Former Kentucky star says John Calipari will make Wildcats second fiddle to Arkansas

John Calipari being retained by the Kentucky Wildcats came as a shock to many after another premature NCAA Tournament exit. But things often have a way of figuring themselves out in college basketball and life, which is what happened with Coach Cal. As the coaching carousel reopened, it ultimately landed Calipari with the Arkansas Razorbacks after Kentucky wouldn't match the offer in Fayetteville that came courtesy of that Tyson chicken money.

Naturally, this has the SEC wheels spinning among college basketball fans. And one of the people driving that a bit is former Kentucky and NBA star DeMarcus Cousins. On the Bully Ball podcast earlier in the week -- before the Wildcats hired Mark Pope and with Cousins saying Rajon Rondo should get the job in Lexington -- Cousins had a hot take for the ages.

Namely, Boogie Cousins said he believes that Calipari would have a Deion Sanders-like effect on Arkansas.

"I put (John) Calipari and Deion Sanders in the same category," Cousins said. "Deion has the "Prime effect" and we've seen what it's done for the entire state of Colorado. It's the same thing with Calipari."

DeMarcus Cousins says former Kentucky HC John Calipari will have 'Prime Effect' on Arkansas

Cousins wasn't done heaping the praises onto his former head coach in Lexington, though. The big man went as far to insinuate that Kentucky will take a backseat to Arkansas in terms of being on TV and, in turn, recruiting now that Calipari is in Fayetteville.

"Kentucky won't be on TV anymore, it's going to be hard to get a kid to go to Kentucky if they're not on TV," Cousins said.

"Arkansas will now be the hotspot," he continued soon after. "Arkansas will now have the No. 1 recruiting classes coming in every year. Arkansas will now be full of celebrities, Arkansas will have the most talent coming in and out every year. The machine will go, it'll just be in a different place."

You can watch the full segment with Cousins on Bully Ball below.

Two things can be true. First, Cousins is absolutely right. Calipari's track record at Memphis and Kentucky (and even UMass before both of those) tells us that Arkansas is going to become a recruiting hotbed. It's a spirited, strong fan base, a great college town and environment, and now they have a head coach with a ton of resources to bring the top players in the country to the Razorbacks.

But the other truth is where Cousins is just plain wrong. Arkansas may rise to a closer level to Kentucky than before, but the Wildcats aren't going to take a backseat on TV or otherwise. This is a blue-blood. Even if new head coach Mark Pope isn't Rick Pitino or Adolph Rupp, UK is still a destination by being UK. That will draw TV, that will draw recruits. Oh, and Pope is an alum and a damn good coach, which will help too.

Also, let's not forget what the "Prime Effect" actually looked like at Colorado. Sanders overhauled the roster for the Buffaloes and, while the top-end talent improved and the team ostensibly did as well, they still finished the first season with Sanders at the helm at 4-8 with question marks heading into 2024 as well. There's no guarantee as of yet that said effect is actually, well, effective.

Make no mistake, though, the SEC is about to be a whole lot more fiery with Calipari at Arkansas, especially if these Kentucky-Arkansas takes keep flying.