FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — In his first public appearance as the Razorback's head coach, John Calipari spoke about how he decided to make the move to the Natural State and how he plans to move forward with an empty roster.
Calipari was officially inducted as Arkansas' 14th head basketball coach on April 10 in Bud Walton Arena shortly after touching down at Drake Field. He said he received a warm Razorback welcome that took him by surprise.
"We got off the plane and I was looking for Joe Biden. Like, what is going on here?" Calipari said.
Fans, fellow head coaches within the athletic department, and Athletic Director Hunter Yurachek all came together to officially greet Calipari at the university.
"It’s another great day to be an Arkansas Razorback," Yurachek said.
Before bringing Calipari on stage, Yurachek thanked John Tyson and Warren Stephens for making this "historic hire possible."
"[The families] joined forces together to make certain we could offer the type of package that would lure Coach Cal to Fayetteville," Yurachek said. "Each of these families understands how important this program is to the entire state. Their generosity helped galvanize their state this week with great anticipation of the future success of our Razorback basketball program."
With Musselman leaving Arkansas to coach at USC, Yurachek said he was looking for a "proven winner" to fill those shoes.
"We needed to find a coach that understands the current environment of college athletics and how to recruit elite talent," he said.
With the loss of several players, Arkansas is sitting at zero scholarship players and zero commits on the roster.
"There may not be a roster. I got to put a roster together. You’re laughing. That’s not funny. I just met with the team. There were three guys in there, and they were in the portal. So we got work to do," Calipari said.
However, Yurachek is confident in Calipari's ability to bring together a winning team.
"I’m really confident he can put a great team together pretty quickly," Yurachek said.
On the other side of the coin, Calipari is confident in Yurachek helping the program survive and thrive.
"Basketball coaches win games. Administrations win championships. You know why? Because they want to ... I told Hunter, 'Administrations win championships. Let’s do this together,'" Calipari said.
Calipari said he realizes building a new team will be hard work, but he is no stranger to the grind.
"I’m not that guy that has a magic wand. That’s not who I am," he said. "I’m the grinder that comes every day and when you watch my team at the beginning of the year to the end, you say, wow they got better."
Although the process of finding a new Razorback felt like Yurachek did wave some kind of magic wand with the quick turnaround, he said there were around 8-10 other candidates that he was talking to about the job.
"It took a little longer than maybe you would have wanted it because I had to let him have time for this opportunity to marinate," he said.
Calipari said he made an official decision to come to Arkansas on Monday, April 8, but wanted to hold off on officially saying anything until after the Purdue-UConn game that concluded March Madness. However, reports on Sunday evening blew that plan.
"He was disappointed because he didn’t want to overshadow what those young men and coaches from Purdue and UConn had gotten," Yurachek said. "It took a little bit longer because we were trying to be respectful of that game and I was trying to be respectful of his consideration for this position."
Calipari said it was hard to leave Kentucky after 15 years, but once he decided to come to Arkansas, excitement began to build.
"When I thought about coming here and building this program and making something special, it got me excited," he said.
Yurachek and Calipari said they discussed the offer for only 15 minutes. For Calipari, it was something he couldn't pass up.
"This program, [when] you talk about some of the best jobs in the country in basketball, this is one of them," he said.
Although there is not a solid roster yet, he says he is a coach for the players.
"I’m always going to be a players-first coach," he said. "I’m sorry. It’s about the players."
As for any prospective players, Calipari told them to expect a professional environment.
"If you’re not into basketball, you won’t come here … This is about being at a place that is zeroed in on a culture that creates professional habits and that includes academically," he said.
Overall, he's not concerned about his search for a new team.
"There’s going to be enough kids that want to play here for us that will be fine. I really believe that," Calipari said. "Whether I was at UMass or Memphis or Kentucky, kids want to play for us and, hopefully, it’s because we put them first."
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