WATCH: John Calipari previews return to Rupp Arena

by:Jack Pilgrim•about 9 hours

Jan 14, 2025; Baton Rouge, Louisiana, USA; Arkansas Razorbacks head coach John Calipari in a huddle on a tie out against the LSU Tigers during the second half at Pete Maravich Assembly Center. Mandatory Credit: Stephen Lew-Imagn Images

How is John Calipari preparing for his return to Lexington? He’ll be the first to tell you it’ll be an emotional weekend, seeing all of his old buddies around town before soaking in Rupp Arena as the opposing coach — and the boos that may come with that.

He’d love if fans welcomed him back with open arms while understanding now may not be the time to celebrate all of the good times we experienced together for a decade and a half. The memories were good, but for now, he’s wearing red walking into enemy territory.

“I’m walking back into that environment, yeah, there may be some boos. There may be a lot of boos. That doesn’t change anything for me. It doesn’t change the history. It doesn’t change my history,” Calipari said Thursday. “… Do I have a soft spot for Kentucky? Yes, I was there for 15 years. We gave our heart and soul, and not only the basketball, yes, we did a lot of stuff in basketball during that time that was pretty special.”

Coach Cal also talked about DJ Wagner, Adou Thiero and Zvonimir Ivisic making their returns to Lexington, plus what he likes about Mark Pope and what he’s doing with this current Kentucky roster.

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“They’re good. He’s got them playing in a way that you gotta play to win,” he added. “They play hard, they shoot threes, they spread the court, they — he’s got them playing good. They’re playing in a confident way. He’s done a good job with them. … Mark Pope has done a fabulous job.”

Mind you, this is the first time Coach Cal has done a pregame press conference all season, so you know it’s a big deal when he spends 25 minutes talking about Kentucky and what his time in Lexington meant to him. Hear everything he had to say about the upcoming matchup below:

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