I mean that it would make sense that he is in the pool of candidates that Kentucky would be legitimately be interested in.
I think two things can be true. First, that we’re a little disappointed Michigan didn’t try to make a better run at John Calipari and try to bring in a hall-of-fame level coach. Second, that Dusty May was still a dang good candidate who so far has put together a boss coaching staff and someone we can all get behind and support with a lot of enthusiasm and optimism about the future.
“Dang I would’ve loved Calipari, but I am cool with Dusty” is a way better situation than “Dang I would’ve loved Calipari and now I’m mad we hired DeVries/AAR/Medved”. That’s all assuming Calipari would’ve even taken the Michigan job!
All in all, beggars can’t be choosers. We still landed a big-time candidate who’s out there trying to kill it for our school!
9 Likes
Easy to imagine that Underwood could replace whoever takes the Kentucky job. Oats to Kentucky and Underwood to Bama.
Maybe his new contract tops his remaining contract at Kentucky.
comes here to revel in the Cal to Arkansas madness
“Warde Manuel did this”
“Ugh we could’ve had Cal!”
Okay bedtime for me
16 Likes
- Cal to Michigan was never going to happen as the University will never give what Cal wants.
- Cal is not going to do well at Michigan anyway.
1 Like
Yeah Cal to Michigan was never going to happen so you can wish it all you want but we were never promising any amount of NIL much less promising 5 million a year And there’s no basketball super booster ala Tyson’s and Arkansas
2 Likes
https://x.com/greggdoyelstar/status/1777047013064139030?s=46&t=2quOIHVA_RQfFfYYsCmG3w
Lot of Coach B in Matt. Probably why I love him as a coach. He’s right 1000%
15 Likes
I thought I recall the board digging devries.
interesting nugget from article on The Athletic about Kentucky’s options to replace Cal…
On March 14, Kentucky launched an NIL initiative with a goal of $1 million. Less than a month later it has roughly $50,000 in the till.
Had Kentucky’s money cannon run dry from donor fatigue with Cal?
1 Like
Just glad Michigan got their business done.
Rooting for Kentucky to settle on Underwood. Finally getting to the second weekend, only for their coach to get poached and they have to settle for……
3 Likes
To be fair you can say that about a lot of programs. Remove Jay Wright from Nova or Few from Gonzaga and those programs are significantly less prestigious. Or hell, even Wooden from UCLA… There’s a bunch of examples of one coach basically encompassing an entire school’s basketball history. Arkansas is a top 20-25 job in the sport IMO, no question about it.
4 Likes
Closer to home, Bob Knight.
1 Like
as a Michigan fan the best thing about Cal going to Arkansas is the cascade of coaching changes about to drop across major programs that will potentially yield some significant transfer portal entries. And when those kids hit the portal, it helps to already have a settled coaching situation with lots of playing time available.
17 Likes
Give me May over Cal all day. Are people forgetting what his offensive and defensive systems have looked like last few years? That he’s lost to powerhouses like St Peters and Oakland in the tournament?
He has all the signs of another hall of fame coach that can still recruit, but is otherwise past his prime.
12 Likes
I mean, you think May was a good hire or you don’t, this shouldn’t really impact that.
Not every single thing is f’ing Warde
17 Likes
I’m also surprised by the amount of griping in here rather than enjoying the current and future schadenfreude.
I would’ve enjoyed a Calipari hire, but like, I don’t think it would’ve ever been that much of a slam dunk? Especially at Michigan of all places
5 Likes
Cal is the bigger name, obviously, but for the last 24 years he’s been at Memphis and Kentucky, buying top recruits every year and building out a roster from that. There is no guarantee he’d be able to put together a solid roster at Michigan with transfer limitations and a very different approach to NIL. He will have that ability at Arkansas, which is a great fit. I have my issues with Warde, but have no problem with how he handled the search or where we are at right now. That will only change if the dominos keep knocking down and somebody ends up taking Dusty and leave us with Saddi or Dre Haynes. 
2 Likes