John Calipari wants his Arkansas Razorbacks to think big.
The Hall of Fame coach is used to big thoughts and expectations from his days at Kentucky, of course. Now, Calipari has built virtually an entirely new Razorbacks roster since his signing in April, with only forward Trevon Brazile returning after testing the NBA waters.
He’s taking over a program that made back-to-back Elite Eights, followed by a Sweet 16 trip last season. Exaggerated expectations already existed, but most of the cast was assembled by Calipari and his team.
There certainly doesn’t seem to be a lack of talent.
“It was just a few months ago that I came in with no team, no employees and no schedule and now we’re talking about…how we can get them to come together but think bigger,” Calipari said in a news release. conference on Monday. “You think big, but you work bigger. That’s not delusional. You’re not dreaming. This is about what you’re trying to accomplish for yourself.
“I’m trying to get them to think like kings, because kings think differently.”
If Arkansas isn’t quite basketball royalty like Kentucky, the Razorbacks have reached six Final Fours, won the national title in 1994 and returned to the title game a year later.
Calipari, 65 and the winningest active coach in men’s college basketball, is no stranger to chasing championships and NCAA tournament berths with young but talented rosters. This is a dramatic overhaul even for him.
Calipari brought in former Florida Atlantic star Jonas Aidoo, Tennessee transfer Johnell Davis and three of his players from Kentucky: DJ Wagner, Adou Thiero and Zvonimir Ivisic. Calipari also signed three five-star prospects, with point guard Boogie Fland, Karter Knox and Billy Richmond III all ranked among the top 25 recruits in the country in the 247Sports composite rankings.
Then there’s Brazile, who explored both the NBA draft and potential transfers. The 6-foot-2, 220-pounder averaged 8.6 points and 5.9 rebounds last season. Brazile called it a “no-brainer” to return under Calipari, who was hired after Eric Musselman left to take over at Southern California.
It’s not that Calipari didn’t know Brazile before arriving in Fayetteville, but the forward has impressed since then.
“Halfway through the summer, he came up to me and said, ‘Man, you’re better than I thought,’” Brazile said. “I just told him, ‘I told you so.’”
Arkansas gave Calipari a five-year contract with an annual base salary of $7 million through April 2029, with a maximum two-year automatic extension for NCAA Tournament appearances that would extend the contract through 2031.
Big money brings even bigger ambitions for national titles, which would be the second for Arkansas and Calipari.
Calipari said he can feel the excitement surrounding the program, the campus and even the state. He doesn’t want fans to expect a smooth road, but he’s not exactly tempering their expectations either.
Not with a coach who has led three programs — Massachusetts, Memphis and Kentucky — to a total of six Final Fours and three national championship games.
“I have a big job here, to get everything right and make people look at us and say: what are you doing? How did they do that?” Calipari said. “Let people look at this and say, ‘Wow, here it goes again.’”
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