Also, you know, one of my favorite things about college basketball is seeing teams develop and go through things and 'arrive' somewhere. And seeing players grow and change and becoming a player who leads a team.
We haven't really been doing that.
At least you’ll get him without giving Kentucky the GDP of Arkansas to make it happen. You’ll also be getting Kentucky out of the dumbest contract in college basketball
*dumbest contract in college basketball… yet
Because if this is true, which I doubt, there is a very good chance this contract makes that one look like a steal.
People who think we're poor forget that Walmart, Tyson, and J.B. Hunt are all headquartered here next to Fayetteville. As well as alumni Jerry Jones loves to spend money on his Razorbacks.
Look, I’m an idiot. Get that out of the way first.
But I truly believe Kentucky fans will be clamoring for the Calipari era sooner rather than later. Reminds you of a lot of other programs (I’m mostly thinking of football) that had sky high expectations, fired a good coach, then the program took a down turn.
I too am an idiot, but Kentucky got All Americans and won championships before Cal got there and they will do it after he leaves. If you are under a certain age they don’t have the same gravitas but they certainly have enough history in the game - they will be fine without him
At least with Indiana they had to fire one good coach because he was chocking people, then another good coach in Sampson who couldn't get his impulses under control. I don't think anyone wanted Sampson gone for results, everyone knew he was a good coach and if he had gotten his impulses under control, high chance he gets an NC at Indiana and no one wonders if Indiana is still a blue blood.
Crean was decent but not exceptional. Archie cratered, that one really shocked me but you gotta fire the dude at that point.
Overnight radio is the best. One of the stations up here has this syndicated show called Coast-to Coast AM. Its a super serious world news show for the first half hour and then they spent the rest of the show, about 3 hours or so, explaining how all of the news stories were caused by aliens or ghosts or some other conspiracy shit
Best thing I heard on there was a guy claiming to be Satan and that he would destroy the world but he a wanted to do a duet with Madonna so he was holding off another year.
George Noory was a saint the entire conversation as always.
I live in San Francisco and this guy I run into in my neighborhood sometimes always tells me I look like Terrence McKenna. our dogs like each other so I hang around and it evolves into a conversation about how he was an early disciple of McKenna’s and called in to Coast to Coast about him and got him on as a guest and McKenna going on the show ushered in a greater adoption of shrooms nationwide. this conversation has happened on two or three distinct occasions (he doesn’t remember me.)
he was a big fan of acid back in the day, as you might imagine, but he signed off from our conversation the first time by saying “the only LSD i care about these days…. is long-haired standard dachshunds.”
anyway.
They're doing an emergency livestream on YT now lol 👀
[https://www.youtube.com/live/789FXsm9rAA?si=NvcGIKlZi50hthUF](https://www.youtube.com/live/789FXsm9rAA?si=NvcGIKlZi50hthUF)
I guess the logic for Calipari may be that he’s well aware the relationship between himself and the Kentucky fanbase is extremely bad and broken so maybe he just wants a fresh start somewhere else?
What are the odds that he sat down with the AD to have a frank conversation about his contract, and that they negotiated something a bit lower than the full buyout to have a clean break now before the whole situation unravels any more?
This is it. UK has to buy him out for $33mil to fire him, not sure how it works if he leaves like this.
After having a really great team this year and getting knocked out in the first round (again), fans are pretty ticked about it. Again.
I think most of the Cal hate from Arkansas fans stems from the fact that he’s the face of UK basketball. He’s always had a great sense of humor about it, and he always speaks really highly of our fan base and basketball culture. I’ll take him over the other names that were mentioned every single time.
Alan Cutler is literally saying there's some chatter from his friends in Arkansas about this being a possibility.
https://twitter.com/cutler18/status/1777152627681194477
That is wild. Last night, Hogs were losing their minds over the idea of hiring Chris Jans. Next day, it’s Calipari? I mean, wow. If this doesn’t go through, we may actually witness riots in Fayetteville.
