John Fanta
College Basketball Broadcaster and Reporter
PROVIDENCE, R.I. – John Calipari still has the magic touch. This time, though, it came with “Woo Pig Sooie” being yelled in the background.
“We thought our season was dead about 10 times this season,” one fan blurted out as Calipari was wrapping up his postgame radio interview at center court. That fan was one of the many Arkansas faithful who waited for their coach to get done with his media responsibilities, and when the interview wrapped up and the headset came off, it was a Razorbacks party in Providence.
There were fist bumps, there were waves to the crowd, and there was a tearful embrace between Calipari and his wife, Ellen, and daughter, Megan.
The family has been a part of six Final Four trips, a national title in 2012, and countless other moments, but to go through what they’ve been through this past year in moving away from Lexington, starting the year 0-5 in the SEC, and then being the subject of a heap of criticism across the college basketball world?
“We’ve all been through a lot the last year,” Calipari told FOX Sports. “And then you’re 0-5, and then 1-6 in the SEC. They gave us a two percent chance to make the NCAA Tournament after that – two percent! And now, not only did we make it, we advanced.”
They did so by Calipari giving his rival a taste of his own medicine, as the Razorbacks ended Rick Pitino’s storybook season at St. John’s with a 75-66 victory over the Red Storm. You would have thought the Hogs possessed the nation’s No. 1 defense on Saturday in Providence, as Calipari’s team held St. John’s to a measly 28% shooting from the floor and 2-of-22 from beyond the arc.
“Coach [Calipari] told us there’s two dogs and one bone – we wanted the bone, it’s as simple as that,” Arkansas freshman forward Billy Richmond III said. “This group has fought through so much adversity, from 0-5 and a long season to being down, but we’ve found a way to come together. We’ve found a heartbeat.”
It was Billy – not Kadary – Richmond who made the difference in the game. The first-year forward saved the best performance of his young college career for the biggest stage, scoring 16 points to go along with nine rebounds. His biggest shot of the game came with less than three minutes remaining when he hit a dagger from the baseline to put the Razorbacks up, 68-64. After a St. John’s turnover, a drive to the rim and bucket from DJ Wagner cemented it for the Hogs.
That proved to be a theme all afternoon for the Razorbacks, who used their length and athleticism to do something very few, if anybody, had done against St. John’s all season: outmuscle them. After closing the first half on a 7-0 run, Arkansas opened the second stanza with an 18-9 run, which included 16 points in the paint and the other two points coming at the free-throw line.
“We haven’t faced that type of length and athleticism this year,” said Pitino, who dropped to 10-14 all-time in college meetings against Calipari. “That’s not the reason we lost the game. We lost the game because we did not move the basketball enough and that led to us shooting a very low percentage. We’re a team that has to get a high number of assists to win, and we didn’t tonight.”
Pitino’s team looked disjointed from start to finish, with Big East Player of the Year RJ Luis shooting 3-of-17 from the field and mysteriously sitting on the bench for the final 4:56 of the game. Pitino stated it was because Luis had played so many minutes and that he wasn’t going to knock one of his players, but it told the story of a nightmare in Providence after a fever pitch regular season. Kadary Richmond fouled out, St. John’s only totaled five assists, and the Red Storm couldn’t stop Arkansas from dribble penetration all game.
“You know, everybody who played them [St. John’s] this year talked about how physical of a team they’ve been,” Calipari said. “But I reminded my players before this game: we’re physical too.”
It was just three years ago when Calipari’s Kentucky group lost to Saint Peter’s as a No. 2 seed. Just last year, his Wildcats fell to Oakland in the opening round of the Big Dance as a 3-seed. When coaching at a blue-blood program like Kentucky, the spotlight never dims. But at Arkansas, he faded into the shadows a bit, while Mark Pope took over at Kentucky and led his team to the Big Dance where they will meet Illinois on Sunday in the Round of 32.
Now, the move from Lexington to Fayetteville for all feels worth it. Calipari and Kentucky needed to split after last year and they did. The idea that he could roll into a Sweet 16 elsewhere? It was hard to visualize, as just two weeks ago, he said his Arkansas team was “thrown in the coffin, they just forgot the nails.”
He’s out of the coffin now, and it’s on to San Francisco for one of the sport’s all-time greats.
“This is as rewarding a year as I have had based on how far we have come,” said Calipari, who advanced to his 16th Sweet 16 and first as a double-digit seed with the win. “What has made it rewarding is you want to win and advance, but the biggest thing is you want to see the kids grow. And sometimes you’ve got to go through the fire before you can see kids grow.
“These kids, they’ve been through a ton, but I’m happy for them.”
Playing the role of an underdog is not one Calipari is familiar with. But on Saturday, his Razorbacks embraced the role and denied a St. John’s team, which had been playing as good as anyone in the nation, it’s first trip to the Sweet 16 since 1999. Heading into Saturday’s second-round showdown, St. John’s had four total losses on the season by a combined seven points. The Razorbacks beat the Red Storm by nine, and they did it by beating them at their own game.
The 66-year-old Calipari showed America that he’s made it through the fire and ashes. Those tears on the faces of his family have been shed for much larger accomplishments than a Round of 32 victory, but they reflected something different on Saturday night: the joy of reward after such a challenging life change last spring and the reality of what’s possible for a coach who the folks in Fayetteville were burying in January, but have restored hope in this March.
John Fanta is a national college basketball broadcaster and writer for FOX Sports. He covers the sport in a variety of capacities, from calling games on FS1 to serving as lead host on the BIG EAST Digital Network to providing commentary on The Field of 68 Media Network. Follow him at @John_Fanta.
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