Rumblings late Sunday night on the eve of the national title game surrounding one of the biggest coaching names in all of college basketball took the sport by storm.
Several reports surfaced that Kentucky head coach John Calipari was leaving Lexington to take the head coaching job at Arkansas.
It was then reported by ESPN’s Pete Thamel and Jeff Borzello that Calipari was finalizing a deal that would come in a bit below the $8.5 million he was making at Kentucky and would be built around incentives that could mount up to a total past his previous contract.
It was a domino effect that opened up an avenue for Calipari to leave Kentucky. Initially, when SMU fired Rob Lainer, the Mustangs lured Andy Enfield from USC. It then prompted Arkansas’ Eric Musselman to take the USC job, which then allowed Calipari to make a jump across the SEC to Fayetteville.
Calipari’s final days at Kentucky were not all that surprising after getting bounced in the first round by a far more inferior program in the Horizon League’s Oakland in Pittsburgh.
There was writing on the wall that Calipari needed a fresh start as his philosophies passed him by with the current game of college basketball. His Wildcat teams failed to make it out of the first weekend in the NCAA Tournament since 2019.
The Moon Township, Pa. native served as the head coach at Kentucky since 2009 and led the Wildcats to a national championship in 2012. He also took the Blue Blood program to four Final Fours — all of which came in his first six seasons there.
In his time with Kentucky, Calipari formulated the one-and-done era, sending countless players to the NBA, including 35 first-round selections.
Prior to his time in Lexington, Calipari led Memphis for nine seasons, taking the Tigers to two Elite Eights and reached the title game in 2008. He also took UMass to the Final Four in 1996 before spending time in the NBA with the New Jersey Nets.
For Kentucky, the Wildcats avoid paying a $33 million buyout, while Calipari gets a clean slate at an Arkansas program that made the Big Dance three straight seasons prior to 2024.
It now opens up one of the most intriguing head coaching jobs in all of sports with Kentucky being a storied program rich in recruiting and NIL ties.
He’s had top recruits for 20+ years. I’m not saying he isn’t a good coach, but he has been handed a lot of top talent to make his job much easier.
H2P!!!
He spoiled there fan base…I hope they hire Stallings.
Hah, that is funny Don!!
Hopefully this pushes Meleek Thomas a little more into Pitt’s favor
Don’t want to think of it but this puts Capel in “play”. Resurrecting Pitt mbb after the dumpster fire created by Scott Barnes, was no easy task. And now with two recent team members in line for a payday in the NBA, his number could be ringing.