“(John) Calipari massively underachieved”: College hoops fans react as Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s March Madness highlights surface

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s strong performance has recently resurfaced on social media, posted by B/R hoops, sparking a wave of nostalgia and criticism from college basketball fans.

Many fans reflected on how much SGA has developed since his college days, while others pointed out that the talent on that Kentucky team should have achieved more.

“He was killing that season once he started starting & got his opportunity!!” one fan remarked.

“It’s crazy how much he changed, developed and evolved in 7 years,” another fan added.

However, not all reactions were positive. Some fans were critical of Kentucky’s coach at the time, John Calipari, for not maximizing the team’s potential.

“Cal massively underachieved relative to the talent smh,” a fan noted.

The comment was referring to the fact that the team had a strong roster yet they couldn’t make it to Final Four that year.

“Another loaded team that should’ve won the title and didn’t even get to the final four,” a fan mentioned.

Kentucky’s 2017-18 team, featuring Gilgeous-Alexander, was one of the most talented rosters under Calipari’s tenure. In addition to SGA’s breakout performance, future NBA players like PJ Washington, Kevin Knox and Jarred Vanderbilt were part of the lineup.

"Coach CAL Runs The NBA,” another fan mentioned.

While they made it to the Sweet 16, the failure to reach the Final Four remains a point of frustration for many Kentucky supporters. Despite the criticism, some fans still acknowledged Calipari’s influence on the program:

“KENTUCKY WILL NEVER HAVE THIS LEVEL OF FRESHMEN TALENT AGAIN… Calipari made y’all relevant in the 21st century.”

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander delivered a key performance seven years ago on this day as he scored 27 points while also adding six rebounds and six assists.

John Calipari’s Arkansas vs Bill Self’s Kansas

The upcoming game between Arkansas (20-13, 8-10 SEC) and Kansas (21-12, 11-9 Big 12) in the NCAA tournament will take place at 6:10 p.m. on Thursday, March 20. This will mark the 13th meeting between Calipari and Self, with their head-to-head record currently tied at 6-6.

After the announcement of their upcoming game, coach John Calipari, while addressing the press conference, said (starting at 5:30):

"We have ties, and, you know, he won a national championship against me. I won a national championship against him, we've played. He's beaten us in Rupp. We've beaten him at Allen. I don't know if we'll play an exhibition game … we have done this at a level for a long long time, I hate to play people who are friends"

Most of Calipari and Self’s previous matchups took place at Kansas’ Phog Allen Fieldhouse or Kentucky’s Rupp Arena, where Calipari coached for 15 years and won a national championship over Kansas in 2012.