“Help Me!”: Calipari Turns to Seasoned Confidant Ahead of Arkansas vs Kentucky

John Calipari, Arkansas basketball, Arkansas vs Kentucky
photo credit: Craven Whitlow

LEXINGTON, Ky. — John Calipari’s return to Rupp Arena for the Arkansas vs Kentucky game is sure to be emotional.

The scuffling Razorbacks are set to take on the No. 12 Wildcats at 8 p.m. CT Saturday on ESPN and inside the building the Hall of Fame coach called home for 15 years before leaving for Fayetteville last April.

It remains to be seen if Calipari will be met with boos, cheers or a mixture of both from the 23,500 fans, but it’s already crystal clear that he’s enjoyed being around some of the people he left behind in Lexington — as evidenced by him visiting his go-to Dunkin’ Donuts the morning of the game.

With an extra few days to prepare for the matchup thanks to a midweek open date, Calipari actually went back to his roots earlier in the week by hosting one of his mentors for a few days in Arkansas.

Bill Whitmore is not a household name to even more college hoops junkies. After all, his lone head coaching gig was at Vermont in the 1980s. He never cracked .500 in five seasons and his best finish in the America East was sixth.

Where he excelled, though, was identifying promising young coaches. Whitmore gave Stan Van Gundy his first coaching job and then, when it was time to replace him, he offered the position to Calipari.

Calipari first popped up on Whitmore’s radar as a recruit. Nearly 40 years later, the Arkansas coach acknowledged on his radio show Monday night that he probably should have accepted the offer to play for him at Vermont, but instead went UNC Wilmington.

After lettering for two seasons with the Seahawks, the young point guard transferred to Clarion University of Pennsylvania and finished his playing career at the DII school.

Calipari immediately got into coaching, taking a volunteer job at Kansas. However, head coach Ted Owens was fired after his first season in that role, so he was scrambling for another job. That’s when Whitmore came into the picture again.

With Van Gundy taking a head coaching position at a small NAIA school, there was an assistant spot open at Vermont — and Calipari actually accepted. It lasted just three weeks, though, as Kansas hired Larry Brown and Whitmore talked Calipari into rejoining the Jayhawks to learn under the legendary coach.

The rest is history, as that set him on the path to become a head coach of his own and take three different schools to the Final Four. Needless to say, Calipari is eternally grateful for the role Whitmore has played in his career, hence the invitation to join him in Fayetteville for three days this week.

That included attending the Live with Coach Cal radio show at Sassy’s Barbecue and Grille, during which Calipari made a plea to his mentor.

“Hopefully you’re preparing us, because we got a tough one this weekend,” Calipari said directly to Whitmore on air Monday night. “You’re here a few days. Help me!”

Considering the struggles Arkansas has experienced since the start of SEC play, Calipari could use all the help he gets before facing yet another ranked opponent.

The Razorbacks’ conference record of 1-6 is tied for 14th in the league, ahead of only winless South Carolina, while Kentucky is 4-3 and coming off one of its most impressive wins of the season, beating Tennessee on the road.

Best of Arkansas Sports made the trip to Lexington and will be at Rupp Arena for the highly anticipated homecoming. Follow along below for live updates, highlights and stats…

(READ NEXT: Check out our in-depth preview of Arkansas vs Kentucky)

LIVE UPDATES — Arkansas vs Kentucky

Pregame Tidbits

For the second straight game, Kentucky basketball will be without its top two point guards Saturday night. Kerr Kriisa has been out since early December, when he suffered a foot injury that required surgery, while Lamont Butler will miss his second game in a row with a shoulder injury. In their absence, expect former Razorback Jaxson Robinson to take on more ball-handling responsibilities.

The Wildcats did get a bit of good news on the SEC’s initial availability report for Arkansas vs Kentucky, as forward Andrew Carr was upgraded to “probable.” The Wake Forest transfer played less than two minutes in the last game and has been dealing with a nagging back injury.

Arkansas, meanwhile, will be playing its third game without star freshman point guard Boogie Fland, who underwent hand surgery last week.

About an hour and a half before tipoff, former Kentucky players Zvonimir Ivisic and Adou Thiero walked onto the Rupp Arena court together to begin warmups and were met with resounding boos from the UK students. About 10 minutes later, D.J. Wagner joined them and received even louder boos.

