Most would agree, even with the benefit of hindsight, that it was still time for John Calipari and Kentucky to divorce after 15 seasons following five years of zero trips to the Sweet 16. That said, it's hard to argue against the point that Calipari is doing better post-Kentucky departure than UK is doing in his absence.

That's when Calipari -- now Arkansas coach, of course -- secured a commitment from Miikka Muurinen, a 6-foot-10 forward from Finland whose pledge gives the Razorbacks three five-star prospects in the Class of 2026 and what 247Sports has labeled as college basketball's top recruiting haul. It's a development that pushed Arkansas up to No. 7 in Version 11 of the 2026-27 CBS Sports Preseason Top 25 And 1 college basketball rankings.

So, yeah, Calipari is clearly winning this breakup, given that he is coming off of back-to-back trips to the Sweet 16 and is now set to enter Year 3 at Arkansas with a preseason top-10 team. Things have not gone as smoothly at Kentucky for Calipari's replacement, Mark Pope, who finished tied for sixth and tied for seventh in the SEC in his first two years at Kentucky -- the second of which was injury riddled but still disappointing -- and has missed on multiple recruiting targets over the past month while his predecessor (Calipari) and biggest rival (Louisville) are both building Final Four-caliber rosters.

With all of the money at his disposal, the answer, I think, is yes. And if you're looking for a prediction, mine would be that somehow, someway, by the time everything settles, Pope will have a roster worthy of being ranked. If he doesn't, things will get uglier -- and fast. Because, as everyone understands, there's little patience for mediocre rosters at Kentucky. So if Pope and his staff don't spend the coming weeks and months assembling an impressive one, they'll have to overachieve wildly to ensure they're back on the sideline for the 2027-28 season.

Only two other developments impacted Version 11 of the Top 25 And 1.

One is Virginia getting a commitment from UC Irvine transfer Jurian Dixon, a 6-4 guard who averaged 15.9 points this past season. His pledge moved Virginia up to No. 10 in the Top 25 And 1. The other is the removal of Morez Johnson Jr. from Michigan's projected roster. Simply put, at this point, most indications are that Johnson and Aday Mara will join frontcourt mate Yaxel Lendeborg in the 2026 NBA Draft and forgo their remaining years of eligibility. If not, which is definitely possible, I'll adjust. But, for now, Johnson and Mara are off of Michigan's projected roster, and the Wolverines are sitting at No. 3 in the Top 25 And 1 behind only Florida and Duke.