"I’ve been missing this for 12 years": Mark Stoops fires back at John Calipari's old ‘basketball school’ jab during Big Blue Madness appearance
Kentucky football coach Mark Stoops made his very first appearance at the Big Blue Madness event to usher in the new era of college basketball under former Wildcats captain and national champion, Mark Pope.
During the event on Friday, Stoops spiced things up with a verbal jab at former Kentucky men's basketball coach John Calipari, who stated in 2022 that Kentucky was a "basketball school."
“So this is Madness? I’ve been missing this for 12 years,” Stoops said [as per On3.com]. “I just wanted to come and welcome Kenny Brooks and his team and Mark Pope and his team and his coaches. We’re all in this together."
It could be recalled that Stoops didn't take John Calipari's statement lightly, reacting through social media.
The longtime Wildcats football coach continued his tirade in a press conference and insisted that he doesn't need to apologize for his tweet.
“When you start talking about my program and others that we compete against — me, I don’t do that. I stay in my lane. So that’s in defense of my players, in defense of the work that we’ve done."
Kentucky athletic director Mitch Barnhart played as a peacemaker for the two bickering coaches and apparently, the problem was resolved as time progressed. When Calipari decided to move to Arkansas, Stoops wished the Hall of Fame coach well and noted they had spoken and were friends.
Arkansas' John Calipari will face his former team on February 1
John Calipari is slated to be back at the Rupp Arena next year on a different color scheme, with his new team Arkansas facing Kentucky in their lone SEC regular season encounter on February 1.
The 9:00 p.m. clash will be aired nationwide on ESPN. The former NCAA champion coach will face his former team months after he decided to step down following the Wildcats' first-round loss to Oakland in the 2024 NCAA Tournament.
Former Kentucky players Zvonimir Ivisic, DJ Wagner and Adou Thiero will be back in Lexington, but they will wear the Arkansas Razorbacks' colors after transferring to Fayetteville and following John Calipari there.
Transfers Jonas Aidoo and Johnnell Davis, and a group of freshmen prospects that includes five-star combo guard Boogie Fland and four-star forward Karter Knox, will strengthen Arkansas in its bid to return to the NCAA tournament.
On the other hand, Mark Pope will bring in a new era of Kentucky basketball with a shored-up roster composed of nine transfers, three freshmen and two walk-ons. Among the transfer players in the Wildcats roster are transfers Andrew Carr, Lamont Butler, Otega Oweh, Koby Brea and Brandon Garrison, plus four-star high school recruits Collin Chandler and Travis Perry.