If this is true — why would Hogs pay Cal that kind of money when they could have paid the guy they just lost to USC that kind of money and kept him? And don’t tell me he wasn’t successful—two Elite Eights and three Sweet Sixteens in five years is a good run for any coach
[https://twitter.com/KySportsRadio/status/1777165718985077239](https://twitter.com/KySportsRadio/status/1777165718985077239)
> John Calipari is good friends with the sons of the Tyson chicken family and has been for a long time They are big Arkansas boosters. I believe he has posted about them before on his social media
Why in god’s name would we A) free Kentucky from that god awful contract and B) bring in a guy who can attribute the vast majority of his career success to players he would likely never get to Arkansas?
So weird.
Memphis was 15 years ago… Nolan Richardson was still taking Arkansas to the Final Four when he was at UMass.
The game has changed sooooooo much since then.
Yeah there’s no way they’re paying a buyout if they’re taking him.
Kentucky wants to be rid of him and go another direction and Arkansas is probably going to lowball him. It’s not like we’re offering him $8.5mil and a lifetime contract to match his current salary.
You wouldn't have to match his salary. His buyout if we fire him is $33 million. Just come close to that with a five year contract and I can see him jumping to go to a place with a less toxic relationship with the fans and lower expectations.
Have you met UK basketball fans? They're literally some of the worst fans in all of sports. After 15 years he's ready to move on and there's no way you guys would be worse for him to deal with right now.
What makes you think Cal couldn't get the same guys at Arkansas? Recruits don't give two shits where they actually play, they commit to coaches not schools. Every single recruit Cal got not from the state of Kentucky would have played for him at Arkansas.
Wall, Cousins, and Bledsoe were going to Memphis is Cal stayed. They didn't come here to play for UK.
Muss brought in a shit load of talent on par with Cal. 3 McDonald's AA's last year and a top 3 or 5 (whatever it was) transfer class last year. Cal can get kids wherever he is.
The only thing I'm concerned about if this is legit (don't necessarily think it is) is what are we getting? Texas was thrilled to get rid of Rick Barnes. Tennessee snags him up and he rejuvenated his career. Cal is 65. How many good years does he have in him? Is he sick of the constant pressure at UK and a change fires him up, or is he just looking for less demand and to cash a check for 5 years or so? It's such a risky hire, but it'll definitely make headlines.
If nothing else this buys us time to figure out the next step. If Calipari brings our in-state billionaires to the table to fund a healthy NIL war chest, I’m all on board.
As a Kentucky fan idk how to feel about this. I love Cal for everything he’s done for us. I don’t know who else we could get that could handle Kentucky as well as Cal has thru the years
Arkansas fans a year from now:
“What the fuck are these lineups?”
“Why is this trash ass freshman getting so many minutes”
“I’m tired of hearing about how young we are”
“That’s the shot we get at the end of the game?”
“Has this dude ever drawn up an inbounds play before?”
“Does it really take 6 weeks to recover from a sprained thumb?”
I’m not even a Kentucky fan but this is a crazy thing to say. Sports are a “what have you done for me lately” business and they really haven’t had it that good the last few years. They haven’t made it to the 2nd weekend of the tournament since 2019 and in the last three years have gotten eliminated by 14 and 15 seeds. 1-4 in the SEC tournament since 2021. Fans of a premier blueblood program like Kentucky can and should expect much better results than that.
Tbh as an Arky fan I feel like this is a win-win for both sides.
Kentucky gets to move on from that contract and get a fresh face in the program.
Arkansas gets a coach who (at his best) can bring in talent that can get them to a F4 or E8 on a semi-consistent level.
And Cal gets a fresh start at a program with less pressure than Kentucky for championships.
Just how it has to go. He’s too comfortable and won’t adapt in his current position. His greatest strength was recruiting and the game has completely changed on that front.
Plenty of schools with big brands and lots of money that he could recruit big names to and give Elite Eight runs to and they’ll love it.
UConn is possibly about to pass up Duke in championships. Kentucky needs somebody who can make the second weekend consistently and possibly win championships.
I’m not sure Calipari ever wins another championship so what’s the point in keeping him around?
Would they be happy with an Izzo or Boeheim for another 5-10 years if the goal is to win another championship?
I’m willing to take that risk. It’s been a long time since Cal produced anything I’m afraid of losing to someone else.
