Halfway check-in on Kentucky, Arkansas proves John Calipari was the problem all along

You hate to see him go, but you love to see him leave. Whatever... When it comes to John Calipari leaving Kentucky for the Arkansas job that opened up because Andy Enfield decided to leave USC for SMU, you could argue that the Wildcats are in a far better position than the Razorbacks today. Yes, Arkansas and Kentucky are two of the best programs historically in the SEC, but one is reeling now...

Heading into Tuesday night's action, Mark Pope's Kentucky team is ranked No. 8 in the latest AP Top 25 Poll with a 13-3 record and a 2-1 mark in SEC play. Kentucky's three losses on the season are to Ohio State and Clemson in the non-conference, as well as a road loss to now-ranked Georgia in SEC play. Depending on what happens in the next two months, Kentucky is a lock to make the tournament.

As for Arkansas, the Hogs are 11-5 overall and 0-3 in SEC play under Calipari. They are one of five winless teams in conference play. Oklahoma is better than them overall at 13-3. While Arkansas shares the same record as LSU and Texas, only South Carolina is worse than them at 10-6 overall and 0-3 in SEC play. The Razorbacks cannot afford to fall to 0-4 in SEC play with a loss to LSU on Tuesday.

Their three SEC losses are to ranked teams in Tennessee, Ole Miss and Florida, but it is looking bad...

Kentucky was in the right for letting John Calipari walk over to Arkansas

Calipari may be a hall of fame head coach, but the game has clearly passed him by. The day and age of him coaching transformative players like John Wall, Derrick Rose and Marcus Camby are long gone. Calipari may have been a first mover when it came to the one-and-done era of college basketball, but the wonderful world of NIL has thrown him for a loop, as well as in-game execution.

At the end of the day, Arkansas paid a boatload of money for a head coach who is a shell of himself. Yes, the Hogs had a tall task of replacing a darn good one in Eric Musselman, who left Fayetteville for the USC job vacated by Enfield's deparute to SMU. However, the rumblings out of Lexington from years prior should have been a red flag not to be in such hot pursuit of Calipari. They are paying for it.

Ultimately, this was always going to be a transitional year for Arkansas. The Razorbacks may think they have the resources and other advantages Kentucky has a program, but only one is a true blue-blood in the sport. Pope was always going to benefit far more quickly in taking over at his new post than Calipari was. That being said, Pope earned his big opportunity from Kentucky after his BYU run.

Arkansas hired Calipari on a whim and his past reputation, rather than an up-and-comer like a Pope.