John Calipari has officially announced his decision to step down as the Kentucky Wildcats head coach. On Tuesday, the 65-year-old broke his silence on all the reports surrounding his looming departure while also hinting at his move to the Arkansas Razorbacks.
Calipari’s 15-year reign in Kentucky has now officially come to an end.
REPORT: John Calipari Gave Kentucky Wildcats to Counter Arkansas’ Offer
As it turns out, however, the Wildcats had an opportunity to prevent Calipari’s move to Arizona — one that they decided not to take. According to Kentucky team insider Dick Gabriel, Calipari went back to the UK brass expecting a counteroffer while he was negotiating his new deal with Arkansas:
“Calipari, going into that meeting with [athletics director] Mitch Barnhart, didn’t have much leverage,” Gabriel said of the meeting between the two last week, via Tyler Thompson of KSR. “Mitch had the leverage. But now, when you’ve got somebody else in your corner who is a viable candidate for your services. I mean, if it was a junior college that came to hire him, no, but this is Arkansas. Powerful school with deep, deep pockets and all kinds of booster money out there. Tyson chicken and Wal-Mart. They come in and say, we want you and we’ll do what it takes to get you. That’s leverage.
“Calipari, as I’m told, said, here’s what it’s going to take to keep me and UK said, I don’t think so. As I understand it, now if the deal isn’t done, it’s going to be done. You have a fanbase that is unhappy, an institution that is not satisfied with what’s been happening. You’ve got another school that would be happy to have him. When you factor in the fans, this might be a win-win-win if such a thing is possible. That all depends, of course, on who Kentucky hires if and when Calipari does leave.”
Based on this report, Kentucky did not want Calipari back for another season. It appears that they’ve seen enough of the one-time NCAA champion coach and his shortcomings over the past few seasons.
As Calipari himself said in his statement, now is the time for UK to have a new voice. As it turns out, the program was in complete agreement with this sentiment.
For More NBA Content:
Follow me on Twitter at @PaoloSongcoNBA, and follow us @HardwoodHeroics. You can also reach out to Paolo Songco via email at [email protected]. To read more of our articles and keep up to date on the latest NBA news, click here!
