John Calipari’s new chapter in Arkansas is proving to be less glamorous than one might expect for a Hall of Fame basketball coach. Sports journalist Dennis Dodd traveled to Fayetteville to meet with Calipari and discuss his decision to leave Kentucky, where he spent 15 years at the helm, to start fresh with the Arkansas Razorbacks. Despite the stories about his meetings with Arkansas athletic director Hunter Yurachek and billionaire booster John Tyson, the reality of his new life is a far cry from the comforts of his previous gig.
Dodd paints a vivid picture of Calipari’s transition, beginning with his “sterile” office at Arkansas’ practice facility, which the coach himself compared to a dentist’s office. It’s a blank slate for now, but things are likely to change soon. For the time being, Calipari is living with his son, Brad, in a downtown Fayetteville condo. It’s close enough to the entertainment district that he has to wear earplugs to get any sleep. According to Calipari, his wife, Ellen, has Brad checking in on him every 30 minutes to make sure he’s okay.
Despite the less-than-ideal living arrangements, Calipari seems to be taking his new circumstances in stride. He even had a dig at those in the Kentucky fanbase who were ready for him to move on. “I think some people were happy,” he said of his departure from Kentucky. “They were like, ‘We’ve had this guy 15 years and we’ve only won 500 games.’ [Actually 410.] ‘We only won one national title, four Final Fours, and eight Elite Eights? What’s going on here?'”
His sarcasm can’t hide the fact that the end of his tenure at Kentucky was rough. The Wildcats’ loss to Oakland in the NCAA Tournament still stings, as he described it: “The way it ended … I’ll just say, sucks.” Calipari’s lawyer and John Tyson shared the details of their meeting in Phoenix, where they quickly worked out his new contract. So far, two of Calipari’s former Kentucky players, Adou Thiero and Zvonimir Ivisic, have followed him to Arkansas, along with three freshmen who were committed to the Wildcats: Boogie Fland, Billy Richmond, and Karter Knox. DJ Wagner is also set to visit Arkansas this weekend.
Reflecting on his decision to move to Arkansas, Calipari likened it to relocating a major corporate headquarters from New York to a different part of the country. “I made the analogy, this is like you have a worldwide company, and it’s in New York, and you’re being encouraged by another area,” he said to CBS Sports. “So you move the headquarters.”
While Calipari might not have joined in on the traditional “calling the hogs” at his introductory press conference, Dodd notes that he’s likely to do so soon—and it will be a “major event.” This could be his way of warming up to the new environment and embracing the Arkansas culture.
For more on this story, check out the full piece by Dennis Dodd on CBS Sports.
