03/07/26 03:04:00
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03/07 15:03 CST Arkansas' John Calipari becomes 5th Division I men's coach to
reach 900 victories
Arkansas' John Calipari becomes 5th Division I men's coach to reach 900
victories
By DAVID SOLOMON
Associated Press
COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) --- Arkansas coach John Calipari became the fifth Division I
men's basketball coach to reach 900 career wins with the Razorbacks' 88-84
victory over Missouri on Saturday.
Arkansas (23-8, 13-5 SEC) delivered Calipari the milestone victory without
Southeastern Conference leading scorer Darius Acuff Jr., who missed the game
with an undisclosed injury.
"If it meant anything, do you think Darius would have been playing today?"
Calipari said. "I would have played him. That stuff, when you do this a long
time, that's the kind of stuff that happens if parents entrust you with their
child."
Calipari joins Mike Krzyzewski, Jim Boeheim, Rick Pitino and Roy Williams as
the only coaches with 900 Division I victories.
Calipari, at 67, is the second-youngest coach to win 900 games behind
Krzyzewski, who reached the milestone at the age of 64.
Calipari is also the third-fastest coach to reach the 900-win mark,
accomplishing the feat in his 1,185th career game.
Calipari has coached five Final Four teams and won a national championship with
Kentucky in 2012.
Missouri Coach Dennis Gates said that while he has not had the experience of
coaching under Calipari, he still has a lot of respect for what Calipari has
accomplished.
"Being able to be a coach that wins a national championship, that's one of my
goals," Gates said. "Being able to be a Hall of Fame coach, that's one of my
goals. Obviously, compared to him, I'm in the infant stages of my career."
Calipari is wrapping up his second season at Arkansas after spending 15 years
coaching Kentucky. Prior to his time in Lexington, Calipari coached at Memphis
for nine seasons after starting his collegiate head-coaching career with an
eight-year stint at Massachusetts.
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