John Calipari has been away opponent in Rupp Arena before

John Calipari will be making his first return trip to Rupp Arena on Saturday after spending 15 seasons on the home sideline for Kentucky. During his tenure, the Wildcats won their first 54 games at home under Calipari and hung four banners at Rupp. Seeing the 65-year-old on the other sideline coaching a red team will be weird.

But this will not be the first time that John Calipari has sat on the away bench at this historic college basketball venue. As a 31-year-old head coach, Calipari’s fourth UMass team made the trip to Rupp Arena in December.

That visit did not go well.

The Wildcats handled Calipari’s Minutemen in a 90-69 victory. Bruiser Flint and John Robic were both on that UMass staff under Calipari. Tony Barbee was a player on that roster and scored 13 points in 27 minutes before fouling out. Jamal Mashburn led Kentucky with 28 points and Richie Farmer scored 22 points. Travel issues were an obstacle for the road team after the Minutemen spent three days at the Great Alaska Shootout before being delayed by snow en route to Lexington.

That Kentucky team would become known as the Unforgettables. UMass would get another swing at Kentucky in the Sweet 16 in March, but the Cats pervailed with a 87-77 win. Mashburn (30 points) once again led the way. That game set the stage for what many consider the best college basketball game ever played between Duke and UK in the 1992 Elite Eight. We all know how that contest ended.

That UMass team was Cal’s first NCAA Tournament squad and helped spark a Hall of Fame coaching career. But that first trip to Lexington ignited a career dream for Calipari.

“This was a dream I had since we brought our team down here. We had won the Alaska Shootout, came down here to play, and I could not believe the environment,” John Calipari said at his Kentucky introductory press conference in 2009. “And at that point I said that I’d love to coach there someday.”

Fast forward to 33 seasons later and John Calipari will return to Rupp Arena as an assistant coach. However, this Arkansas team does not appear to be one primed to make a big run, but Cal is facing another ascending Kentucky head coach who could be building something special.