John Calipari expects boos in Rupp Arena return: 'I got bazooka holes in my body'

John Calipari expects boos from the Kentucky faithful when Arkansas visits the Wildcats at Rupp Arena Saturday night.

It’ll be the first time the head coach visits the arena as an opposing man on the sidelines since he left Kentucky. After 15 seasons, Calipari got a fresh start at the Razorbacks.

He brought along some players too and despite his success with Big Blue, he knows it won’t be a warm welcome entirely.

“We’re gonna have three players that played there,” Calipari said, via HogsPlus. “My guess is they’re gonna get booed. My guess is I’m gonna get booed … But that’s all part of it. I mean, shoot, you get booed. I’ve done this so long. I tell you I 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. 

“But it’ll be interesting. I can’t say I’m looking forward to it. I’m looking forward to coaching, but to walk in and you know, the vibe I don’t know how I’m gonna take it to be honest with you. I mean that was a special time in my life. In Ellen’s life and 15 years we gave. 15.”

Calipari went 410-123 overall at Kentucky, winning the national title back in 2012. He also made the Final Four three other times, including getting back to the national title game in 2014.

Currently, he’s 12-8 at Arkansas during his first year and has certainly taken the highs and lows with the job.

To replace him at Kentucky, the Wildcats turned to Mark Pope, who has quickly become a fan favorite among Wildcats fans. That’s largely because of the success he’s had early on, leading Kentucky to a 15-5 record overall and a 4-3 record in the highly competitive SEC.

“They’re playing good,” Calipari said. “We’ve got our hands full and let’s see what happens. They’re a good team. Mark [Pope] is doing a good job with them. So, we’ve just got to keep going. Keep fighting. Keep figuring this out. What does this team look like? What do we have to play like?”

What does Calipari’s team have to play like? Well, they have to match the Wildcats for one, especially at Rupp Arena. There will be a lot of emotions from the coach and teams involved.

How that carries over to the court, remains to be seen.