"Pathetic, sad and disgraceful": College hoops fans unleash at John Calipari as Arkansas’ struggles continue
John Calipari has had a difficult start to life at Arkansas. The program's new head coach faced his second loss this season, as the Razorbacks suffered a disappointing 90-77 defeat to the Illinois Fighting Illini at T-Mobile Center in Kansas City on Thursday.
The Razorbacks' loss irked their fans, who took to social media to vent their frustrations at Calipari. Some of them expressed their opinions on X/Twitter, taking issue with the former Kentucky coach's methods at Fayetteville.
"Pathetic, sad and disgraceful," said one angry fan in a fiery video.
"Kentucky fans feel like we sold Arkansas a used car with 200k miles," said another.
Another fan added:
"No one does less with more talent than John Calipari. That's a fact!"
Some Kentucky basketball fans also took to X to talk about Calipari, hinting that the Razorbacks may have made a mistake in hiring their former head coach this season:
"I knew he wouldn’t change ever since he left Kentucky he used our program as an NBA factory and now he is now using yalls program as an NBA factory doesn’t let the players play free he wants to do it his way and does not know how to close out big games anymore," said one fan.
Another fan said:
"This was funny as hell! Welcome to the last 5 years of Kentucky basketball, brother. We know the feeling!"
"Yeah we UK fans forgot to tell you that Cal can’t coach anymore. Sorry," added another.
Adou Thierro the lone highlight in tough outing for John Calipari
The Razorbacks played catchup throughout the game against the Fighting Illini, trailing by 15 points after the first half. Although they outscored Illinois 43-41 in the second half, it wasn't enough to give them a chance to get their first win on the road.
Adou Thierro, one of the few former Kentucky players who followed John Calipari to Arkansas, was the standout for Arkansas in the Thanksgiving game, finishing with 26 points and six rebounds. Zvonimir Ivisic and Billy Richmond III were the only players besides Thierro to score in double-digits, which summed up a disappointing game on the road for Calipari's team.
The Razorbacks were outdone by impressive performances from Illinois' Kasparas Jakucionis and Tomislav Ivisic, who both finished with 23 and 21 points, respectively.
Calipari and Co. will look to bounce back in their next game against the Miami Hurricanes at BankUnited Center on Tuesday at 7:00 p.m. ET.