John Calipari’s Arkansas basketball season has gone from bad to worse in the blink of an eye! Ranked as a top-20 team in the preseason AP poll, the Razorbacks now find themselves in the bottom half of the South Eastern Conference with a shocking 0-5 record.

Five straight losses have left fans and analysts alike scratching their heads, wondering how a season that promised so much has spiraled away so quickly. With the NCAA Tournament slipping further out of reach with each defeat, the Razorbacks are edging toward a full-blown crisis.

John Calipari walked into Fayetteville with a $5 million NIL war chest, a hefty salary, and the weight of sky-high expectations, and it’s fair to say that the 3x Naismith Coach of the Year has failed to do so. After starting the season with a promising 11-2 record, the Razorbacks have hit a free fall, losing every SEC matchup and watching their overall record plummet to 11-7. This collapse feels like an alarming unraveling of expectations for a program that spared no expense to bring in Calipari.

Theo Pinson of the To the Baha podcast had some pretty harsh things to say about Calipari. He said,“This might have been the worst year to go to Arkansas because of how good the SEC is, he does not have them playing good basketball at all.” 

He then proceeds to talk about the Razorbacks’ game against Florida, which they lost 71-63. “That’s a game that puts Cal on the hot seat, I don’t care that it is his first year, I don’t care what his record has been or his resume has been, that’s a bad loss to get whooped like that.”

Despite the challenges, Theo still thinks Calipari will be given another year to hopefully fix these issues and weave his magic. He continued, “Yes, he’s going to get a lot of money to bring these guys in, the talent’s there because you bought all these guys, you brought all these guys here because this was going to be a good basketball team, they didn’t bring Cal there to develop.” This further solidifies Calipari’s credentials of always having a good talent ID.

“You’re gonna have one more year and be like okay this team didn’t work out but next year you gotta come out and win it, my guy,” Pinson further elaborated. This effectively suggests that next year is a make-it-or-break-it season for Calipari at Arkansas.

What’s gone wrong for John Calipari in Arkansas? A coach of his level shouldn’t be struggling like this. Is it the team that’s failing him? Are his strategies no longer working in today’s fast-paced game? Or has he simply lost his magic touch? Let’s dive in and figure out what’s really happening.

Is it really Calipari’s fault the Arkansas isn’t playing well?

It’s worth noting that Calipari’s struggles didn’t start at Arkansas. In his last three years at Kentucky, the legendary coach failed to advance beyond the Round of 64 in the NCAA tournament, a surprising fall for someone with his reputation of developing players like Anthony Davis and Karl-Anthony Towns.

Jay Jack supports the same sentiment by saying, “What’s the standards for him? When he went to Kentucky, he went to the final four in four of his first six years. That was also the stretch where he won it at 2012. … He hasn’t been back in a final four since 2015.” 

It’s been nearly a decade since Coach Calipari last guided a team to the Final Four, raising the big question: is it really fair to hold him to the lofty standards of his glory days? Many would argue, “Of course, it’s John Calipari, after all!” But a closer look reveals the harsh truth. His once-revolutionary coaching style may no longer fit the fast-evolving modern game.

There’s no questioning Calipari’s eye for talent. He’s still one of the best at identifying future stars and paving their path to the NBA. But the real issue lies in his tactical prowess. Is he the right fit to lead Arkansas into the future? Does his hefty paycheck still make sense? Probably not.

But the Arkansas front office has already made their bed and has to lie in it, leaving them with little choice but to give him more time, and hope he can rediscover his lost magic! I, for one, will still root for one of the greatest coaches in college basketball history!