John Calipari is getting ready for his first season with the Arkansas Razorbacks after spending 15 seasons in Lexington. It’s a big change for him, but one coach in the SEC who has known him for decades thinks he will do well in Fayetteville.

Tennessee head coach Rick Barnes spoke at SEC Media Day and talked about his thoughts on Calipari’s transition to Arkansas. Barnes described him as a “winner” wherever he goes. The two go way back, and if there is someone that knows Calipari the best, it’s Rick Barnes.

“We go back a long time and we started a relationship back in 1975-76 at the University of Pittsburgh camp that the we both worked. …We’ve had a dear friendship since that time. He’ll do great (at Arkansas). Wherever he’s gone he’s built a winner. He’s one of the great coaches of all time. He will make it even tougher than it’s ever been to play at Arkansas, and I’m happy for him because I think he’s happy, and what he did at Kentucky was really unbelievable if you look back on it and his time there. But what he did at Memphis, UMass, everywhere he’s been, he’s winner and he will continue to do that.”

– Rick Barnes on Calipari.

That’s some very high praise from a close friend of Calipari that has known him for many years. It is also very interesting though, with the way Barnes has had Calipari’s number as of late in head-to-head matchups. At the end of the day, Calipari is a Hall of Fame coach that really has had success everywhere he’s been.

With Calipari taking a lot of his players with him to Arkansas, it will be interesting as to how his first season in Fayetteville goes after spending 15 years as the Kentucky head coach.