WOO PIG SOOIE! The Arkansas Razorbacks have their new coach with a blockbuster hire of John Calipari per Pete Thamel. Arkansas had an opening at head coach after previous coach Eric Musselman took the USC coaching position. Calipari is signing a five-year deal making 8.5 Million per year which is double that of previous coach Eric Musselman (4.2 Million) at Arkansas.

Calipari is coming off of a loss to 14-see Oakland University in the NCAA Tournament which caused some turmoil with the Kentucky fanbase. A potential reason Calipari is leaving Arkansas is because of some ties to Arkansas booster John Tyson who is a part of Tyson Foods. This is quite the shock to college basketball because just last week Kentucky said that John Calipari will be the coach next year for the Wildcats.

The Fun Hires for Kentucky

Dan Hurley: The UCONN Huskies coach is coaching in his second National Championship in a row. This would be the best-case scenario for Kentucky, but it is very unlikely for Hurley to leave UCONN especially if he wins back-to-back National Championships. The only way this is remotely possible is if the Kentucky boosters want to stick it to Calipari and give Hurley all the money he could ever want. It just seems very unlikely Hurley is coaching in Lexington next year, but not impossible.

Rick Pitino: A former Kentucky Wildcats coach has won a National Championship with Kentucky. That man is Rick Pitinoand it would be an electric hire for Kentucky and the sport of college basketball unless you are a St. John’s fan. Bringing Pitino back to Lexington after he went to the rival Louisville Cardinals would be the perfect ending for all involved. Also, can you imagine if Pitino won another National Championship with Kentucky? It would be chaos but it would also be awesome.

Billy Donovan: Donovan is currently coaching the Chicago Bulls in the NBA. He could be considered for this coaching position because of his success for the Florida Gators and the back-to-back championships. Donovan has not coached in college since 2015 when he left Florida for the Oklahoma City Thunder. The Bulls have not been very good under Donovan, so this could be a way back to college for him.

The Most Likely Hires for Kentucky

Nate Oats: Nate Oats is the most talked about person for the job to replace Calipari. He has made the Alabama Crimson Tide into a real force in the SEC, made the Final Four this year and only lost to UCONN and Hurley. He is a very offensive-minded coach and will be a high target for many Blue Blood openings.

Scott Drew: Drew is another option for Kentucky to fill their opening. He seems that he should be on top of Kentucky AD Mitch Barnhart’s list of who to call, after Hurley. Drew has been a great coach for the Baylor Bears, even winning a National Championship in 2021. He has only won under 20 games 5 times in his 21-year coaching career at Baylor.

Finally, Either of these coaches would be a great hire for Kentucky but Drew is probably the most realistic option for Kentucky. Regardless, whoever Kentucky hires to be their head coach, they will be better than Calipari will be at Arkansas.

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