[00:00:00] Speaker A: You're listening to the Whole Hog Sports podcast. And now here's your host, Matt Jones.
[00:00:06] Speaker B: Happy Wednesday everybody. I am your fill in host, Christina Long. Matt Jones will be back in the chair tomorrow for our next episode. But today on the podcast, Ethan Westerman joins me for a brief women's basketball overview of their win over Louisiana Tech last night in Kelsey Music's first game. It was a big win for them at Bud Walton Arena. After that, we'll air a very special interview with Ellen Calipari, wife of coach John Calipari, conducted by Alyssa Orange, made exclusively for Whole Hog Sports and our power play. But we will have more on that after a word from our sponsors.
[00:00:35] Speaker C: Kindle King. We're proud of over four decades of design.
We're continuing the legacy of great creative design by combining our brands of Kendall King, Soapbox and Shopcart. Together these brands represent a new focus in marketing design with individual attention to specific areas. Through our design expertise, supported by a team of talented professionals, we showcase our best. We are KendallKing. We are Soapbox. We are Shop cart. We are design.
[00:01:01] Speaker B: Welcome back. We're joined now by Ethan Westerman, who was at Arkansas women's basketball season opener against Louisiana Tech last night. And Ethan, you and I have actually not talked that much about this game since you were there last night. Um, but I wanted to, to ask you, I meant to text you or call you about this earlier actually, but we can just talk about on the show. I was not watching this game live. I was out at dinner and I was keeping track of all the score updates online.
And I saw the first score update come across and it was 17 to 2 a few minutes into the game and Arkansas had six turnovers in what, like five minutes or something?
And I was thinking, I was like, wow, here we go. You know, this is a disappointing start. You know, we knew going into this game, LA Tech is a good program, they are a good team and this was going to be a hard game for them to open up with, especially, you know, in terms of non conference competition that they'll face. And so I was thinking, oh man, they're going to get punched in the mouth by a good, you know, LA Tech team. It's going to look bad to people that don't realize that Louisiana Tech is a good program.
And then all of the sudden the next score update I saw, I, it was a little while and they're right back in it. So I wanted to ask you, what were you thinking in those first few minutes of the game?
What was, what was the feeling like there when you were watching them kind of trip over themselves to start the game and, and it looked like they, you know, they got out to such a slow start.
[00:02:21] Speaker D: Yeah, I think the general consensus inside of the arena was just almost like.
It was almost like comical as far as, like, you could not have asked for a worse start to Kelsey Music's debut. It was just like, it really can't get much worse than 17 to 2 against a mid major.
I guess it could have been 17 to 0. That would have been worse. But.
But you can't get much worse of a start to a tenure than the first five or so minutes. And she called a timeout and lit into the team and it worked. I mean, they came out of that timeout and they looked like a different team, really. Like you said, they just tripped over themselves in the first part of the game. Number one, Louisiana Tech. You have to give them credit. They were making some tough shots. It felt like everything they were putting up was going in. But also Arkansas was turning the ball over with offensive fouls.
Daniel she, he's a reporter on the beat as well who was at the game last night. He pointed this out.
I don't think I've ever seen a team get in the bonus like Louisiana Tech did in the first quarter solely based on Arkansas offensive fouls. It was non. No fouls on the defensive end. It was just like them kind of driving recklessly at the rim and throwing, you know, elbows, you know, offensive fouls galore. That, that, that were turnovers. It was just a bad start. They were missing also just some cheap shot, chip shot looks at the round the rim. They were not communicating well defensively. It was just all discombobulated. And Kelsey Music calls a timeout, lights into them, and next thing you know, they're winning at halftime. It really was impressive what they did. I think like you said, that's something that not everybody would consider, you know, consider if they didn't have the context of the game, that it is a good Louisiana Tech team. Like, they're projected to win their Conference USA this year. And I don't care. Men's basketball, women's basketball, whatever a conference champion, you have to. Or somebody who's the caliber, that could be it. You have to take them serious because as we all know, in March Madness, there's all the times teams from lower conferences pulling off upsets. This is the type of team that you could see, I think, in an NCAA tournament, you know, representing Conference USA. And so for Arkansas to have that 27 point swing, biting into the game to be down by 15, win by 12.
It really showed that, honestly, aside from, you know, that, that opening stanza, they kind of dominated the game the rest of the way out.
