John Calipari declines comment on Arkansas job, walks dog in Lexington
John Calipari was spotted walking his dog outside of his home in Kentucky on Monday, the night after he reportedly accepted the Arkansas head coaching job.
Calipari was approached by Lee Howard of WKYT and asked if he had a comment for Kentucky fans. He declined to give one.
“No I don’t. I’m walking my dog right now,” John Calipari said. “Nah, I’m good. I’m good. … My dog is walking me.”
You can watch the video below:
It has been a wild 24 hours for John Calipari, Kentucky fans and Arkansas fan. A portion of the Wildcats fan base has been frustrated with the way the 2023-24 season ended, which could be the reason Calipari is on the move after 15 seasons in Lexington.
He had plenty of good moments leading the Kentucky program, for sure, but the Wildcats haven’t made it past the second round of the NCAA Tournament since 2019.
It will be interesting to see what John Calipari says publicly about the decision when he does opt to open up. But for now, he’s going to stick to walking his dog and leave Big Blue Nation waiting for an explanation.
Pete Thamel calls Billy Donovan the ‘home run hire’ for Kentucky
Plenty of names have been thrown around to replace John Calipari as the head coach at Kentucky. ESPN insider Pete Thamel believes the best option for the Wildcats very well could be Bulls coach Billy Donovan.
Thamel appeared on The Paul Finebaum Show on Monday and shared where things stand as Kentucky searches for its next head coach, including the possibility of Kentucky hiring Donovan.
“Billy Donovan is the home run hire. Billy Donovan is the aspirational hire,” Thamel said. “He was an assistant there under Rick Pitino. There’s ties there for Billy Donovan.”
Donovan was the head coach at Florida from 1996-2015, reaching the Final Four on four occasions and winning a pair of national titles.
He left for the NBA ahead of the 2015-16 season and is currently with the Bulls, after starting off with the Thunder. Thamel believes that if Donovan is the hire for Kentucky, the process could take some time.
“He obviously dominated the SEC in the mid-2000s and has been a generally successful NBA coach. It’ll be interesting in the courtship of Billy Donovan, the Bulls are in the NBA play-in game, which is on April 17,” Thamel said. “I don’t think Billy Donovan could leave before the NBA playoffs. So if we start to see this search drag out towards that date, I think it would be an increased indication that someone was interested.
“You remember the Nick Saban search. What did that take, 38 days at Alabama for him to leave the Dolphins and come. … I think if Billy Donovan happens, there would have to be a little bit of a wait and that would be a tell.”