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Kentucky Wildcats Basketball: John Calipari is Still Confident in His Team

Coach Cal is still confident in his team, but it's time to prove it.

By James Streble
Andy Lyons/Getty Images

After a blown 12 point lead and loss at Auburn, an 8-8 team, Kentucky fans and many in the national media are questioning whether or not this Kentucky Wildcats team is still reaching its potential or maybe they just aren't very good.

That's enough from the peanut gallery, what does John Calipari think about this team?

"I look at us and my mentality is. We'll break through at some point," Cal said Monday. "I mean, I remember the team in '13-14. Oh, my gosh, we almost ran out of runway. And we got the plane down and then we got in the NCAA Tournament and we went to the final game and had a chance to win the national title.

"So is this team where that team was? Well, some of it are the same issues: winning time, consistency of play, toughness when we needed it. All stuff that we had to fight through. But, again, this team has different issues."

Cal sill has confidence in his guys. I am still confident as well but it is about time that the team starts to reward the confidence.

It's hard to win on the road in conference games, I get it, especially this season where there really isn't a clear-cut great team out there. But that being said, a loss at Auburn is almost inexcusable. The crowd in that arena was about 60-40 Auburn to Kentucky. The Tigers are a bad team with losses to Colorado, Middle Tennessee State, Harvard, Hawaii, and Missouri.

With road games to be played at Florida, at Kansas, at Arkansas (where Calipari has never won), at Kansas, at South Carolina, at Texas A&M, and at Vanderbilt, losing at Auburn isn't very encouraging at this juncture.

Kentucky is a good home team this season and is undefeated at Rupp, but blowing a big lead and beating another really bad team there by six doesn't elicit much confidence either. Holding serve at home is crucial to the season if the 'Cats are going to be up-and-down on the road.

So are we as confident as John Calipari? Remember that he sees them in practice every day and Cal has not been one to shy away from criticising a team's play when it is warranted. He isn't being as hard on this team as he was in 2013 or even 2014. Maybe that's because this team has a fragile psyche.

Or maybe it's because he knows something we don't. Calipari is a master at pushing buttons and finding ways to get the most out of his team when it counts.

I'm not hitting the panic button. Yet. As long as Cal is still confident and thinks he can get his team to the next level, then I will remain on board. I'll remain on board regardless.

If Cal's comments don't give you comfort, just listen to your point guard:

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