Interesting take from a life long hog fan

[TNCatfanforever]

One of our families best friends is from near Jonesboro Ark. I have seen him since Cal headed across the Mississippi. He clearly stated that many diehard Hog fans are not happy and are skeptical about Cal. Obviously their main concern was ours. He cares more about draft day that winning a championship.

 

[Butters' Dad]

Sure, Jan.

 

[Jmeeks54thebest]

One of our families best friends is from near Jonesboro Ark. I have seen him since Cal headed across the Mississippi. He clearly stated that many diehard Hog fans are not happy and are skeptical about Cal. Obviously their main concern was ours. He cares more about draft day that winning a championship.

They’ll say that today. But if he beats us this year they’ll change their tune to told ya so and shouldn’t have run him off real quick

 

[Mr. Stratford]

No different than a lot of our fans being concerned about the Pope hire. People can say Pope cares and gets UK better than an anyone, but can he win consistently, and can he win in the post-season games.

 

[BC_Wader]

They’ll say that today. But if he beats us this year they’ll change their tune to told ya so and shouldn’t have run him off real quick

Not gonna happen. I can't wait to spank Cal and our former players. It's happening. Mark it down.

 

[CELTICAT]

I moved to Jonesboro near the end of 2022. Older fans think he’s sleazy and lost his fast ball. Younger to middle age fans think he’s going to win a national championship. Take it for what it’s worth.

 

[MonsterMash79]

I just wanna taste their tears 😌

 

[know1]

This is an interesting take?

 

[Crums Bald Spot]

I moved to Jonesboro near the end of 2022. Older fans think he’s sleazy and lost his fast ball. Younger to middle age fans think he’s going to win a national championship. Take it for what it’s worth.

Not sure about sleazy but he's definitely lost a step. He's not the same level coach he was at UMass nor the recruiter he was from 2007ish to 2015. The game has past him by.

 

[thebluestripes]

He was a better coach when www was his bagman.

 

[zoid1]

Look alot of us loved Cal when he was here. He recruited the best players in the nation that's what a KY coach should do. The thing is after about 2015 he lost something coaching wise. Even Tubby was going to elite 8's with far lesser talent at UK. I'm not mad at Cal I hope he does good except off course against us and we beat the dog out of em. I think Cal and the UK fanbase needed a change. No reason to not be winning at UK in March at a school like this. I'm all in on Pope who appears to have the drive and mentality to lead us back to the promised land.

 

[seccats04]

Cal will win a few big games they shouldn't at Arkansas but he will also lose some head scratchers. He also will win nothing of substance, no regular season titles, no SECT titles and very few NCAAT wins.

College basketball has changed so much in the past ten years and Cal has failed to adapt. I guess in his mind, Brad will change the offense, be the best recruiter in college basketball and lead them to the promised land.

 

[bigbluedon]

No different than a lot of our fans being concerned about the Pope hire. People can say Pope cares and gets UK better than an anyone, but can he win consistently, and can he win in the post-season games.

I am not the least bit concerned. You must be a youngster and winning is all you can see. Pope is the best thing that has happened to basketball since Pitino was hired. Just watch and see.

 

[Fox2monk]

One of our families best friends is from near Jonesboro Ark. I have seen him since Cal headed across the Mississippi. He clearly stated that many diehard Hog fans are not happy and are skeptical about Cal. Obviously their main concern was ours. He cares more about draft day that winning a championship.

He’s ahead of the curve, he will be an outcast at first if he is on message boards but then a prophet later.

 

[MrHotDice]

I am not the least bit concerned. You must be a youngster and winning is all you can see. Pope is the best thing that has happened to basketball since Pitino was hired. Just watch and see.

Bingo

 

[Mr. Stratford]

I am not the least bit concerned. You must be a youngster and winning is all you can see. Pope is the best thing that has happened to basketball since Pitino was hired. Just watch and see.

