CBS Sports analyst to UNC: ‘Carolina, you want to win, go hire John Calipari’
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CBS Sports college basketball analyst Chris Walker had a message for North Carolina on Thursday night as the Sweet 16 got going in Houston and San Jose.
The former Villanova point guard’s suggestion for the Tar Heels’ replacement for the fired Hubert Davis? That would be a guy who SEC basketball fans have come to know very well over the past few decades. It’s John Calipari, the head coach at Kentucky from 2009 to 2024 and the man who had Arkansas in the Sweet 16 with a shot at West Region top-seeded Arizona on Thursday night.
The Razorbacks were fighting hard to survive and get to the Elite 8 under Calipari late Thursday night, but Calipari had continued his usual winning in his 2 seasons in Fayetteville, regardless of Thursday night’s Sweet 16 result, and Walker is a fan. He believes that the answer for UNC is Coach Cal.
“Carolina, you want to win, go hire John Calipari,” Walker said flat out. “If you want it to become what it used to be, every kid wanted to go there, go hire John Calipari and watch what happens. Forget about the stuff that you think comes with him. You bring that guy there, the world changes.”
Davis was fired earlier this week in the aftermath of North Carolina’s shocking first-round NCAA Tournament loss to VCU, and now the Tar Heels are searching for that next guy to lead them. Walker believes that guy is sitting in Fayetteville right now and was coaching the Razorbacks in the Sweet 16 on Thursday night.
North Carolina’s run to the Final Four never got started, but Calipari had Arkansas in the Sweet 16 with at least an opportunity to get there going into Thursday night. Here is what the Kalshi market currently sees as the top teams in the mix to get to Indianapolis next week:
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.
