UCLA Basketball: John Calipari Admits Regretting Not Taking Bruins Job
During an extensive new conversation with Shams Charania and Kyle Tucker of The Athletic, now-former University of Kentucky head coach John Calipari revealed that he now retroactively mourns his decision to not jump ship and join the winningest program in men's college basketball, the UCLA Bruins, in 2019. The Blue and Gold pivoted, bringing on Mick Cronin instead, and the team has enjoyed a very solid go of it in the intervening years, this season excluded.
Calipari has finally departed Kentucky following the team's second first round exit in the last three seasons, signing with the Arkansas Razorbacks after longtime head coach Eric Musselman left town for the USC Trojans.
It appears that it all came down to money, at the end of the day.
"Calipari and Arkansas neared an agreement on the terms for his arrival, which would represent a colossal shakeup in college basketball," Charania and Tucker write. "Calipari owned the era of the one-and-done with a revolving door of NBA stars in Lexington, but now another program had piqued his interest at the right place and right time. Sources close to Calipari say he still regrets turning down the UCLA job in 2019. That was the time to bolt, he now admits privately. But Kentucky ponied up a 10-year, $86 million contract to keep him in Lexington, and the Bruins couldn’t match."