I mean, yea, winning is pretty important. Pretty sure that not winning enough has been the downfall of almost every coach we have had, sans Pitino and maybe Rupp.

He can be as nice as he can be and as connected to the fans as anyone ever has, but if he isn't winning at a high level pretty consistently, do you really expect people to care?

 

[yoshukai]

The few Arkansas fans I know are hopeful he can rekindle some of what he used to be and were glad to get Calipari considering they had already been turned down by 3 previous candidates. They also aren’t worried about what happens if it doesn’t because like they told me, “we weren’t stupid enough to give him a lifetime contract “.

I’m just SO thankful they took him off our hands and the dark cloud of that enormous buyout isn’t hovering over the program anymore.

 

[MegaBlue05]

I mean, yea, winning is pretty important. Pretty sure that not winning enough has been the downfall of almost every coach we have had, sans Pitino and maybe Rupp.

He can be as nice as he can be and as connected to the fans as anyone ever has, but if he isn't winning at a high level pretty consistently, do you really expect people to care?

Rupp felt pressure too. He went to one FF in his last 14 seasons as coach. Pitino is probably the only modern UK coach to not face fan pressure for lack of winning at a high level.

The way I see it, Pope is a complete unknown. He could do great things and be an all-timer or we could be looking for his replacement by 2027. Only time will tell.

With Cal, there was enough history of demonstrated piss poor performance that led most rational fans to believe his best days were behind him and a resurgence back to 2009-15 levels wasn’t going to happen. Winning recruiting and offseason titles were about all Call was good for the last half of his tenure.

 

[TopCatCal]

They’ll say that today. But if he beats us this year they’ll change their tune to told ya so and shouldn’t have run him off real quick

And if they say this. I'll say, just wait until your Calipari coached team loses in the 1st round of the SEC & NCAA tournaments this year & you'll be singing a different tune.

 

[BlueSince92]

In general I respect Arkansas fans so I’m glad to hear this.

 

[pappy52]

Cal took a nose dive after the 2015 season. and one main reason. JOHN ROBIC, he left for an adminstrative position and he was the real glue. since robic left it was down hill, Robic was the planner and the x and o guy without a doubt. good luck having Brad Calapari as that guy now

 

[EdgeHD]

One of our families best friends is from near Jonesboro Ark. I have seen him since Cal headed across the Mississippi. He clearly stated that many diehard Hog fans are not happy and are skeptical about Cal. Obviously their main concern was ours. He cares more about draft day that winning a championship.

Yes, but he is someone else's problem now. Cal and Barnhart were not getting along. Kentucky fans were fed up. Getting out from under that contract may turn out to be one of the best things that's ever happened to Kentucky sports. If Pope is an immediate success, that might be icing on the cake.

 

[EdgeHD]

They’ll say that today. But if he beats us this year they’ll change their tune to told ya so and shouldn’t have run him off real quick

Cal's first Arkansas roster is loaded. It is a tick or two better than his last roster at Kentucky. Whether or not Cal beats us next season, it is an unbelievable blessing and a new awakening for Kentucky sports just to be out from under that awful contract.

 

[Killswitch24]

Cal's first Arkansas roster is loaded. It is a tick or two better than his last roster at Kentucky. Whether or not Cal beats us next season, it is an unbelievable blessing and a new awakening for Kentucky sports just to be out from under that awful contract.

Nah I don’t know where you’re seeing it’s a better roster than UK last season. Aidoo is a slight improvement I guess, although not sure how much. You add Davis but replace 3 players with guys that certainly don’t add up. Karter Knox probably wont even be much of a factor in 1 year (typical Calipari fringe 1st rounder who won’t return) . We lost Reed, Rob, and Reeves lol so they’ll never have the 3 best players our team did last year and we didn’t make it past Oakland. Fland is okay but he’s not as good as those for sure. Wagner I don’t see as crazy impactful either, the kid can’t shoot and David will play behind him all year we already know that. Then the coaching bench took a MASSIVE hit. You lose Orlando and Welch and add Payne and Brad lol. Payne has been exposed he’s a terrible coach who’s just been given players at UK to make him look good. And Brad, whew. That’s bad.

