Mark Pope Talks About John Calipari's Departure for Arkansas in New Vice Documentary: 'It Blew My Mind'

John Calipari‘s departure from Kentucky for Arkansas this offseason shocked the college basketball world. It even surprised his successor, Kentucky head coach Mark Pope.

Pope shared his reaction to Calipari’s decision to leave for Arkansas in an interview with Vice Sports produced by Omaha Productions about John Calipari for the new show Calipari: Razor’s Edge. KSR+ was provided with an exclusive clip. It is not directly used in the episode.

“It’s Saturday morning at the semifinal game. I just finished working out and I went to the hotel lounge, the M Club Lounge,” Pope said. “Sure enough, I walk in there and grab some waters, and there’s Tubby Smith and John Calipari sitting there. I know Tubby. I know John. They’re fantastic. They’re Kentucky royalty, two of the greatest coaches to ever coach in this game. I’m coaching at BYU at that time and I’m like, I’m going to go say hi to my guys. I totally fanboyed them. I’m like, I’m taking a picture guys. I still have a picture from that morning.”

Pope then recalled his reaction to Calipari’s sudden departure for Arkansas, which took place not long after.

“I don’t what it was. It was 30 hours later,” Pope said. “All of a sudden the news breaks that there’s a rumor going around that John Calipari is taking the Arkansas job. It blew my mind. Then, a few days later, I got a call, started a conversation with Mitch [Barnhart], and everything happens fast.”

Pope praised Calipari for the job he did in his 15 years at Kentucky. It’s not only what he did for Kentucky, but for the entire sport.

“I love Cal. I think he’s been, not only a great mentor and ambassador,” Pope said. “He’s been a great mentor to me, he’s been a great mentor to just about every young coach in college basketball. He’s been a great ambassador for the game of college basketball. As a Kentucky alum and a die-hard Kentucky fan, I’m grateful to Cal for everything he did here. He had unbelievable runs here and he kept Kentucky at the forefront of all of college basketball. He’ll be remembered here forever as a legend.”

The full documentary consists of six episodes. It runs Mondays at 10 p.m. ET on VICE TV from Feb. 10th to March 17th.