes that "there's still time" when comes to how Kentucky can end it's season. In a post on Coachcal.com, he tells us what he thinks his team can still accomplish, if they work for it.
“We can make what we want of this season, Whatever we want to make of this season, we can do. We could be the story of the year – of recovery and all that. We can do that if they choose to do that.”
What Cal said above is true, but if the team doesn't believe it, then it doesn't matter. Kentucky has never really seemed like a confident team at any point this season, factor in the loss of Noel and things seemed to have taken a turn for the worse.
I'm not a coach and I have never claimed to be, but I just don't know what more Calipari and his staff can do with this group. Since the loss on Saturday I have actually heard people wonder if Calipari is the right man for the job. Really? Are you serious? The man has been on the job for four years, led his teams to an Elite Eight, Final Four and a National Championship and has been recruiting like a mad man ever since he has stepped foot in Lexington, and you really wonder if he's the right man for the job? If you're not satisfied with the job Cal has done at Kentucky, well then my friend, you CANNOT be satisfied.
As far as this season goes, let's just wait and see how this team finishes before we start judging them. They have seven games remaining in the regular season to prove themselves worthy of an "at large" bid to the dance come March. It starts with Vandy tomorrow night, they absolutely have to win this one no two ways about it. The Cats opened as a 12.5 favorite tomorrow night, so even Vegas knows how bad the Commodores are. If they lose Wednesday, you could probably start trying to figure out where the Cats will play their first and second rounds of the NIT and book your tickets.
But just for the sake of argument, lets say Kentucky wins tomorrow, then they have dates with Missouri at home, Mississippi State at home, Arkansas on the road, Georgia on the road and Florida at home remaining. It's not unrealistic that Kentucky could win 4 of those 5 games leading up to the rematch with Florida. If they can do that, then it's a pretty safe bet that Kentucky punches a ticket to the tournament, but they have to avoid racking up any bad losses.
Calipari's right, they can make what they want out of the remainder of this season, the question is, do they want it bad enough?
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