So it was impressive for them.
I think that for Kelsey Music you obviously wanted to start better your game. You can't be doing that and just expect to always recover from deficits like that. But I think it was good for her that it's not like this happened against just a terrible team.
Louisiana Tech, they're one of the most storied programs in women's basketball. I know that they're not at that level right now, but you look at their pedigree, this is like a respected program in women's basketball. Supposed to be good this year.
And so for them to, you know, battle back and show that type of fight in her first game, I think that was a positive to face some adversity right off the bat because you don't want your first, you know, lick of adversity to come against a team down the road that honestly you have no shot of recovering from. So all in all, bad start, phenomenal finish, and win number one for Kelsey.
[00:05:37] Speaker B: Music I watched they put out a clip on the. The race rec women's basketball social media accounts, and it was a clip of her kind of post game locker room speech. And I watched the clip and I was really struck by what she said to them about, you know, there were moments where you, you wanted to roll over and you didn't. And she was talking about like, we don't roll over anymore. And she was talking about this being, you know, a new standard, a new way that Arkansas women's basketball is going to play. And I thought that was really interesting because there were so many times in the last year of Mike Neighbors tenure that it just wasn't competitive. It just wasn't very competitive. And there just wasn't a lot of fight. And it was, you know, it was hard when they were. The losses were stacking up and it's. It's hard to fight through some of the stuff that they were having to fight through. And so it was so refreshing to see them come back from that and, and be able to kind of get the game back under control because of how hard that is for any team to do and how that's something that we haven't really seen Arkansas do in a while. And so I was really struck by kind of that. That difference. And it seems like this was a really big tone setter for her. You know, it's that's. I'm not necessarily saying that this is going to be a great team. I, I don't think they're going to be bad. I think they're going to be a lot better than they were. But this is year one of a, of a rebuild. But to start it with that tone, it feels like is just huge for them.
[00:06:46] Speaker D: Exactly. And, and you made a good point. This is the type of game that in years past, and this is, I'm not trying to have just a big knock on Mike Neighbors, but his teams, they got down by that type of margin. I mean it was often damage control. It was like, how close can we at least make the final score? Let's not get beat. Last year there was a lot of games losing by 30, even some 40 and beyond.
This was the type of game that you did not see a team roll over, which I think was much to the delight, you know, of fans in the arena that have stuck it through and stuck with this program and showed up to games that they saw a team get down like that and really bounce back.
And I think it was the way that they did it too. It was things that, you know, you would just haven't seen in the past. And I get it, it's a new coaching staff, new identity, new things that they emphasize. But you look at some of the key stats. By the end of the game, they out rebounded Louisiana Tech by the end, 50 to 36 and they had 19 offensive rebounds. That was their most in over or in this calendar year at least I think since a December game of last year, it was assists. I think that every single three pointer that they made was assisted. So every, the dribble drive offense where a lot of times our players are, you know, going at the rim kind of creating their own shot, but they're also sharing the ball well, you know, to finish with 21 assists, not a bad number at all. And this is what's impressive to me too. They had two points late in the first, late in the first quarter, which means to finish with 93, they scored 91 points over like a 33 minute stretch, which is really impressive. You know, she's touted since she got here, the high octane offense. And you know, late in the first quarter you're like, where is this high octane at? It's just, it was just flat. But they ended up doing exactly what she said, the benchmark. I think if I'm remembering correctly, she wants to score like 80 points a game. That's kind of like the benchmark. And, you know, they went above that after. Honestly, they didn't help themselves out at all in the first seven minutes getting toward that goal. So it was the response for them. It was the way that they did it. It was the way that you saw players just step. Bonnie D's freshman on the team, she, I think maybe had a basket in the first half and then finishes the game with 25 points. So it's like you saw players learn throughout a game and kind of pick up with the flow. Yeah, she scored 21 of her 25 points in the second half.
So it was. It was the way that you saw players make those endgame adjustments. You saw the coaching staff make some adjustments to. She.
That was one thing I was impressed with by Kelsey Music. She never, you know, when they get down big, there was never like any sit on the bench with her arms crossed. It was fully animated. Still coaching.
Try and get him out of the rut. It was a great coaching job by her. I don't think anybody can deny that. If you come back from that deficit, I don't care who you're playing, it's a good coaching job.
