College basketball coach John Calipari is leaving the Kentucky Wildcats to become the next coach at the University of Arkansas. Calipari will join the Razorbacks on a five-year deal as he replaces head coach Eric Musselman. Calipri’s last game with the Wildcats was an 80-76 loss to No. 14 seed Oakland University in the first round of the NCAA tournament.

The longtime Kentucky coach led the Wildcats from 2009-2024, finishing with a 198-65 overall record, six SEC championships, eight Sweet Sixteen appearances, four Final Fours in five years and an NCAA national championship in 2012. He won SEC Coach of the Year honors four times with Kentucky and was named the AP College Coach of the Year in 2015.

Calipari’s award-winning year, 2015, was the last time his team saw significant success in the postseason. Since then, the team has missed the Final Four every year, a non-common occurrence for a team with the fourth most appearances and the second most national championships. In the 2020-21 season, the Wildcats finished with a 9-16 record to finish eighth in the SEC. Though it was a shortened season, it was the school’s first year without double-digit wins in 94 years and the most losses in its 115-year history.

In the following three years, Calpari lead Kentucky to a combined 71-30 record. But the team had limited success in the NCAA tournament, as in 2022, they famously lost in the first round to St. Peter’s, in 2023 in the second round to Kansas State, and in the first round of the most recent tournament to Oakland. Calipari reportedly signed a “lifetime” extension with the University in 2019. Still, after not making it out of the second round for the fourth straight year, the two parties agreed to split.

Along with his team’s poor performances in the past few years, Calipari’s arrival in Arkansas comes after a chain reaction to the college coaching carousel. SMU fired head coach Rob Lanier, which led to the hiring of USC’s Andy Enfield to fill the position. In Los Angeles, the Trojans hired then-Arkansas head coach Musselman, leading to the open spot in Fayetteville.

The Razorbacks reportedly went after Ole Miss head coach Chris Beard and Kansas State’s Jerome Tang to fill the position, but both declined. Calipari’s Hall of Fame coach moves in-conference, looking for a fresh start. Arkansas finished this past season 12th in the SEC with a 16-17 overall record, missing out on the NCAA tournament after making the Elite Eight the previous two years. It was only Musselman’s fourth year with the team but their first losing season in 15 years.

Though the team struggled near the end of his tenure in Lexington, Calipari has a track record of pushing out NBA-level talent. In his time with Kentucky, Calipari coached current professional stars Anthony Davis, Devin Booker, De’Aaron Fox, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Karl-Anthony Towns, Bam Adebayo, Jamal Murray and countless others. Calipari has sent 47 players to the NBA, more than any other school in his 15 years with the team.

With Kentucky being a blue-blood team in college basketball, it was easy to get recruits to commit. Still, Calipari elevated so many of his players to reach the professional ranks and dominate them. Discussions are constantly had about the best all-time college basketball program or lineup by a given school, and the names Calipari has coached could match up with any school from any era.

Despite staying in the SEC, Calipari’s move to Arkansas will be a significant change after coaching Kentucky for the past 15 years. They have yet to hire a new head coach, but potential targets are Baylor’s Scott Drew, Arizona’s Tommy Lloyd, Auburn’s Bruce Pearl and even Alabama’s Nate Oates. Whatever happens, it will be a fresh start for the Wildcats and the beginning of the ‘Coach Cal’ era in Fayetteville.

On Thursday, 19-year-old Terrence Clarke, a former Kentucky guard died following a brutal car crash.

Los Angeles Police Department Sgt. John Matassa, who works in the Valley Traffic Division, said that Clarke was traveling “at a very high rate of speed” in the San Fernando Valley area of Los Angeles at approximately 2:10 p.m. PT. Clarke was the sole occupant of the car and sped down and hit another car, then a light pole and finally a blocked wall.

“The incident was captured on surveillance video. He collided with another vehicle that was preparing to make a left-hand turn. He struck the vehicle, hit a street light pole, and ultimately hit a block wall,” Matassa said. “He was transported to Northridge Hospital and was later pronounced deceased as a result of the collision.” The officer explained that the 19-year-old was not wearing his seatbelt properly.

