The Arkansas Razorbacks men's basketball team will be in Lexington, Ky. for a matchup against the Kentucky Wildcats this weekend, marking the first time John Calipari will return to his former stomping grounds at the Rupp Arena since leaving the university this summer.
Calipari addressed his return to Kentucky ahead of the matchup, and admitted he's anticipating that not only will he get booed by the home crowd, but some of the current Razorbacks players that used to be members of the Wildcats basketball program will also get booed. Arkansas currently rosters three former Kentucky players: D.J. Wagner, Zvonimir Ivišić and Adou Thiero.
"We're gonna have three players that played there. My guess is they're going to get booed. My guess is I'm going to get booed," said Calipari. "But that's all part of it. I mean, shoot, you get booed––I've done this so long, I tell ya, I've got bazooka holes in my body. So, when you shoot arrows, it doesn't even hit skin. It just goes through one of those bazooka holes."
John Calipari talks about his return to Rupp Arena this Saturday #BBN pic.twitter.com/xCiv23JLnQ
— Wildcat (@WildcatUKx) January 28, 2025
"Can't say I'm looking forward to it. I'm looking forward to coach it, but to walk in and the vibe––I don't know how I'm going to take it, to be honest with you. I mean that was a special time in my life... 15 years we gave. 15!" he added.
Calipari's first year at Arkansas has gotten off to a lackluster start. The team is 12–8 on the season and just 1–6 in SEC play. They're losers of six of their last seven games and have just one win in the month of January. Things could get even worse on Saturday in Lexington, where Calipari anticipates a somewhat hostile crowd at Rupp Arena.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as John Calipari Addresses Returning to Rupp Arena for First Time Since Leaving Kentucky.
