Calipari Wants Razorbacks Fans to Pull Back on Expectations
Arkansas coach stunned by excitement surrounding program.
According to John Calipari, kings think differently. And while Razorbacks fans are anxious to be anointed kings of the basketball world once again, their head coach wants them to cool it down just a bit.
As part of his end of summer workouts press conference Monday, Calipari told the story of Arnold Palmer being asked by a king what he would like as a gift, to which the legendary golfer requested a simple golf club.
He waited a few weeks and was disappointed to see a nothing more than a thank you letter had arrive instead of the bejeweled driver he had imagined.
“So he’s kind of disappointed, and he puts it back in the envelope, and there’s another piece of paper in there, and he takes out the piece of paper, and it’s a deed to a golf club.”
When he took the job and began skirting around the state, much like when Palmer met the king, Calipari had a decent idea of what he was getting into. It was a presence that was hard to ignore.
“I feel the excitement, like, I feel it,” Calipari said. “I feel it in the building. I feel it on the campus. I feel it around the state. I see it. I feel it.”
