All Hogs

Hogs Experienced Lows, More Lows, Finally Vindication

Calipari remained positive, which ultimately provided his 'most rewarding' season
Bob Stephens|
Arkansas Razorbacks coach John Calipari and freshman guard Boogie Fland enjoy a moment during practice at the Chase Center in San Francisco, Calif., on Wednesday, day before their Sweet 16 matchup with Texas Tech.
Arkansas Razorbacks coach John Calipari and freshman guard Boogie Fland enjoy a moment during practice at the Chase Center in San Francisco, Calif., on Wednesday, day before their Sweet 16 matchup with Texas Tech. | Michael Morrison-Hogs on SI Images

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Arkansas Razorbacks

Relationships, both in life and sports, are not always what we expect. That especially rings true with the pairing of John Calipari and Arkansas' basketball program.

When the Hall of Fame coach told Arkansas athletics director Hunter Yurachek and business magnate John Tyson he would accept the job, they were as excited as two kids at Christmas.

When word broke Calipari was accepting the job as the Hogs' bench boss, the nation, and especially the Natural State, was captivated.

For Arkansas fans, it was love at first sight. The formal introduction at Bud Walton Arena the night Calipari was hired was like nothing seen before in Razorbacks athletics.

Enthusiasm and expectations grew even greater for the 16th-ranked Hogs when they whipped the preseason No. 1 Kansas Jayhawks by 16 points in a charity exhibition.

Then, the real games began. For Calipari and the Razorbacks, it was a season that ran the gamut of emotion. Frustration occurred before practices started as Johnell Davis and Jonas Aidoo were sidelined by injures.

On the court, the Hogs were brimming with confidence, especially after that thrashing of Hall of Fame coach Bill Self's Kansas team.

Then came disappointment as the Razorbacks struggled against Baylor and Illinois while losing neutral site affairs. They didn't play well in either outing and fans began to wonder if their team was overrated.

Overhead scoreboard prior to the game between the Arkansas Razorbacks and the Illinois Fighting Illini at T-Mobile Center on
Overhead scoreboard prior to the game between the Arkansas Razorbacks and the Illinois Fighting Illini at T-Mobile Center on Thanksgiving afternoon in Kansas City, Mo. | William Purnell-Imagn Images

The roller coaster climbed as high as it could, though, when freshman phenom Boogie Fland led his mates to his hometown of New York City.

That's where the Hogs served notice they were a team capable of winning on the big stage and against an outstanding opponent.

They edged the country's No. 14 team, the Michigan Wolverines and their pair of talented seven-footers, 89-87, in Madison Square Garden.

Hog fans were ecstatic and the national media figured Calipari's club had turned the corner toward greatness, at least for a night

Most of Calipari's nine players played well that night, giving hope for success in the talent-packed SEC. 'Twas not to be, but the win over Michigan did foreshadow what was to be a late-season surge.


After a few easy wins against lower-level teams, the crash occurred as Calipari's club lost five straight to begin SEC play,

"What the heck is going on?" wondered Arkansas fans.

Were they sold a bill of goods? Were Kentucky fans correct that Calipari had lost his magic, enthusiasm and drive to succeed?

This much was certain: The coach who'd won a national championship, the players who were top-tier talent and highly recruited, and the Arkansas program that had won its own national title, had rarely, if ever, sunk so low. None of them, the coach, players or program could understand what happened.

Many Arkansas fans and much of the media were up in arms, disgusted with Calipari and wondering if the likes of portal transfers Davis and Aidoo were simply not as good as advertised.

Adou Thiero was playing well, Fland and fellow guard D.J. Wagner excelled against Michigan, as did Trevon Brazile, but consistency was certainly lacking.

Zvonimir Ivisic was great, then horrible. Freshmen Karter Knox and Billy Richmond just weren't ready to compete successfully against national-caliber teams.

In a word, the once proud Razorbacks basketball program, revered in the state and admired around the country, was a mess.

Still, Calipari was patient, committed to being upbeat and showing confidence in his players, even if it was a facade to protect their psyches and an attempt to increase their seeming lack of confidence while praying they would soon turn a corner.

His reputation was in tatters. He'd been regarded as one of the premier coaches in the country for most of three decades. In January, after that 0-5 SEC start, Calipari was ridiculed by much of the media and even opposing coaches.

What those folks forgot were Calipari's words — spoken countless times during the preseason and into December — to wait and see what his team played like in February.

