“Cal can’t coach anymore”, “Arkansas pretty easily”: Fans divided between John Calipari’s team and Mark Pope’s Kentucky

An Instagram post by Field of 68 on Tuesday sparked a debate between John Calipari's Arkansas and Mark Pope's Kentucky men's basketball fans. The post revealed a list of the two programs' stacked squad ahead of the 2025-26 season.

Then it went on to ask which of the squads the fans will roll with next season.

"Arkansas vs Kentucky — TWO LOADED ROSTERS🔥 Which squad you rollin’ with this season? ⬇️," the post said.

College hoop fans stormed the comment section to react to the post, with some supporting Calipari's Razorbacks while others supported Pope's Wildcats. Here are comments from fans who supported Arkansas.

"Arkansas pretty easily," a fan wrote.

"Arkansas better. Three guards DJ Wagner, Acuff and Meelek Thomas 🔥 Crazy," another fan wrote.

"From a talent standpoint, Arkansas and it’s not really that close. Kentucky has good depth tho," a fan commented.

Comments from fans who support John Calipari's Arkansas on IG. Image via @fieldof68

Here are comments from fans supporting Kentucky next season.

"Gotta role with grown men and dogs… plus cal can’t coach anymore. Go Cats," a fan wrote.

"I guess it depends if I want to exit early in March….so Cats all day!" Another fan wrote.

"Cats easy. The last 10 years has proved no matter how loaded Cal's roster is the man loses to inferior opponents when it matters most," a fan commented.

Comments from fans who support Mark Pope's Kentucky on IG. Image via @fieldof68

Former Kentucky star compares Mark Pope to John Calipari

Former Kentucky men's basketball star Darius Miller compared the Wildcats' current coach, Mark Pope and former coach John Calipari on his appearance on Kentucky Sports Radio. He shared his thoughts on the program's last three coaches, Billy Gillispie, Calipari and Pope

Darius, who won the 2012 national championship under Calipari's coaching, described his system as free, while Pope's system is more detailed.

“There was a lot of freedom inside of Cal’s system, and that allowed you to see some of the greatness of John Wall, Eric Bledsoe, Jamal Murray, the different guys that could express themselves on the court," Miller said.

"Coach Pope, everything is down to the minor detail, but it puts you in a good position to showcase your game inside of a structured environment, you know what I mean? Two different approaches, but I would enjoy playing for them both."

Calipari joined Kentucky in 2009 and guided the Wildcats to four Final Four appearances in 2011, 2012, 2014 and 2015. He also guided Kentucky to the national championship in 2012 before leaving in 2024. Pope was named Calipari's replacement last season and led the third-ranked Wildcats to the Sweet 16 of the 2025 NCAA Tournament.