"I met with the team, there is no team": John Calipari hilariously hints at major revamp in Arkansas after taking over Razorbacks' top job

After taking over the head coaching job at Arkansas following his long-standing stint at Kentucky, John Calipari has hinted at a potentially massive rebuilding effort for Razorbacks.

The Hall of Fame coach hinted at it in a funny way, notably, during his official introductory press conference as the new Arkansas Hoops head coach. Here's an excerpt of his quip posted on X:

"You know what, I`m jacked about a new opportunity. I'm like, `let's go!` Now, I met with the team, there is no team. So now, I gotta... [sic] But we gotta get a roster together. And some of it is a little bit of everything, but we will. It may take a little longer, because there're kids that put their name in the NBA Draft that are gonna go through..." Calipari exclaims.

Calipari replaces former head coach Eric Musselman, who was at the helm of Arkansas for five seasons prior.

The former Kentucky head coach was let go by his employer after 15 years, most notably following the Wildcats' disappointing first round exit in this year's March Madness. He finished his career at Lexington with a 410-122 record, winning one national title in 2011–2012.

John Calipari`s contract at Arkansas is for five years, which is expected to pay him around $7 million in his first season (via ESPN). It was a slight paycut from what Kentucky was able to pay him, but it didn`t seem like it mattered much to the decorated college hoops coach.

What is John Calipari inheriting at Arkansas?

Aside from a Sweet 16 run in 2023 and an Elite Eight finish in 2022, the Arkansas Razorbacks haven`t been a major power in Division 1 men`s basketball for a while.

Notably, this year, the Razorbacks finished in the lower half of the SEC with a 16-17 win-loss record. They missed the Big Dance this year and did not have a lot of positives going for them during the campaign.

University of Arkansas Introduces John Calipari

Most importantly, Arkansas had a literal up-and-down season populated by winning streaks and losing skids in almost equal measure.

For them, hiring John Calipari is a big leap towards rebuilding the program and recapturing its old glory days.