When the Hogs lost Fland to what was supposedly season-ending thumb surgery, and they were a dismal 1-6 in the SEC, February had suddenly arrived.

Nobody, but nobody, thought Calipari's first Arkansas team had any fight left. They just didn't seem to know how to win if they managed to stay close. They even got beat by a lousy LSU team on the road.

Then, a miracle occurred. The night before his return to Kentucky, the game ESPN dubbed "A Homecoming Like No Other," Calipari gave his kids a pep talk that resonated throughout the rest of the season.

"Play fearless, and I'll coach that way," he said more than once while standing in Kentucky's Rupp Arena, where his name will someday hang in the ceiling.

Well, the Hogs listened, did what he said, played with no fear, and gave the No. 12 Kentucky Wildcats an embarrassing 10-point loss. Thiero, Wagner and Ivisic, former Wildcats who followed Calipari to Arkansas, all played well and had the last laugh.

The next six games produced a 3-3 stretch, but included big wins at Texas and over No. 15 Missouri, plus admirable performances against No. 1 Auburn, No. 3 Alabama and No. 8 Texas A&M.

Then, when there seemed to finally be hope again, Thiero hyperextended a knee. Still, the coach and players pulled together. Everyone's body language looked like that of a winner, fearlessness was evident, and the Hogs triumphed in four of the next five.

An NCAA bid was their prize. Redemption was afforded Calipari and the players. They'd done what everyone should do in life: Work hard, endeavor each day to improve, and stay positive.

They beat Kansas again in the first round of the NCAA Tournament, bringing an immense feeling of vindication to Calipari, the players, the program itself, and yes, even to Arkansas fans who stuck by their team through thick and thin.

The second NCAA win over second-seed St. John's was a huge layer of icing on the cake. When Arkansas outplayed the Texas Tech Red Raiders, the West Region's No. 3 seed, it seemed Calipari was indeed a miracle worker.

A late collapse gave Tech the win and an Elite Eight spot opposite Florida. Tech outplayed the Gators but collapsed in the final minutes as Arkansas had done two days earlier and it's the Gators who advanced to the Final Four Saturday.

Calipari and his Razorbacks were this year's poster child for March Madness, the Cinderella who somehow snuck into the Big Dance and refused to leave. They nearly reached the Elite Eight and could've beaten Florida.

The team that was 0-5 couldn't beat Florida at home in January, losing by eight. The players who rallied around Calipari, and he around them, could've reached the Final Four, playing as the coach said, "with one heartbeat."

Calipari likes to say this season was simply the first chapter in his Razorback history book. It was a long, difficult chapter, but also the most rewarding he's ever authored he often repeated.

"Hopefully, the legacy will be this team was one of the (fan) favorites," he said following the Texas Tech loss, "because of what they went through and how they stuck together."

The 66-year-old who's taken four teams to the Sweet 16 — the other three to the Final Four — could make it four in the near future.

With a terrific recruiting class already in place, he's confident next year will find the Hogs far closer to a No. 2 seed than a 10. That's what many expected this season when Calipari was hired.

After watching him guide this year's team, everyone should wait until February, or even March, to pass judgment on the Hogs.

The move to Arkansas and this troubled season lit a fire under the old coach, even more than he expected. So, don't be surprised if next year's version of the Calipari Razorbacks is playing well by Thanksgiving and all the way through March.

HOGS FEED:

• Second Razorback of Calipari era hits portal

• Wehiwa Aloy's own Ripken streak provides stability for Arkansas

• What do Hogs get if they win Nate Ament sweepstakes?

•
Hogs will conduct Zoom meetings with two high scoring transfers

• Hogs complete first road sweep over Vanderbilt in 31 years

Published
Bob Stephens
BOB STEPHENS

Bob Stephens won more than a dozen awards as a sportswriter and columnist in Northwest Arkansas from 1980 to 2003. He started as a senior for the 1975 Fayetteville Bulldogs’ state championship basketball team, and was drafted that summer in the 19th round by the St. Louis Cardinals but signed instead with Norm DeBriyn's Razorbacks, playing shortstop and third base. Bob has written for the Washington Post, Chicago Sun-Times, San Diego Union-Tribune, New Jersey Star-Ledger, and many more. He covered the Razorbacks in three Final Fours, three College World Series, six New Year’s Day bowl games, and witnessed many track national championships. He lives in Colorado Springs with his wife, Pati. Follow on X: @BobHogs56

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