After 15 seasons with the Kentucky Wildcats, it was finally time for John Calipari to move on. Lexington will be in full rebuild mode as some commits who came because of Coach Cal might either follow him or revisit other offers from other blue bloods and prestigious programs. Arkansas will now hope to be in contention for future national titles and create more NBA-caliber talent in the coming years. However, Coach Cal was not always set on joining the Razorbacks. He wanted to join a Big Ten program and they go by the name of Ohio State.
John Calipari expressed private interest in being the next head coach for Ohio State, per Matt Norlander of CBS Sports. He reportedly thought of the move immediately after Kentucky got bounced by Oakland in the NCAA Tournament. Obviously, multiple factors were considered but the timing was just off. So, Coach Cal just had to stick with Kentucky for a while.
Eventually, calls from Arkansas came buzzing in his phone. John Tyson, one of the Razorbacks' biggest boosters, and Jerry Jones, the owner of the Dallas Cowboys, played big roles in getting him to accept the job in Fayetteville. It did not take long before John Calipari decided to join Ohio State on a five-year deal.
What did Arkansas have that other programs could not give? Quite a lot, apparently.
First, the Razorbacks assured him that they could get quality players out of the transfer portal. This is quite important because most squads who are making deep runs in the NCAA Tournament are forged through this outlet. Second, Arkansas promised him that he could bring his freshman class. Now, there have been players rescinding their commitment to Kentucky. Karter Knox, Joey Hart, and Aaron Bradshaw are off to find better pastures but it is still unsure if they will head to Arkansas. Last, John Calipari was promised big NIL deals. He is one of the biggest names in college basketball and profiting off of it will be important. Rumors say that he will be making a little over $5 million out of NIL deals.
What happened to Ohio State after the Arkansas decision?
They were not at all left without help. Jake Diebler became their new head honcho and are looking to get back into title contention. With the expansion of the Big Ten conference, Ohio State needed someone with experience. John Calipari was the ideal candidate but Diebler would be fine.
He unveiled his plans to get the Buckeyes back to their winning ways, via Dave Dibble of 247 Sports.
“I think balance is important at Ohio State. We’re able to recruit talented high school players and we need to continue doing that. We also need to utilize all the resources available to build the best roster possible… High school recruiting is really, really important part of that. Certainly, the transfer portal is a part of that. And then roster retention is one of the biggest parts,” he declared.
It seems like the decision worked out for both programs in the end.
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