[00:09:36] Speaker B: Yeah, Bonnie D's with the 25 points was really impressive. And I wanted to shout out Hog Maestro from our message board who has been the conductor of the Bonnie D's hype train for a really long time now. And so every time I see, you know, he alerted, you know, all of us. You know, I know you are aware of her since you report on the team, but he alerted me honestly to the Bonnie Dees and the talent that she had long before she actually arrived on campus. And so I wanted to shout out Hog Maestro for his. His win there as Bonnie D's let all. Let all scores were 25. And then Celia Jones to have 22 was. Was also really big. So couple of huge performances, you know, like we saw with the men's team, a couple of big performances from new players.
And so it was a really impressive start for them. And I think, you know, like you said, it was a big deal for Kelsey Music and I recommend that people read the story on our website today about her parents being at the game and her dad is starting cancer treatment, I think this week.
And he was there for the. To see her first win and what a way for them to win and how meaningful that was for that family. It's a really good story on our
[email protected] but it's just an exciting way to see them start the year. And you Know, it's. It's a long season and they, you know, they were picked to finish last in the sec. You know, SEC play is going to be really tough, but for them to start on that note is just really noteworthy. I think.
[00:10:54] Speaker D: Yeah, it was needed. You. I don't think anybody.
You could recover from losing that game, considering the opponent is one that's going to probably challenge for their conference, but it's just not. Nobody wants to start their tenure. Oh, and one. I mean, because you really half of. I think a rebuild is getting people excited.
And that's why games like this are so important that people need stuff to kind of get behind. And they saw a team rally last night. They were picked last in the sec. They still might finish there, who knows? But there's a group of like six, maybe even seven teams at the bottom of the SEC right now that it wouldn't shock me if any of them, you know, finished last or dang near close to last. It's. I think there's a large, like the ceiling for some of these bottom teams could actually be pretty high in the conference standings by the end. By high, I mean in the SEC, if you finish 10th, you have a shot at the NCAA tournament. Just. Just how it works. So Arkansas is one of those teams that maybe they do finish where everybody projected. The coaches voted them there, the media voted them there. But they could also finish higher and contend for postseason, whether that's, you know, sneaking into the NCAA tournament, which would be obviously like a major, you know, win for Kelsey.
[00:12:01] Speaker B: Yeah, that would be awesome for her.
[00:12:03] Speaker D: But then also, I mean, even if they slid into the WBIT or wnit, like just some sort of postseason play in year one would be a win because that's, I mean, the expectation, the bar was very low. And so it's. She's kind of in a good spot. I think with that bar being so low that this team can maybe, you know, prove some people wrong as far as that last place pick. And you've got some exciting players. I know you mentioned Bonnie Dees and Hog Maestro being the conductor of the train. I, He. I'll give him credit. Like, I was aware of Bonnie Deez's game because I, you know, kept up with a little bit, but that was really what got me to be like, all right, let me check out some of these highlights. And so I knew she was going to be good. It's. Last night was just kind of, I think everybody's first chance to get to see it who wasn't aware of her and what stands out about her is her defensive motor. I think that's going to carry her throughout the whole season. I mean she's just super aggressive, great on ball, defender, high motor. I think that she's a player that if she sticks with this program for all four years, she's going to be not just like a fan favorite on like, you know, recent, but she could become one of the programs like all time players that people like just because of how she plays.
This team has a lot of, I think, fun players to watch, so they're going to take their licks this year. It's, it's not a team that you can expect to go out there, roll the ball out with South Carolina, lsu, Texas, and you're expecting them, but they.
[00:13:29] Speaker B: Haven'T been for so long. You know, that's like you said, the bar was so low to begin with.
[00:13:33] Speaker D: It's, it's so, you know, they're going to take some of their licks, but they've got enough fun players I think with big personalities with you know, just kind of that high motor, high effort that they're going to be able to win fans over from at least an effort standpoint. And I think that's what was if I'm picking one thing from last night's game that I think was probably most refreshing for fans. It was just you never doubted the effort one time. I mean, even in early in the game when they got down by that much, a lot of the miscus were going in too hard at the rim and knocking over people trying to barrel your way in for a basket. They were just being like doing too much, honestly. But this team ended up, you know, finding a way, showing high effort, really. I think preaching. Kelsey Musik has preached how she wants her team to have that type of effort and they finally just kind of did it for people to see, which I know they've been doing it in practice, but that was the big comment throughout the whole arena. I think on the way out, just everybody was talking about how hard they played. So big. If nothing else, culture win for Kelsey music in her first game.
