Rick Pitino, of all people, urges Kentucky fans to give John Calipari ‘huge standing ovation’

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On Saturday, Arkansas Razorbacks head coach John Calipari makes his return to Lexington to face his former team, the Kentucky Wildcats. (Getty Images)

Two days before his highly anticipated return to Rupp Arena, John Calipari received a show of support from an unlikely ally.

Rick Pitino, of all people, posted a video message to social media encouraging Big Blue Nation to treat Calipari with “respect and admiration” when the former longtime Kentucky coach brings his struggling Arkansas team to Lexington on Saturday.

Just over 30 seconds into his video, Pitino admitted, “As you all know, I’m not best friends with John Calipari,” alluding to the fierce rivalry and acrimonious history between the two hall of fame coaches. Pitino then went on to defend Calipari’s decision to bolt for Arkansas last spring after the atmosphere at Kentucky turned toxic following a string of underachieving seasons and early NCAA tournament flameouts.

“It was a mutual thing,” said Pitino, who coached at Kentucky from 1989-97 and is now the coach at St. John’s. “The fans wanted a change. John read the tea leaves. He needed a change. He really didn’t want to leave.

“But what did he do for you? He brought the best talent in the history of the game of any university in America to Lexington. He also won a championship. His style of play was extremely entertaining. So he’s coming back on Saturday and I want all of you to show the great class that you have — 23,000-plus people giving him a huge standing ovation.”

Calipari’s tenure at Kentucky was perfect, until it wasn’t. For almost a decade, he fulfilled Big Blue Nation’s wildest dreams. The revolving door of one-and-done talent he recruited won SEC titles, made deep NCAA tournament runs and even captured the 2012 national title. But the program that was two wins away from a historic 40-0 season in 2015 never approached those heights again. Demand for change in Lexington intensified after Calipari’s Wildcats lost to…

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Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/rick-pitino-of-all-people-urges-kentucky-fans-to-give-john-calipari-huge-standing-ovation-182600761.html

Author : Yahoo Sports

Publish date : 2025-01-30 18:26:00

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