The Big Blue Nation doesn’t forget, and we’re not sure that’s a good thing for John Calipari. It took Kentucky a decade to warm up to a coach who had led them to a national title and three Final Four appearances– Rick Pitino. He’d returned to coach the rivals at Louisville, after all. Boos and boos more later, it was during the Big Blue Madness last year that the Hall of Famer finally received a standing ovation at Rupp Arena. For Coach Cal? It is just as distant, if not more.

One of the “greatest coaches to ever coach the game of basketball.” That’s what Mark Pope says of his predecessor. “He revolutionized the game of college basketball, and that probably won’t be reproduced in the same way he did it.” 15 years, 50 NBA draft picks, near-perfect seasons, and 32 tourney wins have defined his era with the Wildcats. But all that was left at the end? A decade-long Final Four drought. Calipari may be the Hall-of-Famer, but for the Big Blue Nation, it is the withering years and his exit that eclipse. Coach Cal had joined an SEC team, with an army of Kentucky players, and left the program not much better than he had found it.

The disdain has hence been evident in the boos he faced during his first time back at Lexington and remains evident in Bobby Reagan’s detailing of his reaction to Calipari’s Sweet 16 run at Arkansas. The coach better keep an ear out because the Big Blue Nation is picking on the flaws.

“I’ve seen this story,” Reagan said of the Razorbacks’ loss to Texas Tech in the HC’s first Sweet 16 appearance since 2019. The Barstool Sports blogger had joined Mark Titus and Tate Moore on the Mark Titus Show when he discussed the game. As a Kentucky fan, he had gotten used to Calipari collapses in the postseason. While this was one of his better runs, the 85-83 loss to TTU had left him expecting nothing better.

Taking a shot at Arkansas’ offense, Reags mentioned how coach Cal runs a stall-type offense focusing on two guys, Johnell Davis and DJ Wagner in this case, and runs them around. “He hopes that they hit enough shots, and the defense just carries them.” But it couldn’t this time around; the Red Raiders were too good with their planning in the clutch.

Thanks to Christian Anderson and Darrion Williams, TTU fought back hard. In the last five minutes, the pair combined for four threes, and suddenly, it was a tied game! TTU had squandered a massive 13-point lead. “All of a sudden you look, and that lead goes to six. It goes to three. It cuts down,” Reags said, before explaining the cause of his joy. “And then just like a smile on my face, the end of the game when John Calipari had a timeout. Didn’t call a timeout, DJ Wagner thought he was calling a timeout and was going nowhere.”

Arkansas was only one shot away from becoming a Cinderella story, but the shoe didn’t fit against TTU. For a Kentucky fan, it was a welcoming sight. Their own team is yet to advance, something Calipari has made clear he couldn’t care less about, but they wouldn’t be facing the Razorbacks even if they won.

However, for all the criticism Calipari has faced, from Kentucky fans or otherwise, his first year on the helm of a new team wasn’t all bad.

John Calipari’s efforts don’t go unnoticed, ESPN analyst showers Hogs coach with praise

The NCAA community is always harsh on the Hall-of-Famer coach, but this season? It was something different. The Kentucky fans were expressing their frustration, while Arkansas was going down a slippery SEC slope. However, in retrospect, it wasn’t all that bad!

In a packed SEC conference, Arkansas struggled to find its place after a five-game losing streak to kick the season off. However, as the season progressed, the Razorbacks got progressively better and better. Injuries plagued their stars, but they kept on grinding. And well, the Hogs got the results they were after! ESPN’s Jay Williams shared a similar sentiment about coach Cal’s new team.

“I think he put the nation on notice,” Williams said, praising John Calipari’s recruiting and management. He brought Boogie Fland, Adou Thiero, and countless stars over to Arkansas with him. “Yes, we live in a microwave where everybody wants to attack him throughout the course. It’s about the full body of work. Cal has brought the Arkansas Razorbacks back to one of the top places in college basketball,” the analyst said, disregarding all of the hate directed at Cal.

There’s no doubt that coach Cal worked his magic at Arkansas. Even if they didn’t make the Elite Eight, even though they fell short, it was a lot better than anyone would have expected. We can’t wait to see what he does over the next few years!