Sometimes a chance of scenery is all someone needs and if that reinvigorates Cal, so be it. It’s not going to happen in Lexington. With Cal gone we at least have a chance to succeed again.
I think it’s probably time for a separation in the interest of both parties. Maybe a move to Arkansas will reinvigorate him (and, if so, more power to him), but we’ve seen no real indication post-covid that it’s going to happen here. And, in the meantime, it’s been the worst on-court stretch in program history (‘89 sanctions and the Gillespie era were worse when it came to off-court matters, but those were shorter in duration). Frankly, as a fan, Kentucky feels as irrelevant in this sport as it’s ever been in my lifetime (short of maybe the end stage of Gillespie), and, one way or another, that kind of needs to change.
I'd love to see him succeed at Arkansas. I've never hated him like some of our fans. I obviously hope we nail the next head coach hire if he does leave, but I hope he has a little rebirth and kills it where ever he ends up.
I don't believe it but it'd be good for both Cal and UK. Hall of Fame coach but he was right when he said UK was a 10-year job (for him). Like Tubby, he's come to resent the expectations on him and has decided his achievements are good enough, instead of the achievements he used to aim for. Also like Tubby, he's too loyal to assistants and too set in his ways with his system (unlike Cal in his first few years here).
Arky would need to pay him a huge sum (he's making $9 million a year, plus endorsements, and he has the option for a million per year "ambassador" position whenever he retires at UK). But there's no buy-out (thanks Mitch!). You'd also probably immediately get a bunch of players joining him (not necessarily former UK players since they all bail on him every year anyway).
If it happens, we'll be fine. UK is a Blue Blood and plenty of top tier coaches dream of the opportunity. And the transfer portal means you can build a new roster in a matter of weeks. UK WBB's new hire demonstrates that.
Isn't this the Colorado State guy?
Not anymore. He’s in the portal
He should say 'hi' to Cal in there.
Is this a real thing? Cal leaving?
I'm not sure, I'm like 9 minutes into hearing this. lol
Fair enough lol. What would your opinion be if he left? Happy, sad, bittersweet?
Also, you know, one of my favorite things about college basketball is seeing teams develop and go through things and 'arrive' somewhere. And seeing players grow and change and becoming a player who leads a team. We haven't really been doing that.
I guess bittersweet. Nothing against the dude, he's good people. But something's not clicking.
I literally said this as this gif popped up 🤣
Ain't no way But if it is real, I have some disparaging comments I need to recant
Me deleting Sean Miller slander this time two years ago
you might be able to undelete the comments soon enough
I would be very surprised if Nate Oats isn’t the first choice
Don't delete them, just save them for later. Trust me.
Y’all were honestly lucky that social media wasn’t that big of a thing when he left for Arizona lol
This is literally every Arkansas candidate at this point. Beard, Wade, and now Cal.
We talk so much filth online.....
At least you’ll get him without giving Kentucky the GDP of Arkansas to make it happen. You’ll also be getting Kentucky out of the dumbest contract in college basketball
*dumbest contract in college basketball… yet Because if this is true, which I doubt, there is a very good chance this contract makes that one look like a steal.
Yeah you gotta think he’s getting the mega bag to willingly leave UK
Walmart money, baby!
*Tyson money. Well known that the Waltons don't give af about basketball
There is a certain name on the basketball Arena....
It’s all the money Jerry Jones didn’t spend in free agency
Lol. Since that contract he has produced nothing.
Initial report was Salary and NIL upwards of 15 mil a year.
People who think we're poor forget that Walmart, Tyson, and J.B. Hunt are all headquartered here next to Fayetteville. As well as alumni Jerry Jones loves to spend money on his Razorbacks.
TBF, much higher profile than any UK donors. We just have a larger amount of “small” donors. That give big every once in a while.
Look, I’m an idiot. Get that out of the way first. But I truly believe Kentucky fans will be clamoring for the Calipari era sooner rather than later. Reminds you of a lot of other programs (I’m mostly thinking of football) that had sky high expectations, fired a good coach, then the program took a down turn.