[00:14:37] Speaker B: Well, Ethan, thanks so much for joining us for a little women's basketball corner here on this Wednesday episode. When we come back, we will get to Alyssa Orange's interview with Ellen Caliperi.
[00:14:46] Speaker C: Kindle King we're proud of over four decades of design.
We're continuing the legacy of great creative design by combining our brands of Kindle King soapbox and Shopcart. Together these brands represent a new focus in marketing design with individual attention to specific areas through our design expertise, supported by a team of talented professionals, we showcase our best. We are Kendall King. We are Soapbox. We are Shopcart. We are designed.
[00:15:12] Speaker B: Welcome back. We're going to play an interview with Ellen Calipari for you shortly. But first I want to tell you about our friends at Bentonville Glass. They've been serving their community since 1971 and they are committed, professional and versatile. If you're looking for a quality leader in northwest Arkansas, and if you're looking for skilled craftsmanship, you can look no further than Bentonville Glass. For all of your glass market needs with the highest quality products, you can Visit them at 507 S. Main in Bentonville or at bentonvilleglass.com we have a new video series to introduce to you that we're really excited about. It's called Power Play and it's produced by Alyssa Orange. Alyssa will be making more episodes in the future that are will feature stories from Razorback women's sports and different kind of influential women around campus. So Ellen Caliperi is a great example of that. Alyssa for the first episode sat down with Ellen Caliperi at the Caliper's home and it's a really fun and wide ranging conversation. Conversation about, you know, the Caliper's journey, about their relationship. There's some fun stuff in there about Ellen. Cal Perry is very active on Instagram and has a very funny Instagram with a lot of pictures and videos of John Calipari taking the trash out. And so they, they talk a little bit about some fun things like that. So there's a full video interview on our YouTube channel, Whole Hog Sports. And then we have a section to play for you now. So please enjoy some of this first episode of Power Play.
[00:16:28] Speaker E: Ellen and John Calipari have been married for 39 years and growing up in a small town in Missouri. The journey has taken her to UMass, Memphis, Kentucky and now Arkansas. She's been a wife, a mom and a partner through the ups and the downs that come with being in the spotlight of college athletics. And through it all, she's been unapologetically true to herself and her values with some humor along the way. This is my conversation with Ellen Calipari moving here to Arkansas.
Did you ever think that this would one be a thing? But when that conversation was had, what was the reaction?
[00:17:06] Speaker A: It was not a place that we thought we would be and there wasn't a lot of preliminary conversation.
It wasn't anticipated to make a move and it just Kind of happened organically.
And, you know, we're like, let's go.
[00:17:29] Speaker E: What's it been like being here?
[00:17:31] Speaker A: It's been good. It's been. You know, the first year was chaos. Just in all the ways of moving.
When you're a coach's family, they have a gym and players, except he didn't even have players.
It's usually the family that has to fit into, you know, everything else. Take care of everything else because they've got full time, you know, work to do.
[00:17:58] Speaker E: John gets on a plane, comes out here, like you said.
[00:18:02] Speaker A: Yes.
[00:18:02] Speaker E: He's got basketball to take care of.
You get everything else.
[00:18:08] Speaker A: Yes. Stay behind, sell a house.
In the past, it was like, let kids finish school.
And this is the first move that we made that I didn't have to worry about. What schools for the kids.
[00:18:22] Speaker E: So being here. Yeah. A year you've been in and out of Bud Walton. You've now done the Razorback red. What was year one like?
[00:18:30] Speaker A: It was a lot of things.
Trying to get a wardrobe of red because, you know, when you're at other schools. The last two schools were blue, so we were anti red for all those years.
So doing that and then just getting used to everything, which really seemed strange in the beginning.
You know, we were in Kentucky 15 years, so it was really hard to get used to being at another school, cheering for another team, being a coach's wife.
[00:19:06] Speaker E: What's the biggest thing that you feel like you have to adjust to every time there's something brand new from your perspective?
[00:19:18] Speaker A: You know, that's hard to answer because I would say not a lot that's unusual because I do my own thing while he does his, and I'm usually not.
He would include me to be a part of things. I'm kind of antisocial.
