Arkansas basketball will be led by a past national title game winner for 2025 March Madness. Yet, John Calipari and his team struggled to get into the NCAA Tournament.
The Razorbacks enter with a 20-13 record and sub .500 mark in Southeastern Conference play (8-10), settling for ninth. Worse for Arkansas is it drew a low No. 10 seed in the West regional. And Arkansas must operate without injured leading scorer Adou Thiero.
Fans filling out their brackets likely have Florida or St. John’s written down as the regional favorite. But not the Razorbacks under “Coach Cal.” Arkansas additionally has a formidable foe to open up the tournament: No. 7 seed Kansas featuring two-time national champion head coach Bill Self.
Calipari, however, chose to show a stoic side during his appearance on The Pat McAfee Show on ESPN Wednesday. He dropped some wise wisdom to his team ahead of the tourney.
“I want our kids to understand…enjoy this and go for it,” Calipari began. “Show who you are and have people watching the TV say ‘Man, they play hard. Man they have fun.’ If we get that done, that’s all you can ask for as a coach.”
“Enjoy this and go for it. Have people watching the TV say, ‘Man, they play hard’… That’s all we can ask for… I can only lead them to water, they gotta go drink.”
John Calipari on his message to Arkansas ahead of March Madness
(via @PatMcAfeeShow)pic.twitter.com/zqgdrx6OKE
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) March 19, 2025
Calipari sounds like he’s refusing to apply any additional pressure to his players and team. That wasn’t his only message directed toward the Razorbacks.
John Calipari sends additional strong message to Arkansas
Calipari plans to do his part and lead his new team out on the Dunkin’ Donuts Center floor. But he shared what he needs his players to do against the Jayhawks in a unique, metaphoric message.
“At the end of the day, I can only lead them to water. They got to go drink it,” Calipari said.
The 66-year-old likes the talent and focus of his team. He added how he believed Arkansas received a “zero percent chance” of making the tournament.
“So why not go for it?” Calipari asked while speaking to McAfee. “Why not try to do something interesting? Why not be the story?”
Calipari concluded that he hopes this chapter he’s helping write won’t end on Thursday. Arkansas is already a 4.5-point underdog against Kansas. “Coach Cal” will aim to redeem himself from last year’s first round exit with Kentucky, which ultimately became his final game with the Wildcats.
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