“I am absolutely gutted and sick tonight,” Kentucky coach John Calipari said in a statement. “A young person who we all love has just lost his life too soon, one with all of his dreams and hopes ahead of him… Terrence Clarke was a beautiful kid, someone who owned the room with his personality, smile, and joy,” Calipari continued. “People gravitated to him, and to hear we have lost him is just hard for all of us to comprehend right now. We are all in shock.”

Last month, Clarke had announced that he was declaring for the NBA Draft and signed with Klutch Sports. The agency released a statement following the tragic car accident. “We are saddened and devastated by the tragic loss of Terrence Clarke,” Klutch Sports CEO Rich Paul said in a statement. “Terrence was an incredible, hard-working young man. He was excited for what was ahead of him and ready to fulfill his dreams… Our prayers go out to Terrence and his family, who ask for privacy during this difficult time.”

“The NBA mourns the tragic passing of Terrence Clarke, a beloved member of the University of Kentucky basketball program.” the league wrote in a Twitter post. “Terrence was preparing to pursue his lifelong dream of playing in the NBA. We send our deepest condolences to his family and friends.”

Clarke only played in seven games with the Wildcats before an injury sidelined him until the season finale. The 19-year-old finished his lone college year averaging 9.6 points and was described as a lottery pick. Just last month, the guard wrote a social media post about playing for Kentucky.

“As an adolescent, having the privilege to put on the Kentucky uniform and play in front of the BBN was always a lifelong goal of mine,” Clarke wrote. “Although it was hindered due to things out of my own control, the experience is something I will keep with me forever.” The guard added, “I have grown a lot with this experience and I will never take it for granted.”

On Thursday, The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame announced its honorees for the 2020 Hall of Fame inductees.

Among the presenters, Michael Jordan is the biggest name, and he will be honoring the late Kobe Bryant by announcing his induction to the Hall of Fame.

In early 2020, Bryant passed away in a fatal helicopter crash. During his memorial service, Jordan spoke about the Lakers’ legend. “Kobe was my dear friend, he was like a little brother,” Jordan said. “When Kobe died, a little piece of me died. This kid had passion as you would never know, as I got to know him, I wanted to be the best big brother that I could be.”

Growing up, Bryant idolized the Chicago Bulls legend and sought to emulate Jordan’s game. Once Bryant made it to the NBA, he dedicated his early career to learning from Jordan on and off the court. At first, MJ was irked about Bryant’s constant questioning, but it soon faded as a bond was formed between them. “At first, it was an aggravation,” Jordan said. “Then it became a passion.”

The two formed a sibling bond. “He was really like a big brother, and whether it’s because we similarly see things in terms of our competitive spirit or fire or whatever the case may be, there’s an understanding that we have a connection that we have,” Bryant once said of Jordan.

Jordan will be the only Hall of Famer to be presenting multiple people in the ceremony. The Chicago legend will also be presenting women’s coach Kim Mulkey in the Hall of Fame ceremony.

The other inductees and their presenters are the following:

• Patrick Baumann, presented by Russ Granik and Vlade Divac  
• Tamika Catchings, presented by Alonzo Mourning and Dawn Staley 
• Tim Duncan, presented by David Robinson 
• Kevin Garnett, presented by Isiah Thomas
• Barbara Stevens, presented by Geno Auriemma and Muffet McGraw 
• Eddie Sutton, presented by John Calipari, Bill Self and Sidney Moncrief
• Rudy Tomjanovich, presented by Calvin Murphy and Hakeem Olajuwon 

Both University of Kentucky President Eli Capilouto and athletic director Mitch Barnhart showed their support of the Wildcats’ basketball team after head coach John Calipari took a knee during the national anthem performed before last month’s win against Florida.

A full statement has been released after there were calls from local officials in Kentucky to defund the school.

“A value we all hold dear in our country is the right to free speech and self-expression. That right for young students such as these is important, too, as they learn, grow, and find out who they are and what they believe. We won’t always agree on every issue. However, we hope to agree about the right of self-expression, which is so fundamental to who we are as an institution of higher learning. We live in a polarized and deeply divided country. Our hope—and that of our players and our coaches—is to find ways to bridge divides and unify.”

On his radio show interview, Calipari explained why the team chose to kneel.

