As John Calipari suffered one of the worst defeats of his coaching career with Arkansas getting rag-dolled by Arizona (109-88), it may not be the end of the road for him. Former NCAA coach Chris Walker feels this might actually be a blessing in disguise for North Carolina.

“Carolina, you wanna win? Go hire John Calipari,” came Walker’s straight-to-the-point answer.

Speaking of North Carolina, the team recently crashed out in their 1st round game against the 11th-seed underdogs in the form of the VCU Rams. The loss led to the subsequent firing of coach Hubert Davis.

Davis had four years remaining on his contract and is owed more than $5 million in his buyout. Now the Tar Heels are looking for a replacement and scouting out some of the best to ever do it, and John Calipari’s name fits the bill to a tee.

A coach with over 35 years of experience and countless conference championships, tournament championships, and, who can forget, the 2012 national championship. He is one of the best to ever do it, and Walker knows that. Look at how he revived Arkansas within just two years of his hiring. Back-to-back Sweet 16 appearances in the last two years are enough to gauge how the team’s trajectory is moving up.

John Calipari has imbued any team that he has been associated with, be it Memphis, Massachusetts, Kentucky, or now Arkansas. Over 1000 games with 905 victories is an insane stat for a coach to have in college basketball, and that is why maybe the decision makers at Chapel Hill should make the call to Calipari, feels Walker.

But here’s the catch. The Razorbacks have signed a five-year deal with Calipari that goes until 2029. The deal includes two automatic one-year extensions triggered by NCAA tournaments. Calipari already has those two extensions in his first two years. He is also making a lump sum with his +7 million per season contract, so UNC will really have to dig deep if they hope to snatch him away.

Mind you, Hubert Davis’ premature termination will also prove to be a costly affair as UNC will have to dish out their owed money to Davis, which is not less than 5 million.

But all that is nothing more than speculation at this point, as Calipari will look over this loss with painful regret. The disappointed coach shared his side with the media.

John Calipari Reacts to Gut-Wrenching Loss Against Arizona

Losses are always a tough pill to swallow, more so when they are this devastating. John Calipari isn’t used to losing, more so when he gets completely outplayed.

“Arizona is really good, and if they shoot the ball that way and do the things they did today, wow. I don’t want them to look at one game and take away from what they’ve all accomplished. But that was a hard one. They got us from the beginning. We kind of kept it a little close, but they’re good. Really good team,” Calipari acknowledged

Arizona and Arkansas were both known for their attacking prowess, but it was the defense that turned the game upside down for Calipari and his team. The Razorbacks fell 109-88 as the Wildcats shot 37-for-58 (63.7 percent) from the floor. After the ten-minute mark of the first half, any thought of a comeback had gone out of the window.

Arkansas’ defense always had gaping holes, which became obvious in the game against Florida and the Cinderella team this season in High Point, as they gave away 111 and 88 points, respectively. Arizona coach Tommy Lloyd must have seen these games quite closely and made strategies that exposed these holes even further.

“Of all the matchups that I didn’t want to see, it was this one. Combination of physical play, along with size,” lamented Calipari.

But here’s the irony, you cannot outrun your conference brackets, and this was one such day where the coach met more than a match in a very able team. But Calipari should find solace in what he has seen. Darius Acuff again rose to the occasion (28 pts), and Billy Richmond and Maleek Thomas again brought their intensity to the fore, culminating in a decent season run.