There has been a lot of drama around John Calipari since he left Kentucky, and Mark Pope succeeded him. Calipari joined the Arkansas Razorbacks in 2024, and Pope also joined Kentucky at the same time. After 15 years with Kentucky, Calipari had four Final Four appearances and one national title.
There were high expectations from Pope when he joined in 2024. However, in these two years, he hasn’t had much success with the Wildcats. Kentucky was eliminated from the first round of the postseason in 2024 and reached the Sweet 16 in 2025. Now again, they have been eliminated in the second round after a 63-82 loss to Iowa State.
Arkansas, on the other hand, has shown steady growth under John Calipari. The Razorbacks won the SEC tournament championship this year. Last season, they reached the Sweet 16 and lost to Texas Tech. Calipari’s Arkansas has reached the Sweet 16 again, and they will meet probably the best team this season, Duke. As Kentucky lost to Iowa State, Tyrese Haliburton took to his X account to take a jab at ex-Kentucky players who played under Calipari.
“Went to text the guys who played at Kentucky about this game and forgot they think they Arkansas alum now,” Haliburton posted.
John Calipari has developed some great talents, especially at Kentucky. He coached players like John Wall, DeMarcus Cousins, Anthony Davis, Karl-Anthony Towns, Devin Booker, Jamal Murray, Bam Adebayo, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, just to name a few.
Haliburton’s post certainly would have pinched the Kentucky alumni.
Fans React to Tyrese Haliburton’s Jab After Kentucky Exits NCAA Tournament
Fans online were not impressed with what Tyrese Haliburton said, but also had some jokes.
“Notice how it’s only the ones that didn’t win anything,” one fan took a jab at Tyrese.
“Y’all can say what you want, but Cal since ‘18 was not acceptable. Didn’t play Reed and Rob in starting lineup and lost NCAA first round game with the MVP of NCAA basketball,” another explained.
“Good riddance to Cal, UK basketball will be back and will live forever. The memory of Cal and his UK boys will fade. For those that embrace the Blue and White, good on you, for the rest, you will be easily forgotten,” one fan claimed.
“Cal was always the brand. Impressive win by ISU,” one fan praised coach Calipari.
“Cal needed to go. Good riddance,” another commented.
Read more:
Rick Pitino Reveals the Inside Scoop Behind St. John’s Buzzer Beater vs Bill Self’s Kansas
St. John’s Rick Pitino Seeks 34-Year-Old Revenge from Duke in Sweet 16 Showdown
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