Rick Pitino hopes Kentucky’s fans take it easy on John Calipari in his return to Lexington on Saturday night. Pitino posted a video on X on Thursday on the matter and explained his reasoning behind it Friday as St. John’s prepared to host Providence Saturday afternoon at the Garden.

Former Kentucky head coach Rick Pitino took to social media on Thursday to appeal to Wildcats fans to give former head coach John Calipari a warm welcome in his return to Rupp Arena this weekend. “As you all know,

Two days before his highly anticipated return to Rupp Arena, John Calipari received a show of support from an unlikely ally. Rick Pitino, of all people, posted a video message to social media encouraging Big Blue Nation to treat Calipari with “respect and admiration” when the former longtime Kentucky coach brings his struggling Arkansas team to Lexington on Saturday.