“It was all the images that they saw, and they wanted to have their voice heard, and I said, well, ‘Tell me what it’s about,'” he said. “They talked to me about it. Then they said, ‘We’d like you to kneel with us,’ which I did. I held my heart, but I did kneel with them because I support the guys. But it wasn’t about the military. Six of these players come from military families. … This wasn’t about the military.”

Players said Monday that they had a feeling they would receive backlash. Oliver Sarr spoke on the player’s actions and explained that they were using their platforms as athletes to peacefully protest.

“I think our action speaks for itself,” Sarr told ESPN. “What happened in the past few days, few weeks and even during quarantine, we just want to show support for our community and raise awareness on the things that happened lately. It comes from a place of understanding peaceful conversations and being open-minded. That’s it.”

Isaiah Jackson talked about the people who stormed the U.S. Capitol and referenced a noose that was seen outside the building.

“It was a couple of things,” Jackson said. “Like, I saw the noose. That was just – was out of pocket. That’s just something that people shouldn’t do. I feel like people have their own opinions, but that was just, like, that was just out of pocket. Just breaking in is just crazy to me.”

Since John Calipari took over as the head coach of the men’s basketball team at the University of Kentucky, Kentucky has had some really great recruiting classes and players don their uniforms. On Tuesday, it was made official that Kentucky will have the top recruiting class in the country for the sixth time in Calipari’s eleven seasons with the program.

24/7 Sports Composite ranked Kentucky as having the number one recruiting class for the Class of 2020 edging out North Carolina and Duke which finished in second and third respectively. 

Kentucky landed two of 24/7’s top-10 recruits in the Class of 2020, signing BJ Boston who was ranked fourth and Terrance Clark, who ranked seventh. Kentucky is the only school with two players in the top-10, and had five players in the top-36, the most among any other school in the country. 

In the fall, Calipari spoke about his recruiting class for next season. “They recruited us as much as we recruited them,” he said. “They wanted this culture. They wanted to be with other good players. They didn’t need crazy promises. They wanted this. In the past, when we’ve had groups like that, it’s led to success both individually and as a team.”

Rounding out the top-10 recruiting classes for the Class of 2020 after Duke at three, you have Tennessee, LSU, Arkansas, Auburn, Arizona, Texas Tech and Oklahoma St.

To see the complete team rankings, click right here.

SLIDESHOW: 50 GREAT SPORTS FIGURES WHO DIED IN 2019

This season, for the first time since 1975, the number-one and -two ranked teams opened up the season matchup up against one another. It was the second-ranked Kentucky Wildcats that took the victory, however, 69-62 over the Spartans.

This was certainly a big statement win for the Wildcats, who saw incredible production out of their new freshman phenom, Tyrese Maxey.

The freshman was sensational for the Wildcats, coming off of the bench at a jam-packed Madison Square Garden and putting on a dominant performance. Maxey finished with 26 points and hit a clutch three-pointer with less than a minute remaining to seal the deal for Kentucky.

30 SPORTS FIGURES WHO DIED IN 2018 – TRIBUTE SLIDESHOW 

“Honestly, I just trust my training,” Maxey said. “I shot that shot a thousand times.”

Following the game, some questioned Coach John Calipari’s decision to bring the freshman off the bench instead of starting him.

“I wanted him to come in firing,” Calipari mentioned when asked about Maxey’s massive performance off the bench.

“Great intangibles,” Michigan State Coach Tom Izzo said when asked about Maxey. “He’s got a feel. He’s kind of happy-go-lucky but plays hard. He’s got a smile on his face.”

“I recruited Maxey,” Izzo said. “He visited our place. I love Maxey. Great kid. Great family. It’s one of those shots that I don’t know, I think he had to take the shot because the shot clock was almost out. If it was a little earlier, Cal would have killed him. But he made a big-time shot.”

In a big opening game, playing on a Kentucky team largely made up of returning contributors, Maxey certainly made a name for himself. Many since, players and coaches alike, have regarded the joy and passion that he plays the game with and how that ultimately makes him the player that he is.

Kentucky will be hoping to jump up to number one in the polls as they head off to face Eastern Kentucky on Saturday.

John Calipari has agreed to a long-term contract extension with the University of Kentucky and will remain their basketball coach, it was reported Monday. The contract will essentially be a lifetime deal, ensuring that he retires with the Wildcats.

