"Good get for Cal" "Best recruiter out there"- College hoops fans react as Arkansas HC John Calipari joins forces with Louisville's Kenny Payne 

Arkansas coach John Calipari is reuniting with his former assistant coach in Kentucky after it was reported on Thursday that Kenny Payne is joining the Razorbacks coaching staff in the 2024-25 NCAA season.

The former Louisville head coach returns to the sidelines after being vacant for a few weeks. Payne will work with Calipari again after two seasons and together they will reform the Razorbacks' program that won their only national title in 1994.

College basketball fans were divided by the reunion of Calipari and Payne. Some fans expressed satisfaction with the hiring of Payne to the Razorbacks' bench and hailed the veteran coach for the pickup:

Some fans were impressed with Payne's work as an assistant for Calipari in Kentucky and gave a big sign of approval over the move:

"Kenny won those games. Great hire," a fan wrote.

"BRING THE PAYNE," another user chimed in.

Not all fans were positive about Payne's acquisition with some referencing the coach's unimpressive seasons with Louisville:

"Cal hired the worst coach in the history of division 1 men’s basketball as an assistant," a fan stressed.

"But he didn’t do anything as a head coach for the past two years," another fan added.

"Losing season loading…," a user chimed in.

The initial tweet about Payne's hiring from Jon Rothstein has reached over 419,000 views on X, formerly Twitter.

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Kenny Payne brings recruiting prowess to Arkansas

Kenny Payne was 12-52 in his two seasons with Louisville. He was fired after the 2024 season.

Kenny Payne served as Calipari's assistant in Kentucky for 10 seasons and provided his expertise in recruitment. He lured top high school prospects, who played for at least a season with the Wildcats before taking their talents to the NBA. This includes the likes of All-Stars like Anthony Davis, Karl-Anthony Towns and Bam Adebayo.

The Calipari-Payne partnership abruptly ended in 2022, as the former Louisville player was hired by his alma mater to call the shots at the beginning of the 2022-23 season. However, the Payne experiment failed for the Cardinals as they went 12-52 in the past two seasons, leading to his firing in March.

With Payne lurking on the Arkansas' sidelines, Calipari will hope his trusted assistant can replenish the Razorbacks' fading recruitment stocks. There were reports that just one recruit is on the team's roster and Calipari expects Payne to shake the transfer portal like he did when he was in Kentucky.

Will Kenny Payne boost Arkansas' recruitment now that he is the team's associate head coach? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.