NEW YORK — There was a buzz inside Madison Square Garden Tuesday night prior to tip-off of the second contest in the annual Jimmy V Classic. Or maybe it was the high-pitched, drawn out “wooo,” as in Wooo Pig Sooie, the famous rallying cry of Arkansas Razorbacks fans. A large contingent of Hog fans enthusiastically filled much of The World’s Most Famous Arena’s lower bowl to cheer on their basketball team, which was playing its first game in The Garden since 1997.
Coming into their matchup with No. 14 Michigan, John Calipari’s Razorbacks had yet to show they were ready to compete in an historically tough SEC. Arkansas entered the night 7-2 but unranked, with losses to the only two top-90 KenPom teams they have played (Baylor and Illinois, No. 16 and No. 15, respectively). It is fitting that Calipari sought to rediscover his Hall of Fame mojo at Madison Square Garden. He is, after all, no stranger to this place.
Tuesday was Calipari’s 28th game as a head coach inside The Garden and it was a successful revisit. Arkansas’s 89-87 victory over Michigan brought his record in the building to 16-12. Calipari has had his ups and downs in the tri-state area. His stint as the New Jersey Nets head coach across the Hudson river was his biggest professional failure, but his consistent appearances in the green room at NBA drafts at Barclays Center have been among his proudest moments. He was quick to remind the media of that after Tuesday’s win. “[My former players] have made over $6 billion in the NBA, but that’s neither here nor there,” Calipari said.
As for the significance of returning to Madison Square Garden, Calipari downplayed it — then acknowledged it a few sentences later. “I’ve coached here many, many times. This is more about [the players] playing,” he said. “Playing in The Garden in this event, come on, what’s better? When they called me to play I said ‘Done, who am I playing … I would like to play in The Garden every year.”
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Arkansas’ star freshman, Tennessee finds a gem and loses a legendThe Arkansas faithful were understandably excited about this season. In April, after previous head coach Eric Musselman bolted for USC (having taken the Razorbacks to two Elite Eights and a Sweet 16 in five years), the University of Arkansas hired Calipari, one of the most accomplished and charismatic coaches in the sport. He left Kentucky after 15 seasons, during which he led the Wildcats to a national championship and two Final Fours. Towards the end, however, Calipari was unable to match his earlier success, failing to reach the second weekend of the NCAA Tournament in the last four years.
Still, Arkansas’s decision was viewed by most in college basketball to be the most significant coaching hire in the sport in the off-season. The prevailing wisdom was that he had simply worn out his welcome at Kentucky and that with a new atmosphere and new challenge, he could take the Arkansas basketball program to heights not seen since the great Nolan Richardson patrolled the sidelines in Fayetteville. At least, that was the hope of the fanbase.
In the off-season, Calipari went right to work. He did what has worked for him in the past — compiling one of the top recruiting classes in college basketball as three top recruits decommitted from Kentucky and followed him to Arkansas. Calipari also delved into the transfer portal, taking three players with him from Kentucky and adding two key contributors from other programs. By the end of the off-season, Calipari had put together an impressive roster, on paper. Of course, impressive on-paper rosters, particularly young ones, have been a Calipari mainstay, but it has not always translated into impressive seasons, particularly of late.
This season will have a sizable influence on the perception of Calipari as he enters the twilight of his career. Are his best years behind him? Does his greatest strength (recruiting the top freshmen in the country) matter any more in this new transfer portal and Name, Image and Likeness landscape? Has he adapted to the modern game where teams rely more heavily on the three-point shot?
At this point in the season, it is too early to answer those questions, but the slow start out of the gate was worrisome. It didn’t help that Kentucky has gotten off to a great start under new coach Mark Pope. Then again, maybe Calipari’s young Arkansas team just needed a little more time to gel and Tuesday night’s win over Michigan in The Garden was a turning point. It was a remarkable game with wild swings. Arkansas came back from a 15-point deficit with 6:27 left in the first half to cut the lead to four at the half. In the second half, Arkansas looked like a completely different team, led by sophomore D.J. Wagner’s best performance of the season. He finished with 16 points, 5 assists and 2 turnovers while his backcourtmate, freshman Boogie Fland, had 20 points, 7 rebounds and 2 turnovers. Arkansas led by 18 points with nine minutes to play, but Michigan steadily climbed back and closed to within one with 14 seconds remaining. The Wolverines had a chance to win the game at the end or at least send it into overtime, but their brilliant center Danny Wolf, the 7-foot Yale transfer, tried to force a pass inside. The turnover allowed Arkansas to survive.
Calipari was clearly thrilled with the win and happy to remind everyone of his advanced pedigree. As he entered his postgame press conference, he was speaking with his former player at Kentucky and current New York Knick Karl Anthony-Towns, who could be heard through Calipari’s speaker phone. Having dispensed with that not-so-subtle reminder, Calipari heaped praise on his current team, especially the guards who pulled off the win. “If you want to have a good college team you better have good guards and we have good guards,” Calipari said.
Calipari went on to express confidence in his team in general, but we’ll have to wait and see how how it performs in the months ahead. But Tuesday night’s performance was a good sign for Calipari, not only based on what happened, but where it happened.
