John Vincent Calipari, the head coach of the Arkansas Razorbacks.

If you had told me two months ago that Cal would leave the pinnacle of basketball for another SEC team (let alone Arkansas) I would have questioned your sanity.

Alas, here we are.

Billy Clyde was being chased down a hallway 15 years ago into the dark years of Kentucky basketball. A first-round exit and an 8-8 finish in SEC play with a trip to the NIT.

I had to Google that. My mind has pushed those two years out of existence.

Fast forward to now and we haven’t made it out of the first weekend of the NCAA tournament in five years.

Despite the lows, we had some of our best years with Cal.

John Wall, Cousins, Anthony Davis, the Harrison shots, Fox, Monk, Bam, Ulis.

There was an abundance of players and moments that pulled us off our couches in excitement.

The last few years we had high moments with Tshiebwe, Sheppard, Reeves, and a few other players who were fun to watch.

But Cal’s time has come to an end. And with an end, comes new beginnings.

Cue Mark Pope.

At the first mention of his name, I’ll admit I was skeptical.

That went away when former Kentucky players exited the bus in Rupp Arena in Pope’s introductory press conference.

The chills returned and we’re back to having someone who just flat out loves Kentucky basketball.

It remains to be seen if we will have a Sweet Sixteen run in Pope’s first season.

If not, I hope fans give him time to implement his system and recruit players who buy in.

With the transfer portal and Name, Image, Likeness aspect now, college basketball has and will continue to change.

But one thing remains the same.

We are Kentucky basketball. Let the new era begin.