Just in: John Calipari, the New Head coach of Arkansas, has just been...

The Kansas coach had a message for his fellow Hall of Famer

The most significant change on the 2024 college basketball coaching carousel was the intra-conference transfer of Hall of Famer John Calipari from Kentucky to Arkansas, which shocked the SEC and the country.Calipari’s exit from one of the best blue-blood programs in the league may have a big effect on Arkansas’ program future, Kentucky’s standing as a consistent Final Four contender, and the aspirations of other championship-caliber institutions to close the gap.

One of the few coaches to have comparable success in the postseason as Calipari is Bill Self of Kansas, who is only somewhat behind his SEC colleague in the March Madness victory total standings.

During the Kansas postseason banquet, Self shared his opinions about Calipari’s departure from Kentucky.

“I’m glad for him,” replied Self. “Guys, coaches in one place don’t have a 21-year shelf life. Not fifteen years have passed.

Most sites say it’s been five, seven, or eight years. And to be honest, I’m glad he spent those fifteen years in such a pressure cooker. Though not at our expense, I certainly hope he succeeds.

Self and Calipari have been coaching each other for twenty years, and in their all-time series, the titans have triumphed six times.

During Calipari’s tenure, Self’s Kansas team frequently faced off against his Wildcats in highly anticipated games.

Their best matchup occurred in the 2012 national championship game, where Calipari triumphed. Their most recent meeting took place in November 2023 at the Champions Classic.

However, Self has defeated Calipari head-to-head in the championship match as well. The Jayhawks defeated the Tigers in an overtime thriller that ended 75-68 in 2008, when the latter was still in Memphis. It was one of the most memorable national championship games in recent memory.

After 15 seasons, Calipari stepped down as head coach of the Kentucky program. He made 12 appearances in the NCAA Tournament, progressed to the second weekend of March Madness on eight occasions, won the 2012 national championship, and won the SEC regular-season championship seven times.

In a social media post, California wrote of the UK, “This is a dream job.” It was the work of my dreams. When it comes to basketball at the University of Kentucky, everyone in our field remarks that it’s the bluest of blue.

We’ve realized over the past several weeks that this program most likely needs to hear from a different voice.”

With Calipari joining the Razorbacks, Arkansas’ prospects for the 2024–25 season and beyond were immediately fascinating.

His program debuted with the eighth-best odds to win the national championship the following season at FanDuel Sportsbook. At +1200, Self and the Jayhawks are ranked second on the odds list, barely ahead of Duke.