"I boo’ed Rick Pitino from my living room that day": Fans react to Kentucky legend's Rupp Arena moment as John Calipari gears up to play vs. Kentucky

15-year Kentucky Wildcats coach John Calipari is set to return to the Rupp Arena on Saturday, Feb. 1. His current team, the Arkansas Razorbacks, will be visiting the home arena of his former program to battle against them in conference play, looking to get their second SEC victory in eight tries while improving on their 12-8 overall campaign record thus far.

But, before his momentous return, the Kentucky faithful reminisced on when another former tactician made his comeback to the iconic home court to match up against the program. Current St. John's Red Storm coach Rick Pitino was once at the helm of the Wildcats coaching staff from 1989 to 1997, where he left the team to level up into the NBA ranks and coach for the Boston Celtics.

After a subpar outing, he came back into the collegiate level and took over the Louisville Cardinals program. The now 72-year-old made his return to the Rupp Arena in 2001 for a non-conference battle against Orlando "Tubby" Smith's Kentucky Wildcats and footage of it exists where boos and hecklers echoed around the basketball court as Pitino graced for his entrance.

As it was uploaded by Kentucky Sports Radio Editor-in-Chief Tyler Thompson, Kentucky fans have since shared their own stories from the aforementioned memorable day in program history.

"I boo’ed Pitino from my living room that day!," one fan expressed.

"My God that was 24 years ago???," another questioned.

"I don’t know what to say to that except he underestimated the love, the passion of all the fans that would literally have died for him and the cause. To see him cross over…I just don’t think he realized until that moment, what he had done. I’m glad he came back this year," another fan wrote.

There were some who posted how the game was as they watched it live.

"Lucky to be at this game with long time college friends. Our LL tickers were going for $1600 each this very game. The next day my husband and I moved with our children to Hong Kong for a work assignment. It was an incredible game and experience I will never forget," a fan said.

"He walked out of the opposite locker room as his team. I was there," another replied.

"I was there, it was surreal," one fan claimed.

Tubby Smith's Kentucky Wildcats then went on to defeat Pitino's Cardinals by a staggering 20 points, 82-62, where the latter then stayed as head coach for the Louisville program until 2017.

Rick Pitino reflects on his return to the Rupp Arena

As John Calipari is rallying his Arkansas Razorbacks to hopefully not perform and come out with the same result as Rick Pitino did in his return, he may have to seek the former's advice, as he recently uploaded a video on X reflecting on the 2001 game. There was a lot said by Pitino on his video, but one of his claims was that it was the toughest game he's ever coached.

"The toughest day of my coaching career at Louisville was when I had to walk into Rupp Arena. I tried not to show it, but when I went home, the reception really tore me apart because I loved that place so much," he stated. (0:13)

The Kentucky Wildcats, 4-3 in the conference and 15-5 overall, is now coached by Mark Pope, and they will host Calipari and the Razorbacks on Saturday, Feb. 1, on their home floor for a hotly contested SEC fixture.