FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – A change of scenery is bringing a change of identity for Arkansas basketball coach John Calipari.
During a 15-year stint at Kentucky, Calipari relied heavily on freshmen and typically assembled lineups full of depth. He also avoided diving head first into the transfer portal when it opened in 2018.
Calipari is changing his ways early in his tenure with the Razorbacks. He had limited options with zero scholarship players upon arrival, but Calipari has already entered the transfer portal and landed two big fish in Johnell Davis and Jonas Aidoo. He also landed two transfers to Kentucky – Adou Thiero and Zvonimir Ivišić – to help ease the transition.
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With three elite high school recruits, Calipari now has seven scholarship players. Normally he would still have the second half of his lineup to finish, but Calipari told former Oregon State coach Craig Robinson in his Podcast “Ways to Win” that he only wants eight or nine players on the team.
“They’re leaving anyway and why would I raise a child for someone else? Why would I do that?” Calipari asked Robinson.
Barring a change in approach from Calipari, that leaves just a few spots left for his inaugural season in Fayetteville. Here’s a look at the former Kentucky coach’s biggest remaining needs at Arkansas.
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Point guard
Arkansas doesn’t have a true point guard, which makes this the biggest hole on the roster. Davis and incoming freshman Boogie Fland could play the position, but they are better equipped with the ball and would benefit from having a more proven distributor sharing the floor.
Former Kentucky point guard DJ Wagner recently visited Fayetteville and could easily fill that void. He was the No. 6 prospect in the entire country coming out of Camden High School in 2023 and has incredible vision and ball handling with a first step that puts defenses on their heels.
If Wagner surprises everyone and spurns the Razorbacks, that will become a major concern. There aren’t many high-quality options on the portal yet. Calipari would have to be creative and likely rely on Fland to spend a lot of minutes at point guard.
A great man of courtesy
The Hogs already have 7-foot Aidoo and Ivišić, and Thiero could play against all four in smaller lineups. Still, Arkansas needs another big man to provide enough frontcourt depth to combat potential foul trouble.
South Florida transfer Kaesean Pryor was a reported target, but he recently committed to Louisville. Pryor would have competed immediately to be in the starting rotation, but Calipari would have done well just adding a bench piece to the rotation.
Three point shot
Arkansas only has two sharpshooters on the roster, Davis and Fland. There is potential for Karter Knox and Ivišić to become capable scorers from three-point range, but that is not their strong suit.
Stretching the floor is becoming more important every year in college basketball. Purdue and UConn, the two teams that played for the national title in April, had four shooters surrounding the dominant centers. Arkansas needs more energy from beyond the arc.
It would be a huge blow to Calipari if the eventual addition of point guard and frontcourt could add shooting to the roster. Unfortunately, Wagner shot 29.2% from three last season. To meet all three of those needs, Calipari may have to exceed his ideal nine-player limit.
This article originally appeared in the Fort Smith Times Record: Three Biggest Needs Remaining for John Calipari’s First Arkansas Roster
