Kentucky coach Calipari reaches out to K-State’s Nowell following ‘little kid’ comments

MANHATTAN, Kan. (KCTV) - Shortly after Kansas State senior guard Markquis Nowell scored 27 points and dished out nine assists to beat Kentucky on Sunday, UK head coach John Calipari took to the podium.

While recapping what led to his team being eliminated by first-year head coach Jerome Tang and K-State, he did so without acknowledging K-State’s All-American guard by name, instead referring to Nowell as “the little kid.”

Sunday night, K-State assistant coach Jareem Dowling took offense to Calipari’s apparent disrespect of Nowell, who was named a Third Team All-American by AP voters.

Yo! @UKCoachCalipari U done this for a long time and one of the best on the mic. Never 👀 you refer to a great player as little kid! Put some respect on @MrNewYorkCityy you know he could play for you too! Say his name! Like you would @Drake he do right and kill everything! #EMAW https://t.co/20dbkgMsjd
— Jareem Dowling (@Coachreem4ever) March 20, 2023

On Tuesday, as Kansas State traveled to New York City -- where Nowell grew up -- to play No. 7 Michigan State in a Sweet 16 matchup, Nowell tweeted that he and Calipari had spoken via phone.

“Just Spoke To Coach Cal We Are Good,” Nowell tweeted.