I’ll believe it’s a better team than we had when I see it. Anytime a roster loses it’s best staff and 3 best offensive players it’s clearly not better until it’s proven.

 

[LineSkiCat14]

Even UK fans had plenty of skeptics when Cal was hired.. and that was 15 years ago when Cal was 50, not 65. And we also were coming off of BCG/Tail end of Tubby.

Arkansas is getting a guy who showed he was washed up the last few years, who is on the wrong side of 60, and replacing a pretty solid coach in Mussleman, whose team this year just had chemistry issues (to put it lightly), to no fault of the coach. One could say this hire might be a downgrade for them.

 

[ukcatz12]

I just wanna taste their tears 😌

 

[Killswitch24]

Even UK fans had plenty of skeptics when Cal was hired.. and that was 15 years ago when Cal was 50, not 65. And we also were coming off of BCG/Tail end of Tubby.

Arkansas is getting a guy who showed he was washed up the last few years, who is on the wrong side of 60, and replacing a pretty solid coach in Mussleman, whose team this year just had chemistry issues (to put it lightly), to no fault of the coach. One could say this hire might be a downgrade for them.

Oh I don’t think there’s any doubt this was a huge downgrade for them. We know Cal better than anybody and honestly ask yourself, honestly, if you could have Calipari or Muss right now who you’d pick? Without hating or biased answers, I can say 100% that’s not close. I’m not a fan of muss but his upside as the UK coach would be worlds ahead of Calipari. They upgraded the name of the coach and downgraded in every other area. Calipari is a name today he’s not one of the better coaches in college basketball. Kids that don’t want to compete and go pro play for him and he rolls out the balls. Muss actually uses strategy, utilizes the portal, doesn’t rely on freshman, and he’s been to multiple elite 8’s since Calipari last thought of one. To me it’s a clear downgrade and I’m not sure how any Arkansas fan could argue it. They like it because they think they’re getting the old Calipari and their name has been elevated because of his brand. They’ll see soon enough that none of that really matters on the court.

And they can forget winning conference tournaments. I bet they’re already beginning the mantra “those games don’t matter”. Cal didn’t want us caring he’s gonna think they’re nuts if they do. I still don’t believe Arkansas will survive his time, he’s going to lower the standards for himself so bad very few are going to want the job after him.

 

[EdgeHD]

Nah I don’t know where you’re seeing it’s a better roster than UK last season. Aidoo is a slight improvement I guess, although not sure how much. You add Davis but replace 3 players with guys that certainly don’t add up. Karter Knox probably wont even be much of a factor in 1 year (typical Calipari fringe 1st rounder who won’t return) . We lost Reed, Rob, and Reeves lol so they’ll never have the 3 best players our team did last year and we didn’t make it past Oakland. Fland is okay but he’s not as good as those for sure. Wagner I don’t see as crazy impactful either, the kid can’t shoot and David will play behind him all year we already know that. Then the coaching bench took a MASSIVE hit. You lose Orlando and Welch and add Payne and Brad lol. Payne has been exposed he’s a terrible coach who’s just been given players at UK to make him look good. And Brad, whew. That’s bad.

I’ll believe it’s a better team than we had when I see it. Anytime a roster loses it’s best staff and 3 best offensive players it’s clearly not better until it’s proven.

For some reason you are forgetting all the transfer players Cal has at Arkansas now have an additional year of experience. They will be better than they were last year. Aidoo is not a slight improvement. He is a big improvement because he is a very physical interior player who defends, rebounds, and protects the rim. Davis will probably have as good or better season than Reeves last year. Trevon Brazile will be back. Sheppard and Dillingham won't be there, but Cal never used them right anyway. But let's not miss the point. Cal will be jacked up to show our fans he was right and we were wrong, and rub it in Barnhart's face. I say Arkansas may very well beat Kentucky, but that is not as important as getting out from under Cal's contract. That is the main thing. If we beat him, icing on the cake.