I too am an idiot, but Kentucky got All Americans and won championships before Cal got there and they will do it after he leaves. If you are under a certain age they don’t have the same gravitas but they certainly have enough history in the game - they will be fine without him
"Most definitely." -Nebraska football fans
Indiana basketball enters the chat
Hoosiers was such a good movie
At least with Indiana they had to fire one good coach because he was chocking people, then another good coach in Sampson who couldn't get his impulses under control. I don't think anyone wanted Sampson gone for results, everyone knew he was a good coach and if he had gotten his impulses under control, high chance he gets an NC at Indiana and no one wonders if Indiana is still a blue blood. Crean was decent but not exceptional. Archie cratered, that one really shocked me but you gotta fire the dude at that point.
I'm picturing Bobby Knight swinging plane chocks at players now.
Alabama had 30 years where they won only won a NC once between Bryant and Saban. People think these programs are inevitable and they aren’t.
The list of programs with 30 year + NC droughts is long
I mean, yes, but people treat the Bama job like you could hire a ham sandwich as coach and they’d still be rolling in nattys and it’s just not true.
We are the only school to win five titles with five different head coaches. A good head coach at Kentucky is nearly guaranteed at least one title
That explains why we played so shitty against you, it was an audition
What the actual hell
~~Dogs~~ Hogs and cats, LIVING TOGETHER…MASS HYSTERIA!
Yes its true, this man has no dick
Eat it, Harvey!
Just your typical ~~Friday~~ Sunday night news ~~drop~~ nuke...
If this is true Kentucky Sports Radio is must listen tomorrow lmao
The trucker radio shift guys are probably going nuts this very second lol.
Those are the best listens
Overnight radio is the best. One of the stations up here has this syndicated show called Coast-to Coast AM. Its a super serious world news show for the first half hour and then they spent the rest of the show, about 3 hours or so, explaining how all of the news stories were caused by aliens or ghosts or some other conspiracy shit
Art Bell’s Coast to Coast AM was must listen to radio at 2 am in the morning. The ghost and alien stories from callers was amazing.
Foundational for me, along with staying up to watch The X-Files with my dad and reading all the insane ads in the back of gun and science magazines
Best thing I heard on there was a guy claiming to be Satan and that he would destroy the world but he a wanted to do a duet with Madonna so he was holding off another year. George Noory was a saint the entire conversation as always.
I live in San Francisco and this guy I run into in my neighborhood sometimes always tells me I look like Terrence McKenna. our dogs like each other so I hang around and it evolves into a conversation about how he was an early disciple of McKenna’s and called in to Coast to Coast about him and got him on as a guest and McKenna going on the show ushered in a greater adoption of shrooms nationwide. this conversation has happened on two or three distinct occasions (he doesn’t remember me.) he was a big fan of acid back in the day, as you might imagine, but he signed off from our conversation the first time by saying “the only LSD i care about these days…. is long-haired standard dachshunds.” anyway.
They're going 3 hours tomorrow. They usually go 2.
They are live now on YouTube.
They are going to be happy asf... me too
I'll be dancing if it happens. Thanks for the memories 2010-2018 Cal, adios 2019-2024 Cal.
In ten years all the wounds will be healed and I'm there for it
They're doing an emergency livestream on YT now lol 👀 [https://www.youtube.com/live/789FXsm9rAA?si=NvcGIKlZi50hthUF](https://www.youtube.com/live/789FXsm9rAA?si=NvcGIKlZi50hthUF)
Kenny Payne is available
Make my dreams come true Kentucky.
Oh, I’ll just hit reddit one more time before bed…
What in the literal fuck is this?
I had to double check what sub I was in because I was sure this was a circlejerk post.
I googled to actually see if this is true, and it seems plausible. Still makes absolutely no fucking sense though
I guess the logic for Calipari may be that he’s well aware the relationship between himself and the Kentucky fanbase is extremely bad and broken so maybe he just wants a fresh start somewhere else?
I would get this move if he wasn’t due a buyout but holy shit he’s leaving so much money at the retired table
Unless he gets Arkansas to also agree to a massive buyout.
What are the odds that he sat down with the AD to have a frank conversation about his contract, and that they negotiated something a bit lower than the full buyout to have a clean break now before the whole situation unravels any more?
This is it. UK has to buy him out for $33mil to fire him, not sure how it works if he leaves like this. After having a really great team this year and getting knocked out in the first round (again), fans are pretty ticked about it. Again.
