Karl-Anthony Towns and John Wall were among the players who praised Calipari on Instagram:
Calipari is expected to be the next coach at Arkansas, exiting Lexington after 15 seasons. While the news had been out for days, Calipari officially announced his departure in a video posted to social media.
“It’s been a beautiful time for us. This is a dream job. It was my dream job,” Calipari said. “Anybody in our profession looks at the University of Kentucky in basketball and said, that is the bluest of blue. The last few weeks, we’ve come to realize that this program probably needs to hear another voice.
“And the fans need to hear another voice. We’ve loved it here but we think it’s time for us to step away. And step away completely from the program.”
Calipari went 410-122 during his tenure and is the second-winningest coach in Kentucky history behind Adolph Rupp. The Wildcats made four Final Fours and won the 2012 national championship. His teams produced 35 first-round picks, with Wall, Towns and Anthony Davis being taken No. 1 overall.
