Mark Pope mentions one game where he won't be cheering for John Calipari

The Kentucky basketball team has a new head coach this season as Mark Pope has come over from BYU to lead the Wildcats. Former head coach John Calipari is still in the SEC as he is the head coach at Arkansas now. Pope is a former Kentucky basketball player, so he has formed a good relationship with Calipari over the years.

Now that John Calipari is the coach at Arkansas, he is going to have to coach against the Kentucky basketball team. Mark Pope will be cheering for Calipari this year, but obviously not when the Razorbacks meet the Wildcats.

“He’s a Hall of Fame coach,” Pope said of Calipari, according to a post from The Field of 68. “As a die hard Kentucky fan and alumnus and former player, I’m grateful for everything, all the incredible things that Cal accomplished at the University of Kentucky, and he’s also been a good friend, he’s been a terrific mentor, and he’s always been generous to the Leanne and I, as we’ve gone on our coaching journey. And so we wish him the best in everything that he does, and will forever be grateful for everything he did at Kentucky. And we’ll be cheering for him every day like crazy except for February 1st.”

February 1st is when Arkansas and Kentucky will meet, and if the preseason expectations of these two teams are accurate, that should be a big game. The Razorbacks and ranked #16 to start the season, and the Wildcats are ranked #23.

It’s going to be weird to see Kentucky without Calipari on the sidelines as he was the coach from 2009-2024. It will be an adjustment, but it will be especially crazy to see him coaching AGAINST his Wildcats. There are a lot of intriguing college basketball matchups throughout the year, and that is definitely one that a lot of people will be watching.