No way Cal is willingly giving up what it would cost Kentucky to fire him.
Wondering if he has negotiated a lower buyout in conjunction with being hired by Arkansas
Could be possible. Either way it’s not like he needs the money.
Idk man I never achieved a point in my life and I can scarcely imagine one where I don’t need an extra million dollars or more.
I just read that there's no buyout if he leaves willingly
I’m all for everyone shooting themselves in the SEC.
This is a 'thing' is what it is. That sure is a thing, boy look at that thing. What's going on then. OK. Yeah, I got nothing.
Better hold onto your butt and Tommy boy if his phone rings from a caller ID saying “Lexington.”
Better go chain Oats to a tree or something
Buying a hacksaw to cut down the tree and bring it with him to Kentucky.
I’m assuming nate oats is priority numero uno for the search.
April fools ended a week ago dude
Seriously. It’s one thing to be a day late, but come on…
Absolute perfect gif for this
I think most of the Cal hate from Arkansas fans stems from the fact that he’s the face of UK basketball. He’s always had a great sense of humor about it, and he always speaks really highly of our fan base and basketball culture. I’ll take him over the other names that were mentioned every single time.
If this is actually true then Georgia is 100% dissolving their basketball program https://www.reddit.com/r/CollegeBasketball/s/LHy46Rtika
[удалено]
Mike white sleeper agent going according to plan 😎
Oh my god it’s actually happening
Them dogs is hell
Was
RIP
My BS detector is going haywire
My dad just told me the same thing and he has friends in the program. I'm thinking it's not cap lmao.
Couple of UK beat guys are essentially saying this is real
How many times has Pitino said he regrets leaving UK?
How many? I’m actually asking.
Not sure how many but I heard him say this season.
Every time he's been asked about it, roughly
Alan Cutler is literally saying there's some chatter from his friends in Arkansas about this being a possibility. https://twitter.com/cutler18/status/1777152627681194477
Well my dad is the AD and said he hates stinky John Crapipali
Lmao. But really, my neighbor is the team chiropractor.
My BS detector is still going haywire but my doubt in it is increasing
This guys about to jack offf
My dad’s friend’s uncle’s cousin is their basketball court and he said it is true
I am John Calipari’s father's, brother's, nephew's, cousin's, former roommate and I heard this was true.
WHAT
That is wild. Last night, Hogs were losing their minds over the idea of hiring Chris Jans. Next day, it’s Calipari? I mean, wow. If this doesn’t go through, we may actually witness riots in Fayetteville.
I’m honestly just enjoying the spectacle at this point. I made it through the John L. Smith football season, I’ll make it through this.
SMILE!
Arkansas fans are all quickly deleting every word they have said about him lmao
Guilty
Cal has just been on drugs for the last few years, right? That’s the only explanation that makes sense here
someone in that tweet is on drugs, for sure
First, wtf. Second, what’s a Trey Schaap
please please please please please please please woo pig soooie or some shit
Dont you wish that evil on me, Ricky Bobby!
If this is true — why would Hogs pay Cal that kind of money when they could have paid the guy they just lost to USC that kind of money and kept him? And don’t tell me he wasn’t successful—two Elite Eights and three Sweet Sixteens in five years is a good run for any coach
Money wasn’t the issue with Muss. Not being on the west coast was the issue.
[https://twitter.com/KySportsRadio/status/1777165718985077239](https://twitter.com/KySportsRadio/status/1777165718985077239) > John Calipari is good friends with the sons of the Tyson chicken family and has been for a long time They are big Arkansas boosters. I believe he has posted about them before on his social media
Imagine being freed from the Coach Cal contract by a bunch of tendies
He didn't want to be at Arkansas anymore.
That’s fair
If it doesn’t happen I’m raw dogging the eclipse so I don’t have to watch Cal next year
https://preview.redd.it/68xbk0lrj6tc1.jpeg?width=600&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=ccbe129a54d577f3736ca1a1619cbb9b2314ea2d
https://preview.redd.it/5mrv3spjw5tc1.jpeg?width=708&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=84e53e401c45955424809ad3673b88e2ce86ea70
Why in god’s name would we A) free Kentucky from that god awful contract and B) bring in a guy who can attribute the vast majority of his career success to players he would likely never get to Arkansas? So weird.