I'm not a social person and keep to myself, do my own thing. And, you know, we've kind of got a group of our staff wives and things like that that, you know, we all can rely on each other, because that's the hard part, too, because you really don't have a base of anybody, a support group, you know, outside of, you know, your own people.
[00:20:05] Speaker E: I love that independence. I think that maybe that's something people don't think about.
But why was that important for you, even from the beginning to. John has his career, and I'm gonna stand beside him and support him, but I'm still Ellen, and I still like to do what I like to do.
[00:20:23] Speaker A: I don't know. And that's a good question.
Because I never would have considered myself to be independent. And I've had to learn to be independent from the very beginning.
And once I had kids, it was my sole focus was my kids and making sure they were grounded and happy. And, you know, we went to games. You know, I don't generally travel with the team and we would go to post season tournaments, things like that. But other than that, it was, he would include me in things with the players, which is nice because then you feel like you're, you know, part of the group so you're not just totally separate, but it's more a choice.
And the kids are fun to be around.
[00:21:12] Speaker E: Yeah.
[00:21:13] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:21:13] Speaker E: What was it like raising the three kids?
[00:21:17] Speaker A: A lot of work. Yeah.
And it's, you know, just finding schools. It's like being a single parent with financial support so you don't have to worry about working. And I was lucky that I could stay home with my kids.
And it's just, it's a slow process of, you know, meeting other parents and getting that support group in the beginning and all that stuff. But anything I did at home with, whether it was crafts or anything outside, I would, you know, just have my kids with me.
[00:21:54] Speaker E: How different are the three of them? It's been fun to read about how all three of them are so different and are thriving in their own ways while growing up in the spotlight that they did, being who their dad was.
[00:22:08] Speaker A: Erin is the oldest and she's probably that she's, her personality is a lot like John. She wants to be the first, the fastest, the best.
She probably has more patience than he does with things. But you know, she travels all the time. She did play basketball and she was a walk on Division 1 player in college and she got frustrated by not playing and so we kept telling her, of course then when you drop off your child at school there, you leave them, they're crying, you're crying and you're an airplane away. You can't just get there in a car. But that was hard.
But we would say you can stop playing. It doesn't make you a quitter because you have that mentality of the basketball world of if you stop sports, you're a quitter.
And then once she did, she put everything into academics.
And then Megan is probably more the happy go lucky free spirit or she appears to be happy go lucky.
And she went to culinary school and has been a vegan for years and has. She's a vegan pastry chef, works at a plant based creamery in the Boston area.
And there's Brad, who gets, you know, beat up by the girls all the time, which he deserves most of the time, but he wants to be in the basketball world and has always been, you know, wherever John was. And we just have always done everything together, so we're kind of a tight group. Yeah.
[00:23:46] Speaker E: Megan sounds like more of the creative brain. Does she get that from you, the creative side of her?
[00:23:53] Speaker A: Possibly, yeah, possibly.
She likes to have fun, she likes to laugh, and so she's a lot of fun to be around. She gets Aaron out of her comfort zone sometimes because Aaron gets more serious, more focused. And Erin, when she was young, talked early, walked early.
But Erin would be like, don't touch me, but listen to me. I don't need you to hug me. Just listen to what I have to say. And if John wouldn't listen when she's just talking away, she would take his face and turn to listen to me so she would get her point across. And my daughter. John's like that.
[00:24:37] Speaker D: Yeah.
[00:24:37] Speaker A: He's a talker, not a listener, and I tell him that all the time.
[00:24:42] Speaker E: How was he with the kids? Growing. I know he was busy in coaching, but how was he as a dad when the kids were little?
[00:24:48] Speaker A: Gone a lot. Yeah. And if he had moments of time, he would call and say, bring the kids to the gym. So it was always, meet him here, meet him there. Go to the radio show with him. When he had that, and he happened to say the other night, probably like a week ago, talking about raising the kids, and I said, what?
He said, well, I helped raise the kids, didn't I? And I said no.
And you could ask them what they think, but he thinks he did.
[00:25:25] Speaker E: But I'm sure you take a lot of pride because you did raise those kids.
[00:25:28] Speaker A: Kids.
[00:25:29] Speaker E: And you raised three really good kids. And now looking back at everything you sacrificed to be able to do so, I'm sure you're a very proud mom.
