John Calipari’s daughter, Erin, won’t tolerate negative talk about the Kentucky men’s basketball coach.
Taking to her X account, Erin fired back at a Wildcats fan who ripped Calipari after Kentucky’s blowout loss to South Carolina on Tuesday, 79-62, in front of a sold-out crowd of 18,000 at Colonial Life Arena, home of the Gamecocks.
It all started when X user @Rico_in_Oakland responded to Erin’s Saturday post that read, “BIG Z!” after Kentucky’s Zvonimir “Big Z” Ivisic had a strong debut (13 points, 3-for-4 from 3) in the Wildcats’ 105-96 win over the Georgia Bulldogs at Rupp Arena.
“Your father just got blown out by South Carolina,” the internet troll wrote to Erin. “That’s unexceptable [sic]. I was so excited about a Big Z but now I’m so mad.
“Tell your father if we don’t make the final four this year he’s fired. Go cats.”
That’s when Erin, an associate professor at Vanderbilt University, thanked the user for their message.
“Hi Rico. Thanks for the message,” Erin wrote. “Please tell your father that you spend your evenings messaging adult children of basketball coaches on Twitter. I’m sure he will be proud.”
The elder Calipari has yet to address the situation.
Tuesday’s loss marked Kentucky’s third straight defeat at South Carolina.
“We drove it and we weren’t physical enough to hold our ground,” Calipari said after the game.
No. 6 Kentucky had a poor offensive game and shot just 3-of-11 from three.
Kentucky’s leading scorer Antonio Reeves — who’s averaging 19.6 points per game — went 1-for-7 shooting in the first half.
Kentucky visits Arkansas on Saturday night.