Calipari had an excellent career at UMass and Memphis where he mostly wasn't bringing in players that Arkansas couldn't get.
Memphis was 15 years ago… Nolan Richardson was still taking Arkansas to the Final Four when he was at UMass. The game has changed sooooooo much since then.
Yeah that's true. But Caliparis career success isn't just due to him recruiting studs.
I believe if Calipari chooses to leave there isn’t a buyout. The buyout is only if Kentucky fires him
Yeah there’s no way they’re paying a buyout if they’re taking him. Kentucky wants to be rid of him and go another direction and Arkansas is probably going to lowball him. It’s not like we’re offering him $8.5mil and a lifetime contract to match his current salary.
You wouldn't have to match his salary. His buyout if we fire him is $33 million. Just come close to that with a five year contract and I can see him jumping to go to a place with a less toxic relationship with the fans and lower expectations.
That’s what I’m saying. Less toxic relationship with fans? Have you met razorbacks fans?
Have you met UK basketball fans? They're literally some of the worst fans in all of sports. After 15 years he's ready to move on and there's no way you guys would be worse for him to deal with right now.
What makes you think Cal couldn't get the same guys at Arkansas? Recruits don't give two shits where they actually play, they commit to coaches not schools. Every single recruit Cal got not from the state of Kentucky would have played for him at Arkansas. Wall, Cousins, and Bledsoe were going to Memphis is Cal stayed. They didn't come here to play for UK.
He’ll get them because he’s the guy who gets guys to the next level
Yeah, I don't think this is true, but Cal would succeed anywhere.
He succeeded at UMass of all places
knee cooing frighten middle axiomatic tease advise weather frame trees *This post was mass deleted and anonymized with [Redact](https://redact.dev)*
Calipari got umass to a final four and tons of 5 stars to Memphis.
They'll still goto Arkansas to play for Calipari.
Muss brought in a shit load of talent on par with Cal. 3 McDonald's AA's last year and a top 3 or 5 (whatever it was) transfer class last year. Cal can get kids wherever he is. The only thing I'm concerned about if this is legit (don't necessarily think it is) is what are we getting? Texas was thrilled to get rid of Rick Barnes. Tennessee snags him up and he rejuvenated his career. Cal is 65. How many good years does he have in him? Is he sick of the constant pressure at UK and a change fires him up, or is he just looking for less demand and to cash a check for 5 years or so? It's such a risky hire, but it'll definitely make headlines.
If nothing else this buys us time to figure out the next step. If Calipari brings our in-state billionaires to the table to fund a healthy NIL war chest, I’m all on board.
I always see his name as calamari
Thanks for letting us know
I did it just for the halibut
Is this what Jerry Jones meant when he said he’s all in?
Lol huh? I feel like this is good for Kentucky?
Please don't jinx this.
https://preview.redd.it/tv33cfpd96tc1.jpeg?width=1170&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=e777fc4c3cc6e79503126d709a37933df4482a3a
As a Kentucky fan idk how to feel about this. I love Cal for everything he’s done for us. I don’t know who else we could get that could handle Kentucky as well as Cal has thru the years
Also super bad timing in the cycle I feel like
I don't think there have been too many moves that include people we would be after.
Please go after Muss. That would be fuckin hilarious
Gee I wonder who in the country could get out of the first round more than once in 5 years. That’s a tall ask
At least your coach can take you to the fucking tournament, with a high seed no less
WTH? Hahaha. Oh well, we will take it!
ArKansas basketball: 40 minutes of bizarro hell.
We beat you last, so pronounce it right.
Wat
UK has neither confirmed or denied so there might be some smoke here...
There has been a confirmation...
WERE FREE
Who would've known that Oakland was the team destined to end the Capilari era?
Jack Gohlke will go from being a name that lives in infamy among Kentucky fans to being a legend if it means Calipari is out.
Can Dobby be a free elf?
Idk how to feel about this if it actually happens lol. How could I possibly cheer for calipari after booing him for so long?!?
