Arkansas head coach John Calipari on return to Rupp, win over Kentucky
Arkansas head coach John Calipari on return to Rupp, win over Kentucky
John Calipari won his homecoming to Rupp Arena on Saturday with his newly led Arkansas Razorbacks, defeating No. 12 Kentucky 89-79.
It was a homecoming like no other in men’s college basketball, or college sports for that matter: Calipari helped the historically prominent Wildcats program return to national dominance, while being the face of the program as a whole.
The Basketball Hall of Fame coach was greeted with boos as he walked onto the floor by Kentucky fans. But the boos were quickly quieted by the Razorbacks, who led from start to finish, had a 12-2 run to open the second half and shot an efficient 52% on 3-point attempts. ESPN cameras showed Kentucky fans leaving for the arena with over two minutes still to go in the second half.
The win for Arkansas was just its second in SEC play, while the loss handed Kentucky its third conference loss in its last four games.
Following the game, Calipari spoke on the emotion of his return to Rupp Arena, as well as his team’s win over the Wildcats. Here’s everything from Calipari’s postgame news conference:
John Calipari on winning at Rupp Arena with Arkansas
Calipari mentioned there were times throughout the game on Saturday that he thought his team was losing when he looked up at the scoreboard, as he defaulted to looking at Kentucky on the scoreboard.
“It’s hard to win in here. I got to be honest with you and Adou (Thiero) said he did the same thing, I looked up a couple of times and I thought we were losing because I kept looking at Kentucky instead of Arkansas,” Calipari said.
“I told him that I did that and Adou said, ‘Coach I did the same thing.’ It’s 15 years here.”
Across his 15 seasons in Lexington, Calipari posted an overall record of 410-123 (76.9 winning percentage) and a 198-65 record (75.2%) in SEC play with the Wildcats. He led them to 12 NCAA Tournament berths, four Final Fours and a national championship in 2012.
And though it was a business trip for Calipari, it was still a trip back home, as he said he was able to visit with some friends on Saturday morning who weren’t able to make it to the game.
John Calipari on players’ return to Kentucky
Saturday’s contest wasn’t just a homecoming for Calipari. It was also one for Thiero, D.J. Wagner and Kareem Watkins, who all followed Calipari to Arkansas by way of the transfer portal.
On Thursday before leaving Fayetteville for Lexington, Calipari called the three former Wildcats into his office and checked in on their emotions before returning to Rupp arena.
“I called them in together and I said, ‘Are you guys OK going back here? Are you going to be OK?’ And they said, ‘We’re fine coach. We are worried about you,'” Calipari said. “That’s the kind of team I have and that’s the kind of players they are.
“They were worried about me but I said, ‘I’m fine.’ They were good and they played well today. All three played well.”
What John Calipari said after Arkansas win vs. Kentucky
Here’s what Calipari said asked if he felt any sort of emotion — relief, joy or a mixture of a few things — after winning in his return to Rupp Arena.
“We needed to win a game,” Calipari said. “It didn’t matter who it was against.”
Arkansas entered Saturday’s losing six of its first seven games in SEC play, with its lone conference win coming on Jan. 22, when the Razorbacks came back from a 15-point deficit to beat Georgia. But after he made his point across that the Razorbacks needed to get back in the win column, Calipari did offer another brief reflection of being back in a place where he won a national championship.
“I made it clear: It was a privilege and an honor to coach here. We had 15 unbelievable years, a great run,” Calipari said. “The fans supported us. The families that entrusted us with their sons (supported us). I got 190 texts by the time the game ended and I’m guessing a bunch of them are former players.
“Not that they’re ever going to root against Kentucky, they went to school here. But they also have a relationship with me. But the only emotion I had was, we got to win the game.”
Arkansas (13-8, 2-6 in SEC) concludes its two-game road trip on Wednesday when it travels to Texas. The Razorbacks and Longhorns are slated for a 9 p.m. ET tipoff inside the Moody Center in Austin, Texas.