Wildcats Hire Coach Calipari For Life

The new contract comes days after Kentucky fell to No. 5 Auburn, who were without their star player, in the Elite Eight of the NCAA men’s basketball tournament. UCLA was also in pursuit of Calipari after they fired their basketball coach this season. While details of his contract extension are murky, UCLA reportedly offered him a six-year, $48 million dollar contract, which he turned down.

“They presented it to me and I appreciate it,” Calipari said on his radio show Monday night. “They want me to be here until I’m done coaching. This is a unique place and I appreciate the opportunities I’ve had here.”

The deal is expected to include a ten-year extension as head coach, followed by a role as a paid ambassador for the program when he steps away from coaching.

Since joining Kentucky, the school has the most wins, most tournament wins, most final four appearances and has produced the most lottery draft picks in the NCAA Divison I.

However, in recent years, Calipari’s Kentucky squads have faltered. His last four seasons include 0 national titles, 0 Final Fours, and only four weeks atop the AP Top 25 Poll. Producing only one championship in a decade with the program also raises some concerns.

30 SPORTS FIGURES WHO DIED IN 2018 – TRIBUTE SLIDESHOW

Calipari, at 60, is already the highest-paid basketball coach in the country, making $9.2 million this year, according to the USA Today Sports database. His current contract doesn’t expire until 2024. He told UCLA that he has no desire to leave the Wildcats.

“You think of what we have built, the culture of what we built here. We’ve done it all kinds of different ways. … This is a situation and culture that has taken time to build. So where else would I want to coach?” he said.

Calipari has a 305-71 record since taking over at Kentucky in 2009, leading the Wildcats to Final Fours in 2011, 2012, 2014 and 2015, and to the NCAA Championship in 2012.

John Calipari, one of the most respected and successful coaches in all of college sports, is once again facing the same question that all great collegiate coaches happen to be asked: would you be interested in coaching other teams?

Report :Ucla is strongly interested in coach Calipari

After rumors that UCLA was interested in hiring Calipari came out, the Kentucky basketball coach said Wednesday night that he has no interest in leaving the Wildcats.

“My plan and my desire is to retire at Kentucky,” Calipari said.

Due to his dominance at Kentucky, sporting a ridiculous record of (302-70), winning several championships and successfully turning several high college-level players into lottery picks, no one doubts his basketball knowledge and his skill in the sport.

He later on took to Twitter to express he has no desire to coach for anywhere else besides Kentucky. Calipari went on to say he feels like he has the best job in the world, and that he’s looking forward to the next game Kentucky plays.

30 SPORTS FIGURES WHO DIED IN 2018 – TRIBUTE SLIDESHOW

Calipari has denied interest in several NBA jobs in recent off-seasons. Two years ago, after reports and rumors had spread that Calipari reached out to the New York Knicks expressing his own interest in what would have been a dual coach/front-office position. Similar to this situation, he took to Twitter and wrote that “NO ONE has contacted the Knicks on my behalf. I am the coach at Kentucky and will be for a long time!”

Halfway through the 2015-16 season, Calipari had once again tweeted a statement regarding a report that stated he had asked the New Jersey Nets and Sacramento Kings for a nine-figure contract and was in the process of negotiating for a higher price. “I am not negotiating with ANYBODY,” he wrote.

Later on in that same year, he took to Twitter again to re-enforce the sentiment after reports that him and the Kings were talking continued to come out. At that time, he had this to say: “not looking for any other coaching position”

Just a few weeks earlier, Calipari had publicly denied interest in the vacant New Orleans Pelicans job, despite having two of the players he’s scouted and recruited on the roster. He was quoted and had this to say: “Even though Anthony [Davis] and Tyreke [Evans] are in NOLA, I have no interest in the Pelicans or any other job. I have a great job and I’m happy at UK,” he tweeted.

While all the teams do seem interested in Calipari, many members of the media just can’t see him leaving Kentucky either.

While some are calling the rumors likely, others just think it’s part of NCAA March Madness. It seems that no money or type of competition can drive coach Calipari away from this Kentucky team. He seems like he’s found a home, and a franchise that ties in with his heart. Kentucky has had another standard Kentucky season, going (27-6, 15-3 SEC) and earned a 2-seed in the NCAA Tournament, they will be facing off against 15-seed Abilene Christian on Thursday.

