KSR Today: All eyes on John Calipari
Good morning, folks! A potentially massive day in the history of UK Athletics is ahead of us.
At some point today, the Arkansas Razorbacks are expected to officially announce John Calipari as the program’s new head coach. Ahead of Monday night’s national championship game between UConn and Purdue (more on that in a bit), ESPN’s Pete Thamel went live on College Gameday to report the latest.
“It will officially come together tomorrow, sources just told me,” Thamel said last night. “The details are still being finalized today and to expect an announcement Tuesday.”
When exactly will it happen? Who knows, but the reality of Calipari actually leaving Kentucky for Arkansas is about to fully set in. Reports of a five-year deal in Fayetteville with a massive NIL war chest have been flying since news first materialized on Sunday night.
Calipari was even in Lexington throughout Monday, and made the odd choice to go outside on a very busy road during the middle of the day, knowing full well that camera crews would be on the lookout. He was walking his dog and a (empty?) stroller right down Richmond Road and his comment to WKYT’s Lee Howard was equally as strange.
I get it: the dog has to pee. But let’s be honest, this is all very, very bizarre. Mitch Barnhart certainly isn’t going to be a fan of how this all went down, especially after sticking his neck out for Calipari not even a couple of weeks ago on local TV.
But it sure does seem like the end of an era is upon us.
Okay. So Calipari is leaving. Who replaces him?
I’m glad you asked. There are going to be several candidates in the mix, and plenty have been named over the last 36 hours. Let’s start with those who have already publicly said they do not want the job.
CBS Sports analyst and former Villanova head coach Jay Wright went on live TV before last night’s title game to turn down the Kentucky job, giving it a “firm no”, while Alabama head coach Nate Oats released a statement on social media roughly 20 minutes before the game tipped off saying he’s content in Tuscaloosa.
The next group of targets will include the likes of UConn’s Dan Hurley, Baylor’s Scott Drew, and the Chicago Bulls’ Billy Donovan. Pete Thamel called Drew a “realistic” option while referring to Hurley and Donovan as “aspirational” targets. All three will likely hear from Barnhart at some point.
Following UConn’s 75-60 win over Purdue last night, handing Hurley his second straight national championship, he was indirectly asked about the Kentucky job. He didn’t exactly say no, either.
“I don’t think that’s a concern,” Hurley said with a laugh. “My wife, you should have her answer that… She’ll answer that question better than I can.”
Other options will surely emerge once Calipari’s deal with Arkansas is officially announced. The likes of Illinois’ Brad Underwood, Xavier’s Sean Miller, and Marquette’s Shaka Smart will be names bounced around in the coming days, along with the ones mentioned above. Stay tuned…
What about next season’s roster?
We have some updates on that too. While we won’t know for sure what direction the roster-building will head in until a new coach is brought in, the expectation is Kentucky will lose most if not all of its 2024 recruiting class. Calipari will likely try to bring as many of them to Arkansas with him as he can.
So far, only four-star wing Karter Knox has officially backed off his commitment, which he did on Monday. That still leaves five committed freshmen (four of them signed). Additionally, freshman center Aaron Bradshaw and freshman guard Joey Hart went into the portal on Monday. Bradshaw was long thought to be a potential portal target this offseason while Hart played sparingly in his first season — so not exactly surprising losses.
KSR’s Jack Pilgrim did have some good news to share on this front though. He reported that five-star center Jayden Quaintaince — the prize of Kentucky’s 2024 class who has to play at least two years in college — will consider sticking with the Wildcats while Barnhart conducts a coaching search. There is still a chance he ultimately decommits, but JQ is at least giving UK a chance to make another pitch.
UConn goes back-to-back
I told you we’d get here. Somewhat lost in the wave of Calipari news yesterday was the fact that the national championship game was being played that night. Even in the lead-up to tipoff, you couldn’t go more than a segment or two without one of the talking heads mentioning Calipari, Kentucky, or Arkansas.
As for the game itself? It was tight in the first quarter, but the Huskies, which looked like the best team in the tournament from the opening weekend, dominated in the second. Outside of 37 points and 10 rebounds from Zach Edey, only one other Purdue player scored more than six points. The Boilermakers went just 1-7 from deep on the night.
Meanwhile, UConn never once looked flustered. Four of five starters finished in double figures. Tristen Newton went for 20 points, five rebounds, and seven assists. Coach Hurley dared Edey to beat his team and the 7-foot-4 future NBA Draft pick just couldn’t do it all. UConn won all six tournament games by an average of 23.3 points en route to becoming the first back-to-back champion since Florida in 2006 and 2007.
And just like that, the 2023-24 college basketball season is officially over. You know what that means, right? One Shining Moment… (Just don’t watch the Jack Gohlke clip)
Georgia Amoore officially signs with Kentucky WBB
Kenny Brooks’ first team as Kentucky women’s basketball head coach got a major boost on a busy Monday. Virginia Tech transfer Georgia Amoore was officially announced by the program. She’ll come to Lexington after four incredible seasons with the Hokies that saw her set plenty of records, including becoming the all-time assists leader.
The 5-foot-6 Amoore, who hails from Australia, was a projected first-round WNBA Draft pick this month but decided to regroup with Brooks for one final ride. During the 2023-24 season, Amoore averaged 18.8 points and 6.8 assists per game on her way to making the All-ACC First Team (for the second straight season) and multiple Third Team All-American lists.
Welcome to the BBN, Ms. Amoore.
Dominic Niman: SEC Pitcher of Week
There isn’t a hotter team in the Southeastern Confernce right now than the Kentucky Bat ‘Cats. Hell, there might not be a hotter team in the entire country. Kentucky is now up to No. 8 in the national rankings following a home sweeping of a ranked Alabama squad over the weekend. The ‘Cats currently sit at 27-4 with an 11-1 mark in conference action.
As a result of this past weekend’s success, left-handed pitcher Dominic Niman was named SEC Pitcher of the Week after pitching a complete game shutout. Niman allowed just three hits and no earned runs while striking out seven batters. The grad transfer threw 100 pitches, completing just the second complete game shutout in the SEC this season and the only one by an SEC pitcher against a conference opponent.
The Bat Cats will be back in action tonight as they travel to Samford for their second road midweek game of the season. First pitch is at 7:30 p.m. EST on ESPN+.
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