 

[Killswitch24]

For some reason you are forgetting all the transfer players Cal has at Arkansas now have an additional year of experience. They will be better than they were last year. Aidoo is not a slight improvement. He is a big improvement because he is a very physical interior player who defends, rebounds, and protects the rim. Davis will probably have as good or better season than Reeves last year. Trevon Brazile will be back. Sheppard and Dillingham won't be there, but Cal never used them right anyway. But let's not miss the point. Cal will be jacked up to show our fans he was right and we were wrong, and rub it in Barnhart's face. I say Arkansas may very well beat Kentucky, but that is not as important as getting out from under Cal's contract. That is the main thing. If we beat him, icing on the cake.

Aidoo does not have a well rounded game. I’m not that impressed with him overall. The offense issues will be there. Cal didn’t use our best players right yea and he won’t use theirs right either. It goes both ways. Davis will be playing behind guys like Wagner and Fland. And it’s a much bigger deal losing Shepard and Dilly than you’re seeing. Without those 2 how many more games does he lose last year? I’d say quite a lot.

You cannot discount losing the 3 best players from a roster and say the lineup has been clearly improved. Davis also lost a lot of games to quality competition and beat up on the cupcakes. We really don’t know what he’ll bring either.

I won’t believe it’s a better lineup until they show that because of these reasons. Also I think you’re underselling how big of a step back his coaching staff took this season. He lost his best offensive mind and brought in a dud. Cal wants to win sure and so do we. We have the better coach too. And Cal isn’t a good coach, just because he wants to win doesn’t mean he will. Seems like go think Cal is going to suddenly fix all of his issues and he’s not. He’d be at Kentucky right now if he was going to do that. You don’t throw your legacy away at UK because you won’t change then change everything about yourself at Arkansas. He’s going to do many of the same things he did here. I don’t even think his time there will add up to what they had under Muss. I actually know it won’t.

 

[WildcatsAndBourbon]

Cal got old without fully realizing it and definitely without adjusting. Part of what made Cal, Cal for so long was his near limitless amount of energy. He could travel, recruit, coach, manage a brand, have a family, etc etc etc. He thrived and functioned like a business tycoon (or serial killer), like one of those people who only needs 4 hours of sleep a night. And then he got old - I wonder if the hip replacement was a factor - and couldn’t do it all, all the time anymore. He didn’t make any adjustments to operate more efficiently within a new set of personal limiters.

 

[Ukgold]

He was a better coach when www was his bagman.

started going down hill shortly after

 

[Jmeeks54thebest]

Not gonna happen. I can't wait to spank Cal and our former players. It's happening. Mark it down.

To be clear, I wasn’t predicting a loss to Cal.

 

[smallmouthhog]

Cal wont be reliying on freshmen next year. He did what you guys wanted him to do there.

Not a single person I have been associated with is down on the Cal hire down here. Arkansas has not had a roster like this since Nolan.

 

[Son_Of_Saul]

Not gonna happen. I can't wait to spank Cal and our former players. It's happening. Mark it down.

Hopefully; but the last time I saw fans writing this confidently about an imminent win, UK got blasted by Duke by about 30 points in the Champion's Classic.

Arkansas will have a ton of talent this upcoming season. They could beat us, even at Rupp.