James Wiseman is the No. 1 NCAA basketball prospect in the Class of 2019, and he chose to join the Memphis Tigers over the Kentucky Wildcats. Kentucky coach John Calipari called himself “overrated as a recruiter.”

John Calipari calls Himself ‘Overrated’

Wisemans’s decision to go to Memphis means that Calipari and the Wildcats have gone seven years without signing the No.1 payer and could fail to sign a top-five prospect for the fourth year in a row.

“I think I’m overrated as a recruiter,” Calipari said at a press conference. “We’ve had kids that made the decision to come here, and it’s played out well for almost all of them. My thing is, I want to be able to sleep at night. I want to make sure I’m telling the truth. I want to make sure I’m sticking with guys.”

Kentucky was viewed as the heavy favorite for Wiseman, but Memphis hired Penny Hardaway to replace Tubby Smith as head coach.

Hardaway coached Wiseman in high school and on the grassroots circuit, and the relationship won out. Memphis also landed five-star forward D.J. Jeffries, who decommitted from Kentucky in July.

Calipari has landed a top-two recruiting class every single year since taking over at Kentucky in 2009, including five No. 1-ranked classes. He landed the No. 1 class in four of his first five seasons in Lexington.

“I gotta be able to sleep at night knowing that I’m being honest. I’m not embellishing: ‘Here’s what it is,'” Calipari said. “I’m not saying that against anybody else, everybody recruits the way they recruit. But you’ve got good programs and good coaches, and that’s why we don’t get everybody we recruit.”

Mike Krzyzewski and the Duke Blue Devils have dominated the recruiting game in the past five years, reeling in the No. 1 class in four of them.

30 SPORTS FIGURES WHO DIED IN 2018 – TRIBUTE SLIDESHOW

“It’s not changed my approach to this,” Calipari said. “Maybe because of social media and the video games and the stuff, and there’s not as much on the playgrounds and the pickup and the fight — maybe they do want to hear that it’s gonna be easier.”

The Wildcats are the only program in the country with two top-10 prospects committed in 2019 with Tyrese Maxey (No. 7) and Kahlil Whitney (No. 9). They don’t appear to be the leaders for any of their remaining elite targets, as Vernon Carey Jr. (No. 3) and Isaiah Stewart (No. 4) look poised to go elsewhere.

“We don’t get every kid. We get the ones we are supposed to get. It just kind of plays out that way and it always has.”

Kentucky fought back from several point deficits to secure a 74-73 home victory over Texas A&M on Tuesday night, and Wildcats coach John Calipari had much to say about his team’s win.

Kentucky vs. Texas A&M Basketball score

The No. 21 Wildcats have now improved to 13-3 and 3-1 in SEC play to place third in the conference. The Aggies held the lead several times throughout the evening.

“I got to give Billy [Kennedy] and A&M credit for the end of the game,” said Calipari. “They had a chance to beat us. Had a chance. It was like, Wait a minute. You miss a couple free throws. How about we were going to switch everything and we left the man in the corner? Yeah, that’s not toughness. See, that means you’re not engaged in what’s going on.”

Freshman forward Kevin Knox made 3 of 4 free throws for 15 points for Kentucky. Another freshman, PJ Washington, finished with 16 points and four rebounds in addition to contributing other great plays for the hosts down the stretch.

First-year Kentucky guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who was playing in place of the injured Quade Green, had 16 points, a career-high seven rebounds and five assists, while Hamidou Diallo added 18 points.

“We won a good game,” Calipari added. “I mean, folks, just understand, A&M lost three players. They were No. 5 in the country. They beat, I believe, West Virginia. They lost to Arizona. I watched that game. They could have beat Arizona easily. It was a touch-and-go game. They have three guys injured.”

The Aggies dropped to 11-5 overall and 3-1 in the SEC. Kentucky leads the series against Texas A&M 9-3 and has won four straight against the Aggies.

Kentucky extended its streak of 1,029 consecutive games with a 3-pointer when Washington hit a long ball at the 17-minute mark.

