John Calipari Throws Another Strike for Razorbacks
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Arkansas coach John Calipari only needed one pitch to deliver another strike for Razorback fans Saturday afternoon. The new basketball coach was at Baum-Walker Stadium for the second game of a doubleheader with Florida and delivered the first pitch ... over the plate.
He appears to be coming up with a succession of talented signings to a roster completely depleted, after taking over the head basketball coaching job. When he came to Dave Van Horn's office between games, the baseball coach didn't waste any time letting him know how glad he was to have him there.
"I talked to him between games," Van Horn said later. "He actually came to my office when I was doing some lineups and talking about a few things. He didn't want to take away from our team or our game and he asked if I was good with it and I told 'yeah, I'm good with it. Go out there and build your brand a little bit. If they're fired up about basketball, they're fired up about baseball."
Calipari's unexpected hiring has gotten more talk than the Razorbacks' home winning streak that ran to a program-tying 27 before a loss in the second game of the doubleheader to the Gators. They ran out of gas after Florida's Jac Caglianone finally broke a long-ball slump with a crushing grand slam in the fourth.
"He [Calipari] seems excited to be here," Van Horn said. "I'm excited he's here."
For an athletic department that has long been a model of cooperation between the coaches in different sports, none of that is surprising. As a scouting report, Calipari didn't have the worst throwing motion in the world, and the ball was over the plate. However, he couldn't deliver any magic for a sweep of the weekend series.
Even though the Hogs didn't win the finale, the fans got an added bonus with Calipari in attendance. You really wouldn't expect any less camaraderie and appreciation from the two sports garnering the most publicity on campus right now.
HOGS FEED:
• Gators avoid getting swept by Razorbacks as Caglianone finally goes deep
• Two Razorbacks picked late on third day of NFL Draft
• Razorbacks win wild affair against Florida in first game of doubleheader
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ANDY HODGES
Sports columnist, writer, former radio host and television host who has been expressing an opinion on sports in the media for over four decades. He has been at numerous media stops in Arkansas, Texas and Mississippi.