[00:25:36] Speaker A: I am. And you do what you do. I'm the disciplinarian. You would think he might be, but he is not.
He is the pushover with the kids. Doesn't enforce any rules, discipline, anything like that. So it's just as well he was gone a lot, or they might not have been. Okay. But you do what you do when they're growing up, and you just don't know what you're going to get at the end of the day. You know, you hope for the best.
[00:26:06] Speaker E: How much did you love those moments, though, in the hard times? Like you said, it's almost like single parenting to kind of look back and remember those moments. How fondly you look back when they were just kids and they were playing or they were snuggling on the couch because grown kids don't really snuggle anymore. Mine are going to get to that point.
But those moments and how much joy those brought you, despite, you know, how.
[00:26:30] Speaker A: Hard it was sometimes, well, that's it. In hindsight, you wouldn't trade it for anything. You know, when you're doing it and it's day to day, it's exhausting and it's hard and you know, but it's. You're doing it together. And I think that's part of what makes it work at the end that my kids didn't mind that I was around all the time, went everywhere they went and they still don't mind if I'm around, so.
[00:26:57] Speaker E: And you had your outlets too. You had crafting. I read you redid furniture.
Had you always kind of been that way and that's kind of a hobby that you used as an outlet.
[00:27:09] Speaker A: I grew up, my mom sewed, my grandmother knitted, my mom knitted some and you know, when you grow up in the Midwest, you make your own entertainment.
And so I even learned to tat, which I couldn't do anymore. My grandmother used to do that and taught me that. But I don't know, I've just. My sister in law got me into doing woodworking and so I've just tried different things along the way and some of it included my kids in, you know, any part of it that I could and.
But yeah, it just, it keeps me out of trouble, I guess.
Keeps me at Home Depot or Hobby Lobby or Michael's or someplace.
[00:27:56] Speaker E: What are some of the favorite, most favorite things that you've done that you've put together?
[00:28:03] Speaker A: I haven't done a lot of sewing for a while and my oldest daughter has gotten me back into crocheting and stuff because she's gotten very into crocheting and knitting and I guess which they call grandma crafts now and then she can take it and travel with it, which is good. And Megan has a recipe website and so I like to bake. I prefer baking more than cooking. And so I'll try recipes of hers that she puts on her website and you know, so it. There's not really one thing. I just kind of move from one thing to another. Do whatever, you know, whatever the wind takes me.
[00:28:49] Speaker E: What's the most recent thing you baked of Megan's recipe?
[00:28:53] Speaker A: Oh, it's usually always cookies.
[00:28:55] Speaker D: Okay.
[00:28:57] Speaker A: I am a cookie Maker. And she has a s' mores chocolate chip cookie recipe and a coffee chocolate chip cookie recipe is the last one I made. And I'm the only one that eats it. So it has to be something that's easily frozen and I can eat on my own. John will. John, I think you won't eat the cookies. Poison. No.
He'll say, what are these?
Which means are they poisonous?
And I won't say they're Megan's recipe because then he wouldn't eat one. But if he eats it and doesn't know he likes likes it. So, you know, are they poor?
A little child.
[00:29:38] Speaker E: I'm gonna have to try those, especially the s' more one.
[00:29:40] Speaker B: I'm gonna have to.
[00:29:41] Speaker A: Oh, they were really good.
[00:29:42] Speaker E: From you. Have you always baked?
[00:29:44] Speaker A: Yes. Yeah. And my mom, my mom still bakes to this day. She's 91 and still, still is baking. Baked from scratch. Hardly ever used a mix for anything. Yeah. So I like to do it.
[00:29:56] Speaker E: Yeah. Have you baked for the players? Was it always? I mean, that's an outlet if you have to give cookies away.
[00:30:01] Speaker A: I don't anymore. And the girls used to help me do things like that. And we still look back on a Thanksgiving when we were using every oven, every microwave, every burner on the stove that we could just to make Thanksgiving dinner for the team, which is a lot. And I used to do when we were at UMass, make things when we had recruits in or had the team up to the house, I did it. We didn't do catering. That wasn't really a thing back then.
[00:30:34] Speaker E: So how has that changed then? Because I know you have the team over from time to time. And so how has that changed from cooking for a whole entire team to maybe just having guys over here and giving them some finger foods?
[00:30:48] Speaker A: It's so much easier.
