John Calipari ‘Rejuvenated’ and ‘Happy’ With New Job at Arkansas

New Arkansas Razorbacks basketball head coach John Calipari holds his first news conference after his introduction at Bud Walton Arena in Fayetteville, Ark., on April 10, 2024. (Wesley Hitt/Getty Images)

John Calipari has found a new basketball life at the University of Arkansas.

After 15 years in Kentucky, which has one of the most storied programs in college basketball, Mr. Calipari was looking for a change and is not looking back. He does not regret the move to another SEC school.

“I’m rejuvenated, I’m happy,” Mr. Calipari told The Epoch Times at the Baltimore Catholic League Hall of Fame banquet, where he was the keynote speaker, on June 20 in Ellicott City, Maryland. “We are in the same league. We have unbelievable facilities and financial support in that little corner of the woods. And I was able to hire my son. My wife is happy, which means I’m happy.”

Kentucky hired Mr. Calipari in 2009, and two seasons later, he led the Wildcats to the national title. Mr. Calipari also guided Kentucky to four Final Fours in his first six seasons and to the Elite Eight in 2017 and 2019. Overall, Calipari went 410–123 with the Wildcats.

Now, he is looking to build that same success at Arkansas, which has advanced to the NCAA Final Four six times in 1941, 1945, 1978, 1990, 1994, and 1995.

The Razorbacks hired Mr. Calipari after Eric Musselman left the program in April to become USC’s coach. Mr. Musselman led the Razorbacks to a 111–59 record and three NCAA Tournament appearances.

Last year, however, Arkansas went 16–17—its worst mark since the 2009–10 season.

“In the ‘90s, how good were they?” Mr. Calipari said. “They went to two Final Fours and could have won back-to-back national championships.”

Mr. Calipari is looking to make an immediate impact at the helm.

“I have everything I need. I had 15 great years at Kentucky ... I touched a lot of lives and a lot of families. I hope Mark Pope has 15 good years. All I’m focused on is how many families I can help now. Let me help 20, 30, 40 families, and then it will be the next guy’s chance,” he said.

Mr. Calipari has already had a storied career and is a member of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.

He has coached six teams to the Final Four and led one to a national championship during his 32-year college coaching career.

Mr. Calipari took UMass to the Final Four in 1996 and guided Memphis to the National Championship game in 2008. He is the only the second coach in NCAA history to lead three different schools to the Final Four. He earned more than 850 on-court victories, 23 NCAA Tournament appearances, six Final Fours, and numerous National Coach of the Year honors.

A 10-year stretch at Kentucky from 2009 through 2019 was among the best decades in NCAA history when the Wildcats advanced to four Final Fours, a 2012 championship and 2014 national runner-up, seven Elite 8 berths, and nine trips to the Sweet 16.

Mr. Calipari received the John R. Wooden Award Legends of Coaching honor in 2024.

He is also a master recruiter and, through his tenaciousness in attracting some of the nation’s top high school players, built UMass, Memphis, and Kentucky into national contenders.

However, the new rules in college sports have created a more challenging landscape, especially for the smaller programs.

“The NIL and the transfer portal, I said when I was in Kentucky and I'll say it Arkansas, we can deal with it,” Mr. Calipari said. “But if I care about the sport, if I were at UMass or I was at Rhide Island, every player is a free agent.

“Now, all of a sudden, you go and say, ‘Not only are they a free agent, do I have any money to pay kids?’ Now, on the other side, for me, it’s becoming a little more transactional. I’m saying, ‘Are you looking at the big picture?’ ... If it’s $100,000, or someone can say, ‘I’ll give you [$50,000] more,' and you go, then I wish you luck.”

Blue-chip recruits flock to Mr. Calipari because he has a track record of getting players into the NBA. Of the 58 players who were drafted under his leadership, four of them have been No. 1 overall picks: Derrick Rose (2008), John Wall (2010), Anthony Davis (2012), and Karl Anthony-Towns (2015).

Mr. Calipari also has a total of 41 first-round picks.

In 2010, he had a record five first-round draft picks. Six of his players were selected in the 2012 draft, the most in the two-round draft era. In 2015, Mr. Calipari had six picks again, including a record-tying four lottery selections.

In addition, nine of his players have been named All-NBA, three have been named NBA Rookie of the Year, and 18 players have made the NBA All-Rookie teams.

Now, Mr. Calipari has to change how he shapes his roster because of the new rules and his goal to keep producing top-notch players. He’s prepared to make those changes at Arkansas.

“I wish we had five years to play four, which was the old days,” Mr. Calipari said. “When you have five years to play four, you don’t have 25- or 26-year-olds. My team was 19 years old last year, on average. We had seven freshmen. You’re going to hit a game where they [play like] freshmen. Now, I’m saying three or four freshmen, that’s it.”