LEXINGTON, Ky. — Arkansas basketball coach John Calipari was welcomed back to Rupp Arena mostly by boos, with some applause when he stepped onto the floor about 5 minutes ahead of the Razorbacks’ tip off at No. 12 Kentucky on Saturday night.
Calipari shook hands with some Kentucky supporters along the sideline before team introductions. He also shook hands with Kentucky assistant athletics director Tony Neely and Arkansas booster John Tyson, who was instrumental in him leaving the Wildcats to coach the Razorbacks last April.
How the first-year Arkansas coach — who spent the previous 15 years as head coach in Lexington, reaching 4 Final Fours and winning the 2012 national title — would be welcomed back was a point of contention in the buildup to Saturday’s reunion.