A sold-out crowd of Kentucky fans greeted Arkansas coach John Calipari with boos Saturday when his name was announced before his current team faced his fomer team. When the game was over, there weren’t near as many UK fans at Rupp Arena thanks to the Razorbacks’ 89-79 upset of the No. 12 Wildcats.
“I looked up a couple times and I thought we were losing because I kept looking at Kentucky instead of Arkansas,” Calipari said. “I made it clear it was a privilege and an honor to coach here. We had 15 unbelievable years of a great run and support.”
But his team never trailed in the second half as the Razorbacks shot 55.2% from the floor on their way to a much-needed victory.
Calipari’s entrance marked a surreal and emotionally charged moment as he stepped onto the floor that he once patrolled for 15 seasons while leading the Wildcats to a 410-123 record. But Calipari put the moment in perspective afterward.
“We kind of got them today,” he said. “Just move on next game. This is one game, and if anybody takes it more than that, you’re crazy. It’s one game and if I take it any differently with my team then I’m crazy. But we just needed to win, folks.”
UK fans also loudly booed three former Wildcat players — Adou Thiero, D.J. Wagner and Zvonimir Ivišić — who transferred to play for the Razorbacks in Calipari’s first season after leaving Kentucky. The trio combined for 52 points in the building where they once played.
Just 10 months ago, Calipari was preparing to soldier on at UK after a stunning loss to No. 14 seed Oakland ended an otherwise successful Kentucky season in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. Wildcats athletic director Mitch Barnhart even announced publicly that Calipari would be back.
But amidst vocal negativity from UK fans about the direction of the program under his direction, Calipari kept his options open.
Calipari had a preexisting friendship with Arkansas mega-booster John Tyson and met with Arkansas athletic director Hunter Yurachek during the Final Four. News broke the day before the national championship game that Calipari would, in fact, be leaving to lead the Razorbacks.
Amid his move to to an in-conference foe, Calipari expected to be booed upon returning to Kentucky as the coach of an opposing team
“But that’s all part of it,” he said this week. “Shoot, you get booed. I’ve done this so long, I’ve got bazooka holes in my body. So when you shoot arrows, it doesn’t even hit skin. It just goes through one of those bazooka holes. But it’ll be interesting.”
Calipari coached UK to the 2012 national title and an appearance in the 2014 national title game. The Wildcats also reached the Final Four in 2011 and 2015. But after an Elite Eight appearance in 2019, UK never again advanced past the first weekend of the Big Dance under Calipari’s direction.
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