The worst thing about eating crow when it comes to John Calipari isn't watching Kentucky fans dance on Arkansas basketball's deathbed while its 2024-25 season is on life support or publically admitting you were wrong after months of trash-talking. No, it's dealing with the constant bombardment of UK fans believing they knew this would happen all along.
Let's cut to the chase — No, Kentucky fans, you didn't know Calipari's first season would be this bad, so stop acting like you did.
Why John Calipari's first season is surprisingly disappointing
Calipari gave Kentucky 15 seasons, and only twice did he drop more than six games in conference play. The first time was during the 2017-18 season when the Wildcats went 10-8 in SEC games. The caveat? Kentucky went on to win the SEC tournament championship and made it to the Sweet Sixteen.
I wouldn't exactly call that a letdown season, and I'd venture to say that most Arkansas fans would take that year after year. But to the Kentucky fanbase, it was most likely below average, or at least, that's how it feels when they talk about him.
The second time was the first season after the COVID-19 pandemic. It was by far Coach Cal's worst season on record. Kentucky wasn't itself. Their defense was atrocious, and the offense was anemic at times. But it was a weird season overall for college basketball. Duke finished 13-11, North Carolina went 18-10, and Michigan State — a powerhouse before COVID-19 — finished 15-13. Even Kansas has a down year, dropping below 22 wins for the first time since 1988-89.
What Arkansas is currently experiencing is unlike anything Kentucky fans faced under Cal. It's been a historically bad start for the Razorbacks and John Calipari. Arkansas hadn't started 0-4 in the SEC since 2008-09 under John Pelphrey. Additionally, it's the first time since Cal's first season at UMass that he's personally started conference play similarly.
Razorback fans would be happy if Coach Cal came to Fayetteville and brought his product from Lexington with him. And to be fair, that's what we thought he did, bringing in Adou Thiero and DJ Wagner, along with three former Kentucky commits. Even UK fans joked about Arkansas changing its mascot to the "Razorcats." But that's not what we've gotten.
And while it's hard to blame a first-year coach for a poor start, it's not like Calipari is building a program from scratch. Arkansas was at heights not seen since Nolan Richardson before the 2023-24 season. He also brought in his guys from Kentucky and used a robust NIL package to bring in Jonas Aidoo and Johnell Davis — two of the best players in the transfer portal. Other than Wagner, Thiero, and Boogie Fland, none of them have really lived up to the hype.
That's not even mentioning his $7 million-plus salary, which is significantly higher than Eric Musselman's when he was at Arkansas. Moreover, as the coach with more accolades, resources, and talent than any other in Arkansas Hoops history, it's been undoubtedly a disappointing first season for the Hall of Famer.
So, no. There was never any indication that the season would turn out as dismal as it has, and any rational Kentucky fan would agree.
Regardless, the season is only halfway over. Arkansas has more than enough time to right the ship and maybe sneak into the NCAA tournament. Hogs fans saw Musselman do it three years in a row, so why can't Coach Cal? But for right now, it's not unreasonable to ask (although it makes me queasy typing it), "Maybe Kentucky fans were right about John Calipari being a dud," even if their claims of clairvoyance are annoying.