Clear Defense:John Calipari homecoming To boo, or not to boo, that is the question.

The 1947-1948 NCAA basketball season is considered by most to be the first season of men’s college basketball under the governance of the NCAA as we know it today. In that span of close to 80 years, Kentucky has been graced with only eight coaches leading the Wildcats. Depending on your definition of graced, that number might actually be less than eight—no judgment here. Of those eight, only two have ever left Kentucky and gone on to return to coach

It wasn’t until the 99th season of Kentucky basketball that this anomaly occurred. On December 29, 2001, Rick Pitino and the Louisville Cardinals paid a visit to Rupp Arena and Kentucky, the Cardinals riding the momentum of an eight-game win streak. They were met with an absolute buzzsaw in the form of the sixth-ranked Wildcats.

Kentucky ended that first Pitino streak and spoiled his homecoming with a 20-point victory, 82-62. At the time, Pitino was fresh off a four-year stint in the NBA with the Boston Celtics. He hadn’t yet experienced the full animosity of being on the other side of the rivalry. Back then, Pitino didn’t harbor the same resentment for Kentucky that he would later develop toward the program and BBN. Pitino maintained a really good attitude about BBN giving him the booing of the century. “I didn’t pay any attention to that; I’m the Louisville coach. They’re not supposed to cheer me. I get cheered in Freedom Hall. If they start booing me there, then I’m in trouble.” Rick Pitino 2001 If you’re feeling nostalgic, you can relive Pitino’s return to Rupp Arena. Skip to about 45 seconds into the clip to see and hear the crowd’s reaction when Pitino is introduced. Tubby Smith’s Return to Rupp Tubby Smith brought his High Point team to Rupp in 2021, but the atmosphere was much less dramatic. Tubby’s return to Rupp Arena was long overdue. Although his era at Kentucky didn’t end exactly as BBN had hoped, Tubby was

The scene was far less spectacular in 2021 when Tubby Smith took his High Point squad to Rupp. It was long overdue for Tubby to return to Rupp Arena. Tubby was a universally adored character, even though his time at Kentucky did not finish quite as BBN had intended. Nobody in Lexington had anything negative to say about Tubby as a person, even at the end of his term, when he had gained the moniker “Ten-Loss Tubby.”