GLENDALE, Ariz.– The John Calipari era at Kentucky is over after 15 years.
Calipari is leaving to take the head coaching job at Arkansas.
The details of his contract are five years at $7.5 million per year with incentives that could drive it past the $8.5 million he was making in the Blue
Grass. There are also promises of $6 million dollars in NFL money from John Tyson, a personal friend of Cal’s and the head of Tyson Foods.
It was probably time for a change. Calipari has coached Kentucky to one national championship and four Final Fours. His record at
Kentucky was 410-123 and he won 12 total SEC titles. He also created generational wealth for more than 30 former players who went to the NBA.
But the Big Blue nation had soured on Calipari the past years. Calipari suffered through an uncharacteristic 9-16 season in 2021, lost two first round games to
double digit seeds. 15th seed St. Peter’s in 2022 and 14th seed Oakland in 2024 while failing to get out of the first weekend in 2023.
The backlash after the Oakland loss was bitter and there were calls for his firing littered throughout the Twittersphere that weekend, in part because this young team had a Kentucky-born freshman star guard Sheppard.
AD Mitch Barnhart was never going to pull the trigger because the optics of a $33 million buyout in a welfare state would have looked bad.
But Calipari saved him the trouble when Arkansas broached the idea of him leaving for an SEC rival.
Calipari was not the first choice for the Arkansas job after Eric Musselman left to take the USC job. The school took some swings at Chris Beard of Ole Miss and Jerome Tang but both coached turned the job down. When Tyson drove the idea of approaching Calipari, the timing was right.
Calipari needed a fresh start and he will be going to a school with some basketball tradition. The Hogs got to the Final Four under Eddie Sutton in 1978 and won a national championship under Nolan Richardson in 1994 before advancing to the national championship game the following year.
Musselman took the Hogs to a pair of Elite Eights and a Sweet 16 in his five years in Fayetteville.
The idea of stealing Calipari away from mighty Kentucky is playing well in the state and he will undoubtedly be worshiped as soon as he arrives on campus by private plane.
Calipari should have no problem building this program into Top 20 status with his recruiting, especially if he can bring most of the six blue chip recruits he signed with him and perhaps poach some of the current players. The $6 million dollars in NIL money should help him to get rich overnight if he decides to enter the transfer portal for older, more experienced stars from other programs.
Calipari may have lost his fan base in Lexington, but he should sellout Bud Walton Arena on a regular basis.
As for Kentucky, the Cats will have to pick up the pieces.
How quickly it happens will depend on who they hire. The consensus name is Nate Oats from Alabama, but he has an$18 million buyout and he may like being the gold standard for SEC basketball in Tuscaloosa after his Tide advanced to their first Final Four ever this season.
There are a lot of wish lists and dream candidates. But Billy Donovan, Jay Wright, Brad Stevens, Scott Drew and Danny Hurley are not coming to Lexington. Barnhart may have to concentrate on TJ Otzelberger of Iona State and Mark Pope of BYU before it’s over.
Whoever emerges with the job will have to fill a roster with new players. Freshman forward Justin Edwards has already declared for the draft. Fifth-year All SEC guard Antonio Reeves should be drafted, and Sheppard and freshman Robbie Dillingham will both likely lottery picks if they declare. Fifth year senior Tre MItchell is out of eligibility. Freshman center Aaron Bradshaw has already entered the portal as has 6-7 sophomore Aduo Thiero. If freshman guard DJ Wagner feels he will be drafted, expect him to declare. If not, he could wind up with Calipari at Arkansas because of family ties and the Camden connection. That leaves two big men — 7-2 freshman Zvonimir Ivisic from Croatia and 7-0 sophomore Ugonna Onyenso– to decide their futures.
As for the six new blue-chip recruits, from here it looks like guard Travis Perry of Lyons County, Ky, us the only locks to stay.
