Kentucky legend sound ready to make hard pivot from John Calipari to new regime

Kentucky's life after John Calipari is just beginning, as the future Hall-of-Fame coach took his talents to Fayetteville, Arkansas. Calipari saw the writing on the wall, as Kentucky fans are some of the most demanding in college sports. A true blue blood if there ever was one, the Wildcats have fallen short of expectations the last few years, capped off by a loss to Oakland in the NCAA Tournament this past season.

In his place, Kentucky hired a former Wildcats player in Mark Pope, who had been coaching BYU. Pope has brought his own culture to the Kentucky program, and thus far it's paid off. Sure, there will be some bumps in the road, but Pope has a high approval rating among BBN and even some former Kentucky players. That includes John Wall, who played under Calipari in Lexington.

“It shocked me, because I was just going to watch games. He (Pope) was right there when I dapped someone up. He stood up and said, ‘What’s up?’ I said, ‘All respect to you, wish you the best of luck there. I’m always going to support the school, no matter what," Wall said on his podcast, Point Game.

Even John Wall is pivoting to the new Kentucky with Mark Pope

Wall immediately felt bad for praising Pope, stating how much he "loved Coach Cal" and the culture he helped establish. There's two sides to the coin for former Kentucky players, especially those with experience under Calipari. Cal went to bat for his players during the one-and-done era, serving as a father figure to many and, at worst, a mediator between the college game and NBA scouts.

“I still love Coach Cal, am still going to show respect to Coach Cal, I’m still going to go to games, but I also want to build a relationship with the new coach. That’s the school I went to and who I played for. I met Coach Jason Hart, who was right there. He was like, ‘Don’t worry about it, bro. We’re going to make sure you get all the gear. I’m going to get you all the gear that’s coming through.’ I thought that was cool, I respect it," Wall continued.

It's fair for Wall to be nostalgic for what Kentucky once was under Calipari, but also acknowledge that the game has changed since then. Calipari was not as successful recruiting in the transfer portal and developing young players.

The likes of Wall, Anthony Davis and Demarcus Cousins were essentially NBA-ready when they arrived in Lexington. Calipari failed to provide the necessary scheme, system and culture the last half-decade of his Kentucky career, which eventually cost him.