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John Calipari coached DeMarcus Cousins for one season (2009-10) before the Sacramento Kings drafted the center as the fifth pick in the 2010 NBA draft. He was one of many stars coach Calipari worked with and left a lasting mark.
With Calipari leaving the Kentucky Wildcats, Cousins commented on the move on his podcast, 'Bully Ball'.
"I think we've seen this movie before with Cal. Where he goes, becomes the hotspot. That's the reality of this. Arkansas will now be the hot spot (and) have the number one recruiting classes coming in every single year," Cousins said.
"Arkansas will be full of celebrities. ... will have the most talent coming in and out every single year. The machine will continue to go, it'll just be in a new place."
Cousins also said that this is a great move for John Calipari and the program:
"I think this is good for both sides, in a way. I think this is a fresh start for Cal, and it's also a fresh start for the University of Kentucky.
"I think with Cal, he's now in a place where it's not this pressure to bring in a championship every single season since that's the standard at UK."
Dan Hurley rumored to replace John Calipari in Kentucky
When sharing the news of coach John Calipari's departure, athletic director Mitch Barnhart also mentioned that a search is on to hire the best coach.
The top names in the mix are UConn's Dan Hurley, Baylor's Scott Drew and Chicago Bulls' Billy Donovan, who led the Florida Gators to back-to-back championships in 2006 and 2007.
It's also rumored that Kentucky is willing to go with an $11 million per year contract over the next five to seven years, with room for further negotiations. When asked about it on the Pat McAfee Show, Hurley said:
“The positive thing for me is my phone broke on Saturday. I couldn’t receive any incoming calls or text messages or outgoing. So I had no idea that any of that stuff was going on."
"We’re gonna get back to work and we’re gonna put a roster together that will hopefully go for a dynasty," he added.
Billy Donovan also remained non-committal regarding the rumors.
"I have not been contacted by anybody, I haven't spoken to anybody," Donovan said.
"My total commitment and focus is here to this team and to this group. I give our guys a lot of credit for hanging in there and battling through some of the things they've had to battle through. ... A lot of this stuff turns out to be speculation." (via ESPN)
John Calipari has also not revealed his future moves yet, but reports suggest that the Arizona Razorbacks could be his new home.
What do you think of John Calipari's exit from Kentucky? Let's know your thoughts in the comments section.
