John Calipari shares the secret behind Arkansas basketball’s NCAA Tournament alley-oop and dunk.
What’s the secret to the alley-oop in Arkansas basketball? Here, John Calipari explains how the Hogs put their high-flying advantage into practice.
- John Calipari didn’t evolve after leaving Kentucky. He also joined forces with some great freshmen.
- Arkansas will go as far as Darius Acuff to beat the Razorbacks.
- Kentucky probably won’t admit it, but they might miss out on another Sweet 16-bound John Calipari.
John Calipari, that wise old dog. He just unleashed the oldest strategy in the book.
Calipari played in Kentucky’s final few games of the NCAA Tournament against the Possums. Jack Gaulke poked Cal with a stick, but he didn’t move. The Big Blue Nation captured Calipari in a car accident, put him in a box and happily shipped him off to Arkansas.
Enjoy your dead possum stew, Hoghead!
Calipari kept up the act and spent the first few months moving into his first season at Arkansas. When the Razorbacks lost six in a row in January 2025, Kentucky fans must have thought they had made Arkansas miserable with the Trojans.
Stick a fork in him, huh? Calipari is cooked crispy, right?
No, it’s just a veteran move. Never set the bar too high or too fast. Keep your expectations in check and step on the accelerator.
Well, look at Calipari. He’s putting the pedal to the metal for Arkansas’ second consecutive Sweet 16, setting a cruising 90-point pace at Hammer Lane.
Guys, this scoundrel has doped us with the ropes! He still has some punch left in him.
How John Calipari doubled down in Arkansas
Calipari hasn’t changed much either. During his down year at Kentucky, he ran into legitimate criticism for not leaning into the transfer portal enough, preferring instead to stick with the A-list freshman flow. Calipari’s one-and-done bonanza worked for Kentucky for a while, but in March his old team started winning and Calipari’s Cats took a hit from the 24-year-old sharpshooter who transferred from Division II to Oakland.
Surely, if Calipari is to revive his career, he’ll need to break away from his hyper-flamboyant ways, right?
“It’s going to be hard to change myself,” Calipari said of building his roster two weeks before leaving Kentucky for Arkansas.
Well, maybe he doesn’t need to change.
Calipari doubled up with more McDonald’s All-Americans in exchange for entering the transfer sweepstakes. Combine Calipari’s recruiting chops with Tyson Chickenman’s checkbook, and Arkansas’ roster quickly took on blue-chipper hues.
Calipari doesn’t mind a transfer because he acquired five-star teenagers Darius Eif Jr. and Malik Thomas.
Spread out the basketball, hey! watch them go.
Acuff scored 36 points in the second round against High Point. Thomas added 19.
Who needs a transfer when you have freshmen like these two?
Arkansas will go where Darius Acuff goes.
To be fair, Calipari cracked the door open for some transfers. His lineup features a healthy mix of young and old youngsters who have done a few laps around the schoolyard.
But make no mistake, this is Acuff’s team. This is an exhibition for new students.
“We put it in his hands, and I trust him and the team trusts him,” Calipari said on TNT after the second-round win over a reeling High Point team.
It’s a freshman year in college basketball, and while Duke’s Cameron Boozer is stealing a lot of the spotlight, there’s still no one better than Acuff. He’s also skyrocketing to NBA mock draft boards.
Acaf’s total points in the last 6 games are 36.24.30.24.37.28.
Mercy, he’s a good player and he should have played against High Point considering the Arkansas defense was napping.
Kentucky fans should be having flashbacks. Acuff is exactly the type of talent Calipari brings to Lexington, Kentucky. More studs are on the way. Calipari’s latest signing class includes three five-star recruits. And what about Kentucky? zero. Similarly, new employees are zero.
While Mark Pope is struggling with an expensive move and Kentucky’s second-year coach is trying to meet the relentless demands of college basketball’s most rabid fan base, Calipari is relieved of the pressures of his job at Kentucky and regaining his dignity at Arkansas.
Let’s be clear: Cats fans had every right to be angry with Calipari during the final years of his tenure. Especially in March, the standards were not met. But Pope’s team hasn’t shaken up much this season, and now Calipari looks rejuvenated off the mat and with an SEC rival. If you had to choose between Arkansas and Kentucky to reach the Elite Eight, a redshirt team with freshmen filling buckets seems like a smarter strategy.
Don’t confuse Arkansas or Calipari with an underdog story. The high point was Cinderella, not Arkansas. Underdogs don’t acquire players like Acaf. This roster doesn’t come from a bargain rack. Arkansas is fully committed to the Calipari era, and the Razorbacks need to win two more games to truly have a season worth celebrating.
The way the Razorbacks played after just winning the SEC Tournament, you wouldn’t want them in your area.
Apparently, Calipari didn’t have to change his ways. He needed a change of pace, and one of the better freshmen needed to play in March Madness like Acuff did against High Point.
Meanwhile, that possum Calipari has regained his bite.
Blake Topmeyer is a columnist for the USA TODAY Network. Email BToppmeyer@gannett.com and follow at X @btoppmeyer.