Then you can enjoy them being there. And you know, then I just worry about birthdays because, you know, it dawns on you that even though they're large people, they're little boys and I would want somebody to care as much, you know, for my son as I care about these kids and their well being. And I know, you know, going to class and doing practices, there are a lot of demands on their time and you know, they're good kids and so it's to remember their birthday. You're like, they're, they're away from home, a lot of them for the first time and it needs to be recognized. They're not going to say, hey man, it's my birthday.
[00:31:39] Speaker E: Guys don't do that?
[00:31:40] Speaker A: No, they hate birthdays.
[00:31:42] Speaker E: I don't understand. What do you do for the birthdays?
[00:31:45] Speaker A: I make brownies. So everybody gets brownies and they can share them or they can keep them to themselves. They choose, you know, however they want to do it.
[00:31:57] Speaker E: Is it your recipe?
[00:31:58] Speaker B: Is it the same one you've used?
[00:31:59] Speaker E: It's a secret.
[00:32:00] Speaker A: Okay, it's a secret. Okay, so it is the same one.
[00:32:03] Speaker E: You. How feel. How long have you been making birthday brownies?
[00:32:07] Speaker A: It's been a while. Yeah, it's been a while.
In fact, we have a player who DM'd me to bring brownies when we play in Memphis. Because I'm thinking I'll go to the Memphis game.
[00:32:22] Speaker D: Yeah.
[00:32:23] Speaker E: Always have to have the brownies.
[00:32:24] Speaker A: Yes.
[00:32:25] Speaker E: Okay.
[00:32:26] Speaker B: All right.
[00:32:26] Speaker E: But secret recipe. We're not gonna tell. No, we're not gonna tell anybody about.
[00:32:30] Speaker A: No. Lips are sealed. Yeah, man.
[00:32:33] Speaker E: We're gonna have to find a way to get these brownies. I'm gonna tell you when my birthday is.
[00:32:37] Speaker A: It was August.
[00:32:38] Speaker E: So I've got some time to wait, but. Okay, let's talk about the Instagram.
When did you start that?
[00:32:46] Speaker A: We were in New York and see, that was Megan that got me doing that.
And I don't even know why. I think because I kept hearing about pictures they would be posting on Instagram and I was not seeing these pictures.
And so I said, you know, get me on Instagram. And I was just planning to be a voyeur. And so I got on and never thought that anyone would. Naively, no one will know who I am. But, you know, Megan blew me out of the water and told everyone. So then everyone knew, which is why, you know, I had to be discreet and name them different names. You know, I can't go away. Their names.
[00:33:33] Speaker E: Yeah, no, I think it's great. And I think it's a way for you to kind of show who you are without, like you've said, putting yourself completely out there. But you still get to have some fun on that platform.
[00:33:45] Speaker A: Yes, because out in public, I'm very self conscious and very insecure.
So it's easier for me to be able to, well, obviously make fun of him, because he makes fun of me in small groups to other people, and no one knows that. And I had no way to retaliate, and now I'm making up for it.
[00:34:09] Speaker E: Well, you named him roommate.
[00:34:10] Speaker A: Yes.
[00:34:12] Speaker E: How does he feel about that?
[00:34:15] Speaker A: Well, and he calls me princess, but it's very condescending.
That's his way of making a statement back to me. You Know, the princess. She's not a queen. She's just a princess.
[00:34:30] Speaker E: Can we talk about the trash fight? Because I feel like that's the big thing on the Instagram is who's taking out the trash.
I'm pretty sure he doesn't like being called out for not taking the trash out.
[00:34:42] Speaker A: I don't think he did in the beginning.
And it's funny, because shaming him on social media helped him take the trash out. He never took the trash out.
It was me all the time.
So I don't even remember why I started doing that.
And, you know, now that's what everybody wants. They want to see if he's taking the trash out or if he's failed once again this week.
And sometimes he's out of town, sometimes he has a legitimate excuse, sometimes he doesn't.
[00:35:17] Speaker E: Yeah. I think the reason why people love it so much is because it gives a real human element to a. To someone that you only see in a certain way when you have the spotlight on you, like. Like John does, and you're. And really you and your family.
And so when it feels like, you know, one of us.
[00:35:39] Speaker B: Right.
[00:35:39] Speaker E: Like.
[00:35:40] Speaker A: Yes.
