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John Calipari reflects on Kentucky tenure, says success can’t be erased
John Calipari will return to Kentucky on Saturday night as the Arkansas head coach in a nationally televised game that won’t just be about the game itself.
The reception that Calipari will get from Big Blue Nation will also be part of the attraction. Will the 65-year-old who spent a decade and a half in Lexington get a rousing ovation, will he get booed, or will it be somewhere in between?
Regardless, Calipari won over 400 games at Kentucky, going 410-123 from 2009-24 to be exact, and he brought a national championship back to Rupp Arena in 2012. Calipari spent some time with ESPN’s Jimmy Dykes in talking about his long tenure in Lexington, as the 2 walked around venerable Rupp Arena with all those banners in the rafters, several of which Calipari was responsible for.
“You know what, we had a heck of a run. It was an honor and a privilege to coach here. What we did in that span of time, you can’t erase. It’s history. It’s written. It’s done,” Calipari told Dykes.
Calipari reflected on all those years and all those games, a lot of them victories.
“There were so many games in here that meant something,” said Calipari.
Dykes asked Calipari how he’ll feel when he comes out of the tunnel on Saturday night for the 9 p.m. ET tip-off on ESPN.
“There will be a rush of emotion,” admitted Calipari.
Then the game will start between his struggling Razorbacks and the 12th-ranked Wildcats, and everyone can take a breath.
Tip-off between No. 12 Kentucky (15-5, 4-3 SEC) and Arkansas (12-8, 1-6) is set for 9 p.m. ET on ESPN. The Wildcats are a 9.5-point favorite, via ESPN Bet.
Cory Nightingale, a former sportswriter and sports editor at the Miami Herald and Palm Beach Post, is a South Florida-based freelance writer who covers Alabama for SaturdayDownSouth.com.