John Calipari Talks Arkansas Job, 'Excited' About Building Program amid Kentucky Exit
Scott Polacek@@ScottPolacek
Featured Columnist IVApril 11, 2024
Let the John Calipari era at Arkansas begin.
The Razorbacks' new men's basketball head coach was introduced to his new school during a Wednesday press conference, and he didn't hold back. Notably, he stressed that he accepted the position to build a team with "a dream and a burning desire to compete for championships."
Calipari also said he became "excited" thinking about building the program into a consistent winner:
Arkansas fans are surely excited as well.
While Calipari's tenure at Kentucky grew somewhat stale of late with stunning first-round NCAA tournament losses to 15th-seeded Saint Peter's in 2022 and 14th-seeded Oakland in 2024, he still has quite the history of winning.
He won a national championship, six SEC regular-season titles and six SEC tournament championships while reaching four Final Fours during his time with the Wildcats. Prior to that, he won seven Conference USA regular-season titles and four conference tournament crowns at Memphis, as well as five Atlantic 10 regular-season titles and five conference tournament championships at UMass.
Calipari also reached a Final Four at UMass and Memphis, underscoring his ability to win at programs that aren't on the same level as Kentucky.
Arkansas isn't on the same level as Kentucky historically, but Calipari said it is still an elite job:
The Razorbacks position was open because Eric Musselman left for USC this offseason. While he didn't win any SEC titles during his five seasons, he did guide the team to back-to-back Elite Eights in 2021 and 2022 and a Sweet 16 in 2023.
Arkansas has enjoyed some recent success, but Calipari said he still has plenty of work to do before the focus shifts to winning on the court.
"I gotta put a roster together," he said. "You're laughing—it's not funny. I just met with the team. There were three guys in there, and they were in the portal. So, we got work to do."
He will focus on culture as he is putting that roster together:
Arkansas will now be firmly under the spotlight at the start of the 2024-25 season, as Calipari is one of the biggest names in the sport and just switched schools inside the SEC. Kentucky fans surely won't be so welcoming when the Razorbacks face the Wildcats on the road, but fans of his new program embraced him during Wednesday's press conference.