[00:35:40] Speaker E: Who doesn't fight with their significant other about the trash or the laundry or something like that. And so you've brought a real human, authentic element to, I think maybe a man that a lot of people don't know the way that you do.
[00:35:54] Speaker A: That's probably true.
And I think people have a perception of who they think you are.
And, you know, most of the time, I'd say that's not the reality, or it's not the reality probably with us, and it's. We don't have people. You know, there are not people to take the trash out or people to do this. And there are people that help me when the players come over and they're called the managers, but other than that. And the managers are underrated as a group, too.
[00:36:27] Speaker E: When you met John at Kansas and you dated and you got married, could you have ever imagined what your life would have. Would be like, where it would have taken you, the things you've gotten to see and experience through the game of basketball?
[00:36:43] Speaker A: No.
No, because I.
I grew up in a town of 900 people, and, you know, all my family is still there. And I never would have thought that. And I wouldn't have had the vision to see that.
And it's. I've just been along for the ride and just been the support. And no matter where he drugged me to, I'm like, you know, there's Always something positive in it about where you go. And, you know, obviously we've lived geography firsthand, and I didn't really have to move growing up. So I've tried to express to my kids to let me know what I can do to make it easier for them, because I don't know what they need, you know, to make it easier.
But it's. It's been good in hindsight, and sure, it's been fun.
[00:37:40] Speaker E: And you got a lot. Really good memories.
[00:37:42] Speaker A: Yes.
[00:37:43] Speaker E: From a lot of. And you got to allow your children to have those memories that not a lot of kids necessarily get.
[00:37:50] Speaker A: Yes. And, of course, I wish I had more pictures than I do, but I, at the same time, don't like to invade the player's privacy.
But I have a couple of pictures, you know, with players holding the girls when they were little. Or I have one of. One of our players giving Megan a bottle and one of them laying on the floor watching cartoons, you know, so it was. It was good for the kids to be around that when they were young.
[00:38:17] Speaker E: If I had to ask you what you thought or one thing you would maybe say to people about, like, who is the Calipari family?
How would you answer that question?
[00:38:28] Speaker A: That's a hard question.
You hope somebody who has represented programs, life, school, the world in a positive way.
You know, all the kids, I feel like, have been pretty good about that.
[00:38:47] Speaker E: As much as you've enjoyed the ride.
[00:38:48] Speaker A: What are you maybe most looking forward.
[00:38:50] Speaker E: To with whatever the future holds for basketball and then life with the kids as they continue to build their own.
[00:39:00] Speaker A: Just being able to travel and, you know, go to where they are because they're all in different locations. And if Brad goes on with basketball someplace, probably, you know, I've done more hours in the gym than I ever thought I would do for someone who's not a sports person at all.
So, you know, things like that. And Aaron has told John, you know, when things have gotten tough in the past, you know, you don't have to do this anymore.
And I said, stop telling him that. I don't need him at home driving me crazy.
So, you know, just having a good time. And, you know, we've met friends along the way in different locations. Yeah.
[00:39:49] Speaker E: So at some point he'll have to retire, though. What are you gonna do?
[00:39:53] Speaker A: It's a scary thought, him retiring. I don't know. We tell him he'd be good as a commentator or something, and he's like, oh, I don't know if I would do that.
Like. But you'd be so good at it. You need to do something.
[00:40:06] Speaker D: Yeah.
[00:40:08] Speaker E: Maybe he can get a hobby.
[00:40:09] Speaker A: Yes, he needs a hobby.
[00:40:10] Speaker E: Can you start baking? With you, maybe not with you.
[00:40:13] Speaker A: Gosh.
On his own. Yeah, that's right.
[00:40:17] Speaker E: Make reservations for the kitchen. Y.
Baking on these hours. Is it true you're baking on these hours?
[00:40:23] Speaker A: Yes.
[00:40:24] Speaker E: You never know. John Caliper, the next pastry chef. Go join me. Be Megan, sous chef in bakery.
[00:40:32] Speaker A: Top Chef.
[00:40:33] Speaker E: Yeah. Yeah. But it's been a. It's been a really fun ride.
[00:40:37] Speaker A: I bet it has been fun. It has.
And it's, you know, it's had its stressful moments as.
And, you know, it's just part of it. And I think it makes the.
The fun side much more fun.