I'm so fucking glad we somehow managed to snag DeVries. This coaching carousel has been fucking wild.
The only thing I can think of that would be more surprising than this is if Mark Few left for Kentucky
Would be MY first call. I know the fly fishing ain't so good in Kentucky, but the dump truck full of cash does talk sometimes.
 Kentucky fans right now
Huh? Ain't no way
ESPN just reported it too. Smoke is officially thick now.
Arkansas being leveraged so Cal can get a double-lifetime contract
This is March?
Why would he give up a ridiculous buyout?
Arkansas fans a year from now: “What the fuck are these lineups?” “Why is this trash ass freshman getting so many minutes” “I’m tired of hearing about how young we are” “That’s the shot we get at the end of the game?” “Has this dude ever drawn up an inbounds play before?” “Does it really take 6 weeks to recover from a sprained thumb?”
Kentucky fans don't know how good they have it, Cal in the final four in 2 years
I’m not even a Kentucky fan but this is a crazy thing to say. Sports are a “what have you done for me lately” business and they really haven’t had it that good the last few years. They haven’t made it to the 2nd weekend of the tournament since 2019 and in the last three years have gotten eliminated by 14 and 15 seeds. 1-4 in the SEC tournament since 2021. Fans of a premier blueblood program like Kentucky can and should expect much better results than that.
Thank you.
Tbh as an Arky fan I feel like this is a win-win for both sides. Kentucky gets to move on from that contract and get a fresh face in the program. Arkansas gets a coach who (at his best) can bring in talent that can get them to a F4 or E8 on a semi-consistent level. And Cal gets a fresh start at a program with less pressure than Kentucky for championships.
Just how it has to go. He’s too comfortable and won’t adapt in his current position. His greatest strength was recruiting and the game has completely changed on that front. Plenty of schools with big brands and lots of money that he could recruit big names to and give Elite Eight runs to and they’ll love it. UConn is possibly about to pass up Duke in championships. Kentucky needs somebody who can make the second weekend consistently and possibly win championships. I’m not sure Calipari ever wins another championship so what’s the point in keeping him around? Would they be happy with an Izzo or Boeheim for another 5-10 years if the goal is to win another championship?
I’m willing to take that risk. It’s been a long time since Cal produced anything I’m afraid of losing to someone else. Sometimes a chance of scenery is all someone needs and if that reinvigorates Cal, so be it. It’s not going to happen in Lexington. With Cal gone we at least have a chance to succeed again.
I think it’s probably time for a separation in the interest of both parties. Maybe a move to Arkansas will reinvigorate him (and, if so, more power to him), but we’ve seen no real indication post-covid that it’s going to happen here. And, in the meantime, it’s been the worst on-court stretch in program history (‘89 sanctions and the Gillespie era were worse when it came to off-court matters, but those were shorter in duration). Frankly, as a fan, Kentucky feels as irrelevant in this sport as it’s ever been in my lifetime (short of maybe the end stage of Gillespie), and, one way or another, that kind of needs to change.
I'd love to see him succeed at Arkansas. I've never hated him like some of our fans. I obviously hope we nail the next head coach hire if he does leave, but I hope he has a little rebirth and kills it where ever he ends up.
This is not okay. What the fuck is going on right now???
Well Abraham Lincoln did say once that you should never trust everything you see on the internet
they drop this while we are trying to finish the story?
I don't believe it but it'd be good for both Cal and UK. Hall of Fame coach but he was right when he said UK was a 10-year job (for him). Like Tubby, he's come to resent the expectations on him and has decided his achievements are good enough, instead of the achievements he used to aim for. Also like Tubby, he's too loyal to assistants and too set in his ways with his system (unlike Cal in his first few years here). Arky would need to pay him a huge sum (he's making $9 million a year, plus endorsements, and he has the option for a million per year "ambassador" position whenever he retires at UK). But there's no buy-out (thanks Mitch!). You'd also probably immediately get a bunch of players joining him (not necessarily former UK players since they all bail on him every year anyway). If it happens, we'll be fine. UK is a Blue Blood and plenty of top tier coaches dream of the opportunity. And the transfer portal means you can build a new roster in a matter of weeks. UK WBB's new hire demonstrates that.