14:23, 1H – Kentucky 18, Arkansas 12

Rupp Arena is LOUD. Both teams come out of the gates scorching hot, but the Wildcats are the hotter of the two. They’re 4 of 4 from deep, with a pair of those by Robinson, and Calipari finally calls a timeout. The Hogs are 4 of 10 from the floor, with all of their makes from beyond the arc. Kentucky is 7 of 10 and has a few easy buckets down low to go with the 3s.

10:14, 1H – Kentucky 22, Arkansas 20

Both teams have cooled off a bit, but the Hogs are still hanging tough. Billy Richmond had an incredible sequence during that stretch of play, knocking down a rare jumper, coming up with a steal and managing to fight through some contact on his way to a thunderous dunk. The Wildcats have turned it over five times, but Arkansas has turned those into only four points.

6:11, 1H – Arkansas 31, Kentucky 30

Adou Thiero is being really assertive today. He’s taking it to the rim and finishing or getting to the free throw line and already has 11 points. A fastbreak dunk by Knox put the Hogs up by one and prompted a Mark Pope timeout.

2:55, 1H – Arkansas 40, Kentucky 39

This is easily the best Arkansas’ offense has looked in SEC play. The Hogs are shooting 48.3% from the floor and are 7 of 15 (46.7%) from deep. The latest was a 3 by Davis, who’s up to 12 points. The Hogs continue to waste opportunities via Kentucky turnovers, though, with only six points off eight turnovers.

HALF – Arkansas 46, Kentucky 45

Incredibly, the Hogs lead at the break. They ended the half 9 of 18 from deep. Johnell Davis has a team-high 12 points, followed by Adou Thiero with 11.

HALFTIME STATS

16:39, 2H – Arkansas 55, Kentucky 47

The Hogs opened the second half on a 9-2 run, prompting a Mark Pope timeout. D.J. Wagner scored the last five of those, knocking down a 3 and making a tough reverse layup on back-to-back possessions.

13:02, 2H – Arkansas 67, Kentucky 56

Wagner knocked down a stepback 3 and then Davis found Knox in transition for a dunk, the latter of which prompted another Pope timeout. It’s an 11-point game. All eight of Wagner’s points have come after halftime.

10:54, 2H – Arkansas 69, Kentucky 60

Kentucky is hanging around. Aidoo was assessed a Flagrant 1 on a rebound, but the Wildcats couldn’t convert on the extra possession after making a pair of free throws. The last bucket was actually be Wagner, who made a tough runner to give him 10 points this half. Thiero (17), Davis (14), Wagner (10) and Knox (10) all in double figures.

7:18, 2H – Arkansas 75, Kentucky 68

The Hogs actually stretched their lead to 12, but Kentucky has scored five straight – the last three of which came on another Robinson 3. He’s up to 20 points for the Wildcats, on just nine FGAs. Williams has 20 points and 10 rebounds for Kentucky, as well. Meanwhile, all five of Arkansas’ starters are in double figures.

4:09, 2H – Arkansas 83, Kentucky 73

Arkansas enters the final media timeout still with a double-digit lead. Kentucky is just 3 of 13 from deep after going 7 of 10 in the first half. The Hogs, meanwhile, are 13 of 20 from the floor, including 4 of 6 from deep, in the second half and they’re doing a good job of getting to the line, especially lately.

FINAL — Arkansas 89, Kentucky 79

FINAL STATS

Starting Lineups

Kentucky BasketballArkansas Basketball
#00 – Otega Oweh – G#21 – D.J. Wagner – G
#2 – Jaxson Robinson – G#1 – Johnell Davis – G
#4 – Koby Brea – G#11 – Karter Knox – F
#15 – Ansley Almonor – F#3 – Adou Thiero – F
#22 – Amari Williams – C#44 – Zvonimir Ivisic – F

How to Watch Arkansas vs Kentucky

Date: Saturday, Feb. 1

Location: Rupp Arena (Lexington, Ky.)

Tipoff Time/TV: 8 p.m. CT (ESPN)

ESPN BPI: Kentucky has an 82.1% chance to win and is favored by 9.5 points.

KenPom: Kentucky has an 84% chance to win, with a projected score of 84-73.

Odds / Betting Line: Kentucky, -10.5 | O/U 156 (BetSaracen)

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