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The Kentucky basketball team did its best to troll former head coach John Calipari on Tuesday with a pregame social media clip posted to X. That attempt failed miserably.
A few hours after the post, the Wildcats fell to SEC rival Georgia. It was the squad’s first loss in conference play.
Kentucky’s history with John Calipari is well-known. After leading the program to four Final Fours and a national title, his relationship with university soured. The two sides split last offseason after an early NCAA Tournament exit.
Calipari accepted a job at Arkansas where he’ll have plenty of NIL support from the Razorbacks‘ wealthy donors. He was also able to convince a few of his former players to follow him to Fayetteville from Lexington.
Unfortunately, his SEC debut with the Hogs didn’t go as planned. Arkansas was beaten soundly by top-ranked Tennessee, 76-52. After the game, Calipari suggested that a lack of pregame shootaround aided in his team’s scoring woes.
“We didn’t do a shootaround today,” he said in a postgame presser. “If I had to do it over again, we would’ve gone with a shootaround. We had three or four guys kind of no-show.”
The head coach’s comments made headlines after the fact. Many rolled their eyes at the excuse. His former employer, meanwhile, decided to take a shot.
Kentucky basketball trolled John Calipari on Tuesday.
Shootin’ around in Athens. pic.twitter.com/X4jJufYGw8
— Kentucky Men’s Basketball (@KentuckyMBB) January 7, 2025
The Wildcats’ social media team posted a video of the squad getting up a few shots before having to battle the Georgia Bulldogs. Most viewed it as a direct jab at Calipari. Unfortunately, the extra practice didn’t help!
Kentucky fell to the Bulldogs on the road, 82-69. The upset was all the more embarrassing thanks to the pregame troll attempt.
John Calipari is no longer with the Kentucky basketball program. His departure was celebrated by a number of Wildcats supporters. Still, he continues to live rent free in the minds of the fanbase. He got the last laugh this week.