Arkansas coach John Calipari has long been a household name in college basketball, boasting star-studded success at the college level as well as NBA draft picks.
With two of his former players selected in the first round of the 2024 NBA Draft on Wednesday night – rookies Reed Sheppard and Rob Dillingham – Calipari has had at least one of his players called up in every NBA Draft since 2008, from his time as the head coach at Memphis.
The new Head Hog spent time Wednesday night helping his former players, but he also put the Arkansas brand in the spotlight, most notably by joining the ABC broadcast for a brief chat.
Sheppard and Dillingham were the 42nd and 43rd all-time NBA Draft picks coached by Calipari, who is second only to former Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski, who had 46 in his career.
Four of Calipari’s draft picks — Anthony Davis, Karl-Anthony Towns, Derrick Rose and John Wall — were made with the first overall pick in the draft.
Calipari was on ESPN’s The Pat McAfee Show on Wednesday afternoon to preview the NBA Draft, which had the first round held on Wednesday, and talked about how his show’s culture is what keeps his draft machine going. working.
“I’m not a magician, I don’t have a magic wand,” Calipari said. “It’s all about culture. A lot of really good players come together. We’ve had four-star guys (who became) lottery picks, not McDonald’s All-American Game picks (who became) lottery picks, because the cream rises. It will always increase.”
Of course, it’s hard to talk about the number of picks Calipari has produced without looking at the elephant in the room — the lack of postseason success he’s had in recent years.
Since 2020, the Kentucky Wildcats, previously led by Calipari, have won just one NCAA tournament game and have been eliminated in the first round of the tournament twice to double-digit seeded teams.
Calipari said as the game has changed with the NIL and the transfer portal, he will have to adapt if he wants to win another national championship — this time at Arkansas.
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“The days are different and my teams have to get older,” said Calipari. “We were very young last year, I had seven freshmen. Everyone has old teams, so hopefully, I’ve learned we’ll have a little more experience, but I still want to have the best freshmen in the country. .”
The roster Calipari has assembled for his inaugural season in Razorback red has a good mix of young and old. There are three freshmen – Billy Richmond, Boogie Fland and Karter Knox – who will play important roles on the team, but the rest are older players.
From the transfer portal come transfers such as forward Jonas Aidoo (Tennessee) and guard Johnell Davis (Florida Atlantic), as well as a trio of transfers from Calipari’s last team at Kentucky in forward Zvonimir Ivisic, guard DJ Wagner and forward Adou Thiero.
This mix of older transfers and freshmen is what Calipari hopes will give Arkansas a deep run in the NCAA Tournament, which will increase the number of picks coming out of Arkansas in the 2025 NBA Draft.
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“When my teams win, six players get called up,” Calipari said. “How about we win? We go to the Final Four, we win a national title, all six or seven of you are going to eat…winning is important.”
Calipari talked about the 15 years he spent at Kentucky. He said he had a great time in Lexington, but is excited for the next chapter in Arkansas.
“Fifteen years was a great run, a lot of fun, a lot of friends,” Calipari said. “But you know what? I want to do this one more time, and Arkansas was the place.”
