It’s no secret that Arkansas coach John Calipari and St. John coach Rick Pitino aren’t totally fond of each other.
When the latter landed his current gig in March 2023, he did an interview with then-ESPN anchor Sage Steele in which he talked about taking three different schools to the Final Four. The fact he shared that accomplishment with Calipari irked him a little.
“I want to take St. John’s to a Final Four so I can get rid of Calipari off my resume,” said Pitino, smiling.
We can also likely assume that Calipari would want the same, of course, even if he didn’t mention Pitino by name when arriving in Fayetteville.