UK fans react to news of Coach Calipari’s apparent departure

LEXINGTON, Ky. (WKYT) - Kentucky basketball fans are anxiously awaiting what the future holds for the men’s basketball program.

News broke Sunday night that reportedly John Calipari was finalizing a deal to become the new coach at Arkansas.

It was a huge topic on talk radio on Monday.

Kentucky Sports Radio normally airs for two hours, but on Monday, the show was expanded to three hours, starting at 9 a.m. instead of 10. Fans came into the KS Bar and Grille to see the show live and hear about future developments.

“But still, I can’t believe he is going to Arkansas,” said host Matt Jones during the show’s first hour Monday morning.

Shock and surprise greeted a lot of fans Sunday night and even Monday morning when word started coming in. John Calipari would be coaching the Razorbacks.

“I didn’t get it until 7 morning. I went to bed early this morning, and my phone blew up. I woke up to text messages,” said fan Jeff Noah.

“It is very bittersweet. I will always love Cal for what he did for us, 2010 to 2019. He did historic and legendary things here. But us as Kentucky fans we deserve better than the last four years,” said fan Brandon Ferry.

That was the sentiment many fans shared on the radio Monday morning, but everyone seems to be in agreement that some kind of change is needed to move the program forward.

“I generally get the feeling callers think this is the right decision, but there’s a point that you’re a little sad because of the 15-year relationship with the coach,” said Jones.

Most people say regardless of what happens now they hope and believe it will be a fast decision to name a replacement. They hope it happens within a week to help build what could be a new roster for next season.

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