"They are for real!!!"- Coach John Calipari congratulates 2024 Paris Olympics Basketball team for a historic win

Despite a strong leaning towards Team USA, John Calipari is all for South Sudan’s meteoric rise in global basketball. The team first made headlines through their head-to-head matchup against Team USA, which could have gone either way if there was more time on the clock. Now, the country got its first-ever Olympics win, defeating Puerto Rico 90-79.

Calipari, who has a connection to the country, congratulated the Olympic team for their monumental feat while giving them their due recognition as a basketball unit.

"Congratulations to the South Sudan Olympic team and Wenyen Gabriel for the historic win over PR! They are for real!!!," he quipped on X.

Gabriel played for John Calipari at Kentucky from 2016 to 2018. In 75 games, he averaged 5.7 points and 5.1 rebounds per game for the Wildcats.

South Sudan started the game against Puerto Rico slowly, trailing by eight after the first quarter and by six at the half. Nevertheless, their pestering defense was too much for Puerto Rico, who scored just 25 points in the entire second half.

Bul Kuol, Nuni Omot, Carlik Jones and Marial Shayok combined for 58 points and Wenyen Gabriel led the team with nine boards.

One of the biggest factors in South Sudan's win was their length throughout the roster. While the entire Puerto Rico roster garnered 37 total rebounds (10 offensive), South Sudan's bench players crashed the glass for 21 boards (6 offensive).

Moreover, they also utilized their height inside the perimeter, making up for their 34.5% 3-point shooting by converting 23 of their 49 2-point shots (46.9%).

John Calipari secures a high-caliber 2025 class talent at Arkansas

Darius Acuff Jr, a five-star prospect from the 2025 class, has committed to John Calipari's Arkansas over Bill Self (Kansas Jayhawks) and Dusty May (Michigan Wolverines).

The dynamic guard is a top-5 player in the nation and comes after Calipari made the Razorbacks the third-most talented class of 2024 per 247Sports in less than four months after his arrival.

Acuff Jr is a highly confident player who is not afraid of taking up tough challenges on both ends of the floor. Not only can he score the ball in multiple ways but can also affect the momentum of the game and get his team going.