John Calipari on Arkansas players ahead of return to Kentucky: 'They were worried about me'

From the moment John Calipari left the Kentucky Wildcats for the Arkansas Razorbacks, his return was highly anticipated. Of course, in the Transfer Portal era, that move also meant that Calipari brought several players with him.

Among the transfers who Calipari brought to Arkansas were DJ Wagner, Adou Thiero, and Zvonimir Ivisic. As he explained following the Kentucky game, Calipari had some concerns about how they would handle the return to Kentucky, but in turn it was actually that group of players who were concerned about their head coach.

“I called them in together,” John Calipari said. “And I said, ‘Are you guys okay going back here? Are you going to be OK?’ And they all said, ‘We’re fine, coach. We’re worried about you.’ That’s the kind of team I have. That’s the kind of players they are. They were worried about me. I said, ‘I’m fine.’ No, they were good.”

In the end, Arkansas was able to pull off an upset win over Kentucky, beating the Wildcats 89-79. For all those former Kentucky players and coaches, it was an incredible moment, even if John Calipari and Adou Thiero got confused looking at the scoreboard more than a couple of times.

All three of those former Kentucky players contributed to the win too. Thiero was the star, scoring 21 points with eight rebounds in 34 minutes. He wasn’t alone, though. Ivisic and Wagner also scored in double figures, snagging 14 and 17 points respectively in the win.

“They were good, and they played well today. All three played well. D.J. played, and so did Z, and so did Adou. Adou played — that’s how we want him to play every game. Hard to play that way every game,” Calipari said. “But, we put it in his hands in spots where he could drive the ball. But we also ran. A bunch of points in transition. [Johnell Davis] was playing like we’ve all expected him to play.”

With the win, Arkansas moved to 2-6 in SEC play, which is good for 14th in the SEC. Kentucky, meanwhile, fell to 4-4 in conference play, which is a tie for eighth in the conference standings.

“Kentucky’s a really good team. We’re fortunate. We had to shoot 70%, 55 and 52, to win the game. If we don’t do that, we lose the game. They’re very, very good. They went to Tennessee with this same team and won.” Calipari said. “And then Tennessee comes back and beats Florida by 20. This league is crazy.”

The tour that Arkansas is making through the crazy SEC is going to quickly continue. On Wednesday, Arkansas will have another road test, this one against the Texas Longhorns.