photo credit: Arkansas Athletics / Texas A&M Athletics
Smash That “Follow” Button
John Calipari claims he’d rather retire than become a ‘transactional’ coach. Fortunately for him, talk is cheap.
During last week’s appearance at the SEC’s basketball media day in Birmingham, Alabama, Calipari claimed he wants “to help 25 to 30 more families” before he hangs up his coaching whistle. However, he made sure to make that proclamation on a hill of moral high ground.
“The only way you do that is to be transformational as a coach,” Calipari said. “If you’re not, you’re transactional. If I become transactional — ‘I’m going to pay you this to do this and that’ — then I won’t do this anymore. I don’t need to.”
Thank God, there’s one coach in college basketball still devoted to doing things the right way. If there’s one thing that holds true over Calipari’s career, it’s that he won’t let winning get in the way of his principles.
After seeing standout talents Boogie Fland (Florida) and Zvonimir Ivisic (Illinois) transfer out of the program this offseason, the Arkansas head coach is providing a stern warning to future players who are considering a portal entry in the future.
“That’s why if someone puts their name in the portal, I say, ‘You’re not coming back,’” Calipari explained, “because it’s not going to be transactional.”
Come on Cal, get real
Calipari isn’t stopping here, either. During his appearance in Birmingham this week, he said he met with Houston head coach Kelvin Sampson about fixing some of college basketball’s rules by the time their kids are ready to begin their head coaching careers. Sampson’s son, Kellen, is his top assistant. Meanwhile, Calipari’s son, Brad, serves as Arkansas’ assistant coach/director of on-court player development.
One of the things Calipari really can’t stand is multi-school transfers.
“I don’t mind kids transferring,” he said. “You just can’t transfer four times, because it’s not good for you. Four schools in four years, you’ll never have a college degree. But that last place you’ll be at, they’ll really be loyal to you? No, you’re a mercenary.”
We all know the type of players Calipari is talking about.
They are guys like Arkansas center Nick Pringle, who joined the Razorbacks this offseason after previously playing at South Carolina (2024-25), Alabama (2022-24), Dodge City Community College (2021-22) and Wofford (2020-21). There’s also Arkansas forward Malique Ewin, who joined the Razorbacks after previous stints with Florida State (2024-25), South Plains Community College (2023-24) and Ole Miss (2022-23).
We’re all trying to figure out the type of coach who would sign these players.
College basketball be warned
Look, I can’t speak for Calipari here. … But if I could, I’d skip all this hypocrisy and crusading and remind college basketball who I am. Coach Cal should pull a Nick Saban and warn the rest of the nation they won’t like it if things don’t change.
After all, a rejuvenated Calipari doesn’t seem close to retirement. If college basketball’s player-hopping version of Frogger is the next game he has to master, best believe he’ll become the final boss sooner or later. We’re talking about the man who basically invented the one-and-done recruiting tactic at Kentucky.
What Calipari should be saying is “Be careful what you wish for.”
That’s a warning first-year Texas A&M coach Bucky McMillan should heed at the moment. McMillan went to court last week week, fighting for the type of player Calipari is advocating against.
Texas A&M forward Rashaun Agee was granted a temporary injunction on a restraining order against the NCAA that will allow him to continue to practice and play for the Aggies while his lawsuit against the NCAA for an extra year of eligibility moves forward.
Long story short, Agee, who started his college career in 2019, is arguing that a miscommunication at one of his four previous college stops before Texas A&M should negate one of his used-up years of eligibility.
It’s a bit more complicated than that if you want to read up on the case yourself, but the point here is that Agee is one of those “mercenaries” Calipari was speaking out against and McMillan is stumping for him hard. So hard that the head coach even testified in court, calling Agee “the most marketable player on our team because of who he is.”
A different perspective down in Texas
Unlike Calipari these days, McMillan doesn’t have a problem making things transactional. Both Agee and the Texas A&M coach agreed to divulge that the Aggies are set to pay the forward $1.2 million in revenue sharing if he is ruled eligible this season.
Despite the fact that Agee averaged just 9.4 points and 4.5 rebounds last season, McMillan said that $1.2 million price tag was a bargain, stating that the 6-foot-7 forward will be an All-SEC caliber player this season. For perspective, last year’s SEC Preseason Player of the Year, Mark Sears, made less than $1 million in NIL deals last season after serving as the driving force in Alabama’s 2024 Final Four run.
I don’t know what’s more surprising: McMillan’s uber-generous evaluation or the fact that he’s pushing so hard for a player who started just 10 games on a USC team that finished below the .500 mark last season.
Either way, this stunt might be opening up a can of worms.
After all, this takes us back to Calipari. Arkansas’ signing of Pringle and Ewin already proved that Coach Cal can compete in this multi-transfer world. I’m not sure what those two transfers’ NIL payout is like, but I’m guessing the Hogs got a better deal than Texas A&M did with Agee. And it’s not like Arkansas lacks a money well to turn to if the market value continues to rise.
The Razorbacks are well positioned for future success in today’s landscape. Because of that, I wouldn’t pay much mind to Calipari’s gesturing toward retirement, no matter how the transfer rules continue to unwind.
After all, talk is cheap, and he has a track record of adapting.
***
***
More coverage of Arkansas basketball from BoAS…