John Calipari reveals simple text sparked Arkansas turnaround ahead of clash with Alabama: "You’ve got to deal with failure"

John Calipari and the Arkansas Razorbacks have turned things around, winning back-to-back road games and three of their last four matchups after a rough start in SEC play.

Calipari finally has his team playing closer to its potential, and a simple text message may have sparked the change.

"I sent them all a text that basically talked about you have to go through failure if you’re ever going to have success," Calipari said. "You have to walk through those gates. You’ve got to deal with failure, and that’s what we were dealing with. We lost a bunch of games."

On Wednesday night, Arkansas secured another big road win, defeating Texas behind a 24-point performance from Johnell Davis. This marks the team’s second consecutive victory away from home.

John Calipari and Arkansas looking for three wins in a row

John Calipari and the Razorbacks have a chance to make an even bigger statement on Saturday when No. 3 Alabama comes to town. Johnell Davis has been a key part of Arkansas’ recent success, having scored at least 18 points in each of the last three games while also contributing with rebounds, assists, and steals.

His leadership and consistency have been crucial for the team’s improvement. And he’s not the only one stepping up, according to Calipari.

"DJ (Wagner), the way he’s playing, wow," Calipari said. "Adou (Thiero) made a few plays. He was sick as a dog, probably shouldn’t have played, but he made a couple plays. [Trevon Brazile] played. We have a full roster playing right now. Billy (Richmond), how about that last block out of nowhere? Who could make that play other than him? You’ve got to show me."

Arkansas is showing resilience and growth at the right time. The team still has room to improve, but Calipari is encouraged by their progress.

"They’re fighting. They know, I still think we’ve got a ways to go to reach where we should be. I do. But I’m just happy we won this, the last game on the road. Two road wins in this league? Two road wins tells you we’re not too bad."

With momentum on their side, John Calipari and Arkansas are proving they can compete. Saturday’s matchup against Alabama will be another big test.