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Calipari Is Excited About Leading Arkansas on 'Adventure'

Veteran Hall of Fame coach wants to have fun in first season with Hogs but marvels at league's strength

Bob Stephens

Arkansas Razorbacks coach John Calipari at press conference in Pine Bluff after Road Tour practice at the Pine Bluff Convention Center.
Arkansas Razorbacks coach John Calipari at press conference in Pine Bluff after Road Tour practice at the Pine Bluff Convention Center. / Jacob Davis-Hogs on SI Images
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Ready for an adventure, basketball fans? That's the word first-year Arkansas coach John Calipari used twice in the first couple minutes of his appearance at SEC Media Days.

The Razorbacks coach was the biggest of the big shots -- or at least in the top two or so -- at the last 17 preseason get-togethers hosted by the Southeastern Conference. That really hasn't changed, although the league has and the profile of its coaches.

But Cal is still the one they all want to talk with. In part, that's because he's the only Hall of Famer among the SEC's bench bosses. In large part, it's because he's at Arkansas.

Coach John Calipari is backed by Razorback red and is wearing Arkansas' beloved Hog on his pullover for the first time at SEC Media Days, after appearing at the preseason event the previous 15 years in Kentucky blue.

For the last 17 years, he was Kentucky's coach. Now, Big Blue is the enemy. Well, at least they're the competition, the archrival, the team Arkansas fans want to beat more than any other.

This year, for certain, that same sentiment will be shared by Kentucky's rabid fan base. They adored Coach Cal when he won the 2012 national championship.

It was the eighth title in school history, the first four won by the legendary Adolph Rupp back in Kentucky's heyday (1948, '49, '51, '58). Winning one each were Joe B. Hall (1978, when UK beat Arkansas' Triplets in the Final Four semis), Rick Pitino (1996), Tubby Smith (1998) and Cal.

But the Commonwealth that had its genesis in Dan'l Boone finding his way from North Carolina through the Cumberland Gap into an unknown wilderness and creating a settlement called Boonesborough about 20 miles southeast of Lexington and the UK campus is hopping mad at Calipari.

Kentucky forward Anthony Davis pulls down a rebound against Kansas forward Thomas Robinson
Kentucky Wildcats forward Anthony Davis (23) pulls down a rebound against Kansas Jayhawks forward Thomas Robinson during the second half in the finals of the 2012 NCAA men's basketball Final Four at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome. / Bob Donnan-Imagn Images

Not mad because he left. Some Kentucky fans wanted to move on from Calipari because he hadn't won a title in more than a decade, and because the 'Cats were losing in the early rounds of recent NCAAs.

They surely haven't forgiven him, however, for jumping ship of his own volition to an SEC rival school. Now, just as surely, they know in their hearts that he'll elevate the Hogs to another level.

But, it'll take a long minute or three, just like it did at Kentucky. Cal didn't win that national championship at Kentucky ... for Kentucky ... for his players ... until his third season at the school.

The Wildcats lost in the Final Four in 2011, his second season there, but beat Kansas 67-59 in 2012, led by freshman big man Anthony Davis, who was Final Four MVP despite scoring just six points but with16 rebounds, 6 blocks, 5 assists and 3 steals.

Freshman phenom Anthony Davis showed off his 6-11 height and hops while beating Louisville 71-64 in the Final Four semifinal game in New Orleans in 2012. Davis dominated with 18 points, 16 rebounds and 5 blocks. He was regular season National Player of the Year and Final Four MVP while leading the Wildcats to a 38-2 record.

In 15 seasons at Kentucky, Cal's teams won six SEC regular-season titles and six tournament championships. Can he achieve that at Arkansas? Yes, but it'll be tougher now because the league is larger, and the teams are better.

"Let me just start by telling you," Cal said to the assembled media in Birmingham on Tuesday, "this is an adventure. My wife and I are excited about it. Going to be some work. Going to be stuff we're going to have to do. But I'm excited ... got a good group."

Razorbacks coach John Calipari talks with the media during SEC Media Days
Arkansas Razorbacks coach John Calipari talks with the media during SEC Media Days at Grand Bohemian Hotel. / Vasha Hunt-Imagn Images

Doesn't mean he wants Hog fans to get too excited too early, though. He's said that since the day he was hired on a festive night at Walton Arena.

He was asked about leaving Kentucky but took the fifth — folks from the home of bourbon should understand taking a fifth — and explained he declined to answer because he addressed his decision to take the Arkansas job in detail months ago and wants to move forward.

Calipari was joined by Razorbacks Adou Thiero, a junior forward, and senior guard Nelly Davis to talk with Paul Finebaum on the SEC Network set at Media Days in Birmingham, Alabama.

"What I want to do is talk about the SEC," Calipari said. "This league has gotten ridiculously hard ... nine teams in the top 25 and another team not far off."

That's a far cry from how the SEC was regarded in 2008 when Cal masterfully coached Memphis and Derrick Rose, who became the first pick in the NBA draft, to the season's final game. The matchup between a pair of No. 1 seeds went in Kansas' favor as Memphis' dream died in heartbreaking fashion.

The 2008 Memphis team featured star guard Derrick Rose, coached by a younger John Calipari. The Tigers were 38-2 during that season, 16-0 in Conference USA.

Memphis led by nine with two minutes left but Mario Chalmers — sorry for the bad memory, coach — buried a 3-pointer to force overtime.

Kansas controlled the final five minutes and won 75-68 as Chalmers scored a career-high 34 points while making 10 of 13 from 3-point land.

Mario Chalmer's dramatic 3-point shot over Derrick Rose with two seconds left sent the national championship game to overtime while etching his name in Jayhawk lore and breaking Memphis hearts.

Fast forward 16 years and the SEC has 16 teams, four more than it did back then. As Cal noted, the quality of hoops has increased also.

Nine SEC schools have made at least one appearance in the Sweet 16 in the last six seasons. The SEC's eight NCAA Tournament berths in 2024 tied its previous best set in 2018 and 2023.

"I can remember being in this league, we got two or three teams in the NCAA Tournament," Calipari said. "Now all of a sudden it looks like it's going to be 10 or 11 teams in the NCAA Tournament. Every game we play on the road, going to be ridiculous.

"Our home sites in this league, ridiculous. Facilities, the investment in coaches, you've got coaches and players that all are at the top of their game."

The Hogs should be about as good as any team in the league. Ranked No. 16, they're the fifth-highest among SEC schools in the AP Top 25. Alabama is the only Top 10 team, at No. 2.

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Bob Stephens
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