Sam Pittman on John Calipari coming to Arkansas: ‘We hit a pretty good home run, maybe a grand slam’

Following head coach Eric Musselman leaving Arkansas for USC, the Razorbacks basketball program went looking for a splash hire to replace him. Now, it seems pretty clear that Arkansas not only got their guy but got one of the biggest names in coaching, reportedly landing Kentucky head coach John Calipari.

It’s a hire that has the Arkansas community excited and even caught the attention of football coach Sam Pittman, who praised the hire as a home run.

“Well, I live in Arkansas, so it’s got to be hard not to [follow the basketball search],” Sam Pittman said. “I believe in Hunter Yurachek. He’ll find the best guy. I guess according to everybody, we found a guy. I don’t know him [Calipari] well, but if he’s a good coach we probably hit a pretty good home run. Maybe hit a grand slam.”

This coaching hire is one of the biggest that Hunter Yurachek will make during his time at Arkansas. Given that, it was interesting how Sam Pittman described the hiring process that he underwent before he landed at Arkansas.

“It was very comfortable conversations. There wasn’t a whole lot of conversations that I had. It wasn’t like ‘Who do we play next year?’ I didn’t care. Mine was different from what I’m assuming that coach Calipari’s is, but I remember him being very easy to talk to, very forward and direct. I talked to him and interviewed with him. I didn’t talk to him the day I got hired, really. I talked to Jon Fagg until he came to the house. Then he came to the house and did all the talking. Steve Cox was there as well,” Pittman said.

“I just remember that he was easy to talk to. Very, very direct with his expectations. The one question that he asked me was, ‘Can you handle being the head football coach at Arkansas publicly? Can you be the guy?’ He obviously understood the passion of the fanbase. That can work for you and against you at times as I’ve experienced both of those. The answer was, ‘hell yeah.’ That’s what I remember.”

John Calipari has been one of the most successful college basketball coaches during his career. He won a national championship while at Kentucky and has found success at every college stop he’s made, including UMass and Memphis as well as Kentucky.

For Sam Pittman’s part, he’s been happy with the relationship that he’s had with Hunter Yurachek. That’s something that John Calipari can expect once he’s officially been hired by Arkansas.

“To be honest with you, he hasn’t changed at all since we’ve been here. It’s been direct with what we need. ‘What do I need to do to help you? What you need to do to help me and the university and the state.’ I’m a grown man. I’m not dumb. I understand what needs to be done. But Hunter doesn’t leave that for question,” Pittman said.

“He’s going to tell you what needs to be done and what you’re doing well, what you need to improve on. Things like that. Very direct, very honest and he stays to his word. That’s what the new basketball coach can expect. He’s my boss, and you asked the question, I’ve enjoyed every bit of it with him because he’s been honest and directly to the point.”