The Kentucky Wildcats have been coached by longtime head coach John Calipari for the last 15 seasons. But on Sunday, that all changed in an absolutely shocking turn of events.
Speculation began to emerge on Sunday night, with reports that the Arkansas Razorbacks were “eyeing” Calipari as a candidate to potentially fill their head coaching vacancy after Eric Musselman’s recent departure.
Things progressed quite quickly throughout the night. And ultimately, ESPN’s Pete Thamel reported that Calipari has agreed to a five-year deal to become the new Razorbacks head coach.
It’s certainly a surprising turn of events, particularly because he will now be coaching against Kentucky in the SEC.
Much has been made about Calipari’s recent failures in the NCAA Tournament. But there are some pretty obvious positives about having a coach like Calipari at the helm, especially his ability to recruit at an extremely high level.
Naturally, fans had plenty to say about the move, taking to social media to offer their opinion on Calipari’s departure.
I’M EATING TYSON CHICKEN EVERY MEAL FOR THE NEXT SIXTH MONTHS
JOHN CALIPARI WELCOME TO FAYETTEVILLE pic.twitter.com/qiSx7LF5uv
— Will Whitson (@will_whitson2) April 8, 2024
As for the possible reasoning for Calipari’s departure, Fox college basketball analyst John Fanta hinted at Calipari reportedly having “bad feelings” about his current situation at Kentucky, feeling like he had a “lack of support”.
This could actually be a move that works out quite well for both sides. For Kentucky, it offers the program a chance at a fresh start, as it did seem like were starting to grow stale with Calipari as the coach.
For Arkansas, it could be a chance to bring in truly top-notch talent, something that Calipari has always been excellent at doing. And with more support, it certainly seems like this could be a pretty seamless fit.
Only time will tell how this works out for both programs. But regardless, this is certainly a big turning point for the college basketball landscape as a whole.
About Reice Shipley
Reice Shipley is a staff writer for Comeback Media that graduated from Ithaca College with a degree in Sports Media. He previously worked at Barrett Sports Media and is a fan of all things Syracuse sports.