 

[Phil_The_Music]

Oh I don’t think there’s any doubt this was a huge downgrade for them. We know Cal better than anybody and honestly ask yourself, honestly, if you could have Calipari or Muss right now who you’d pick? Without hating or biased answers, I can say 100% that’s not close. I’m not a fan of muss but his upside as the UK coach would be worlds ahead of Calipari. They upgraded the name of the coach and downgraded in every other area. Calipari is a name today he’s not one of the better coaches in college basketball. Kids that don’t want to compete and go pro play for him and he rolls out the balls. Muss actually uses strategy, utilizes the portal, doesn’t rely on freshman, and he’s been to multiple elite 8’s since Calipari last thought of one. To me it’s a clear downgrade and I’m not sure how any Arkansas fan could argue it. They like it because they think they’re getting the old Calipari and their name has been elevated because of his brand. They’ll see soon enough that none of that really matters on the court.

And they can forget winning conference tournaments. I bet they’re already beginning the mantra “those games don’t matter”. Cal didn’t want us caring he’s gonna think they’re nuts if they do. I still don’t believe Arkansas will survive his time, he’s going to lower the standards for himself so bad very few are going to want the job after him.

Arkansas will dislike him even more than we do. At least he won us a championship and some final fours. That isn't happening for him anymore.

 

[dmacforheisman]

Oh I don’t think there’s any doubt this was a huge downgrade for them. We know Cal better than anybody and honestly ask yourself, honestly, if you could have Calipari or Muss right now who you’d pick? Without hating or biased answers, I can say 100% that’s not close. I’m not a fan of muss but his upside as the UK coach would be worlds ahead of Calipari. They upgraded the name of the coach and downgraded in every other area. Calipari is a name today he’s not one of the better coaches in college basketball. Kids that don’t want to compete and go pro play for him and he rolls out the balls. Muss actually uses strategy, utilizes the portal, doesn’t rely on freshman, and he’s been to multiple elite 8’s since Calipari last thought of one. To me it’s a clear downgrade and I’m not sure how any Arkansas fan could argue it. They like it because they think they’re getting the old Calipari and their name has been elevated because of his brand. They’ll see soon enough that none of that really matters on the court.

And they can forget winning conference tournaments. I bet they’re already beginning the mantra “those games don’t matter”. Cal didn’t want us caring he’s gonna think they’re nuts if they do. I still don’t believe Arkansas will survive his time, he’s going to lower the standards for himself so bad very few are going to want the job after him.

Muss had some great tournament runs no doubt but he also finished 10th in the SEC with the #2 recruiting class and then had a disaster of a year last season so he isn’t perfect either. His offense at times is painful.

 

[zoid1]

Cal averages about 3 draft picks a year and won ONE NCAA game in the last 5 years. It's not about the talent he will put on the roster he will have plenty and we keep trying to tell ya that. It's gonna be his coaching, rotation, x and o stuff that will make you mad. Not to mention his staff got extremely downgraded this year and this is not the 2010's Cal your getting.

Come talk to us UK fans when Wagner starts taking Davis minutes or starts over him, you got 2 players with minor injuries and your rotation is screwed up and down to 7 and he says I don't know haven't seen them, you lose to southwest Ark tech valley, etc, etc. Just come on over here we'll all sympathize with you I promise we've been going thru it for the better part of 10 years.

 

[Rideordiewildcat]

Piggy problems not ours.

 

[Fox2monk]

Even UK fans had plenty of skeptics when Cal was hired.. and that was 15 years ago when Cal was 50, not 65. And we also were coming off of BCG/Tail end of Tubby.

Arkansas is getting a guy who showed he was washed up the last few years, who is on the wrong side of 60, and replacing a pretty solid coach in Mussleman, whose team this year just had chemistry issues (to put it lightly), to no fault of the coach. One could say this hire might be a downgrade for them.

On court it definitely is, he’s washed up and they are caught up in the news cycle and the shiny recruiting. We used to be that way, we would come around when he stacked talent. It it eventually always led to losing too much. No titles, no final 4’s and no SEC championships of any kind.

 

[thebluestripes]

what ever happened to 3 hog night? He seemed like a respectful arky fan that liked sharing opinions on this board but from my understanding hasnt posted anything since cal went to hogland