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John Calipari receives Razorback-themed housewarming gift for new Arkansas home

Barkley-Truaxby:Barkley Truax•07/29/24•

BarkleyTruax

Arkansas HC John Calipari
@RazorbackMBB

John Calipari traded in his Old Kentucky Home for a private estate in Fayetteville earlier this offseason, and of course he’s going to have to decorate it with Razorback red.

The Arkansas basketball coach purchased a $2.2 million home in a private, upscale neighborhood in Fayetteville last month — where he came home on Monday to a housewarming gift to help in that regard.

It reads: “In this house we love, hug, laugh a lot, dream big, are grateful, have fun and cheer for Arkansas.”

Purchasing his home means Calipari is settling in for a long tenure with the Razorbacks. Previously spending the last 15 years at Kentucky, the Hall of Fame basketball coach is adjusting nicely to his new surroundings.

Not only has Calipari put together a team filled with his former Kentucky players, but the recruits that were once committed to play for him followed him to Fayetteville along with a slew of transfers that are expected to provide an instant-impact to the Arkansas roster.

Darius Acuff, a consensus five-star recruit and one of the top point guards in the 2025 recruiting cycle, has already committed to play for Calipari at Arkansas after this season. There doesn’t seem to be any drop off Calipari’s recruiting success, and the Razorbacks have largely been considered as a national championship threat with their new leadership and roster.

The new-look Hogs will be an interesting matchup in the SEC this season. With only three players in DJ Wagner, Adou Thiero, and Zvonimir Ivisic following Calipari from Lexington to Fayetteville, no one is sure how this team will look in their new colors. Transfers Johnell Davis and Jonas Aidoo, not to mention a No. 2-rated recruiting class joining the ranks at Arkansas and Calipari may have one of the most slept on teams in the SEC Next season.

Calipari spoke to the media on Monday to discuss the current state of the Arkansas basketball team, and said that isn’t worried about the outside perspective of his team. When the preseason SEC media poll is released, he’d rather Arkansas be in last place than at the top. He’d rather prove his doubters wrong in year one leading his new program.

To test his new roster, Calipari spoke on Monday of exciting upcoming addition to the offseason schedule — exhibitions against TCU in Dallas and against Kansas in Fayetteville. Dates for those matchups have not been made public as of this report.