Calipari is now 262-56 at Kentucky.

The Wildcats next visit Vanderbilt on Saturday, when the Aggies will visit No. 24 Tennessee.

Kentucky Wildcats head coach John Calipari, who has repeatedly denied interest in NBA coaching jobs, made very clear on Monday what his plan for his future with Kentucky is.

John Calipari: ‘I Plan To Coach Here For The Rest Of My Career’

“My plan is to coach here for the rest of my career,” he wrote in a post on his website. “I want this to be my final coaching position.”

“Kentucky is the gold standard in our sport,” he continued. “It’s been that way throughout the history of our game. It’s one of the reasons I dreamed of one day coaching here. The biggest goal I have — and we all should have — is to make sure Kentucky remains that way.”

Calipari, 57, has coached the Wildcats since 2009 after moving from Memphis, where he spent nine seasons. Prior to that, he was the head coach of the Brooklyn Nets (then New Jersey) from 1996-99, and an assistant for the Philadelphia 76ers the season after his termination.

When the Nets and the Sacramento Kings both had coaching vacancies in January, rumors began naming Calipari as a possible replacement before he denied negotiating with them.

“You may have heard me say this before: I absolutely have the best coaching job in sports and I plan on being at Kentucky for a long time,” Calipari tweeted in January. “I am not negotiating with ANYBODY. My total focus is on this team and winning the next game.”

Calipari produced 19 first-round NBA draft selections during his tenure with Kentucky. Former Wildcats forward Karl-Anthony Towns was last year’s No. 1 draft pick and Monday was voted rookie of the year.

The NCAA instituted a major college basketball rule change this year that allows players to withdraw from the draft process after the NBA Combine. This would allow players to receive genuine feedback on their prospects.

Kentucky Coach Announces All His Players Will Submit Name For NBA Draft

This is a very pro-player rule, and Kentucky Wildcats coach John Calipari was one of the first NCAA coaches to express his satisfaction with the new rule.

On Wednesday, Calipari announced via Twitter that every player on his team, walk-ons included, will enter this year’s NBA Draft in hopes of scoring an invite to the Combine in May.

“When the season’s over, it’s about each individual player and what’s right for them and their families,” Calipari said. “With that being said, every player who is eligible for the draft, including our walk-ons, will submit their names for the NBA Draft in hopes of being invited to the combine in May.”

Calipari has previously stated several times that he believes the NBA Draft is just as important for his program as the national championship. One of his program mottos is “succeed and proceed,” and given what we know about Calipari, the fact that he is a fan of this new rule comes as no surprise.

Kentucky guards Tyler Ulis and Jamal Murray and forward Skal Labissiere are considered likely draft choices. The Wildcats lost to Indiana in the second round of the NCAA tournament Saturday, and finished the season 27-9.

Once again, University of Kentucky Wildcats head coach John Calipari finds himself shutting down rumors that he is abandoning his job as a college coach to pursue a career as an NBA coach, and for one team in particular: the Brooklyn Nets. The Nets recently fired head coach Lionel Hollins and reassigned general manager Billy King. 

However, the Nets are currently a disaster, so it wouldn’t make much sense for anyone to seek out a coaching job with them. As a matter of fact, the Nets don’t have a first-round draft pick until 2019.

Calipari took to Twitter on Monday to lay the rumors to rest, just as he did a few months ago to address similar rumors about him possibly coaching other NBA teams. Over the last year, Kentucky’s coach has previously received the same rumors regarding the Pelicans and the Kings, just to name a few:

Last night’s Kentucky bout came down to the wire: with the undefeated season on the line, the Wildcats were able to overcome the late surge by LSU to win 71-69. And during a postgame interview, coach John Calipari was talking about the immaturity of some of his players, particularly Karl-Anthony Towns.

Towns was given a technical for doing a chin up after dunking. This foul gave the LSU that second half surge, resulting in a 22-2 Tigers run. The 66-60 deficit would eventually be overcome by the Wildcats’ superior talent, but the damage was certainly done.

So while Calipari was talking about the immaturity of 19-year-old kids, Karl-Anthony decided to photobomb the interview: he probably had no idea the coach was critiquing him and the audience could not have asked for better timing.

h/t: SB Nation