ESPN Gives Calipari Reason to Find Chip on His Shoulder; Will He?

It’s been a long time since anyone has seen Arkansas coach John Calipari with a chip on his shoulder. It’s just not a thing for blue blood coaches.

He had it when he turned UMass into a national power. He had it when he made Memphis a national champion.

However, there was no need for it when Calipari took over at Kentucky. It’s hard to develop a chip on the shoulder when the very nature of how those types of programs are perceived comes with respect even in times when it’s not deserved.

To state the obvious, Calipari is no longer at Kentucky. That being said, the message sent recently by the executives at ESPN has nothing to do with taking a shot at the Arkansas Razorbacks. It’s an indictment of how much shine they think is off the Coach Cal star that should be taken personally.

In the inaugural ACC-SEC Challenge last season, it made sense that Arkansas drew Duke. It was easy to sell as a rematch of the 1994 national championship game on the cusp of the 30th anniversary, and Eric Musselman had built the Hogs’ reputation as giant killers the past few seasons in the NCAA Tournament. And while the Razorbacks would have struggled with the Woodlawn Bears’ junior high team at season’s end, Arkansas held true to reputation and took out the Blue Devils at Bud Walton.

Rick Barnes had a talented roster of players so old they may have been drawing social security, but they were expected to be the class of the SEC. Between that and Kentucky having recently played North Carolina, logic dictated the Volunteers draw the Tar Heels. That left the Wildcats with a bit of a meh draw in Miami, but the general thought was Calipari would face either Duke or Carolina the following season.

After leaving Kentucky for Arkansas, Duke was no longer an option, so it seemed obvious Calipari would lead his Razorbacks into Chapel Hill to face his old nemesis. However, the networks came out with a different plan.

Nate Oats and Alabama landed the coveted spot against North Carolina while the trip to Duke went to Bruce Pearl and the Auburn Tigers. Had the Tar Heels played at home last year and, thus, were required to hit the road this season, the decision could have been explained away differently.

Calipari wouldn’t have been able to take the slot because Arkansas played at home last year. But, that’s not the case. ESPN’s message could have still been ignored simply as the Razorbacks getting one of the ACC blue bloods last year, so the wealth must be spread around had it not been for one key decision.

For the second season in a row, Calipari must face the Miami Hurricanes. Keep in mind, this is a team his players beat by 22 at Kentucky and that finished next to last in the ACC.

It’s one thing to be passed over for Musselman, Barnes, Oats, and Pearl, but to be given Miami two seasons in a row makes ESPN’s perception of Calipari pretty clear. To borrow the terminology of “The Cerebral Assassin” Triple H of WWE fame, the network is clearly telling the Hogs’ new coach, “You’re a B+ player. And that’s a good spot for you, John.”

Spending this entire decade losing first-round games in the NCAA Tournament, often in upsets that will live in history forever, coupled with a nine-win season, has apparently lowered the bar for how ESPN views Calipari. He’s no longer seen as the golden boy when it comes to network programming.

That doesn’t mean Arkansas isn’t going to end up in big games on national television because it is. Calipari still carries weight. It just means if coaches of certain other SEC programs are available for equally big games in the same time slot, the Razorbacks are getting bumped back to a less prestigious spot.

So, much like Daniel Bryan when Triple H uttered that famous B+ phrase toward him back in the day, Calipari has to find that chip on his shoulder and allow it to drive him to become better. He has to become the basketball monster he once was.

He can’t be the final-quarter-of-his-tenure-at-Kentucky Calipari. He has to be UMass Calipari. He has to be Memphis Calipari. He has to be early 2010s Calipari.

The chip on his shoulder has to come back, and the fire to prove himself once again has to burn bright. The fans who lost their minds when news came down he would be Arkansas’ coach certainly aren’t expecting a B+ coach. However, it appears ESPN certainly does.