REPORT: John Calipari in a power struggle with players; may be more departures

As if things weren’t bad enough for the 1-5 Kentucky Wildcats, we’re now starting to see why John Calipari’s team is coming undone.

Monday, Calipari announced that Cam’Ron Fletcher was asked to step away from the team, which effectively is a suspension for the four-star Class of 2020 recruit.

The fact that Calipari publicly did this alone is a major red flag, as he very rarely criticizes players in such a public manner like this.

Now, Kyle Tucker of The Athletic is reporting that there’s more dissension within the team, which could lead to more departures.

According to Tucker, “Sources close to the program indicate Calipari is currently in a power struggle with multiple other key players on this roster.”

Tucker also added that, “There might be more departures, and Calipari might welcome that at this point.”

Whew. Things have gotten bad in a hurry, and it’s hard to see things getting better anytime soon unless the team has a serious come to Jesus moment.

It’s been a while since there’s been so much turmoil within a Calipari-coached Kentucky team. The 2012-13 team had similar issues and ultimately missed the NCAA Tournament, though a big part of that was Nerlens Noel tearing his ACL.

This team has a long way to go before getting back into NCAA Tournament contention, even if everyone is healthy and playing.

Calipari is a Hall of Fame coach for a reason, but he’s clearly fighting an uphill battle to get this team back on track. They’ll look to start doing so Saturday when they take on the Louisville Cardinals at the Yum Center.

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