Arkansas men’s basketball introduced John Calipari as its new head coach Wednesday night. But as Calipari quipped, he’ll have a tough time becoming acquainted with the Razorbacks’ roster.
The college basketball legend shocked the sport Tuesday when he announced his departure from Kentucky after 15 seasons. He led the Wildcats to one national championship, four Final Fours and six SEC Tournament titles. He pioneered the one-and-done era of college basketball.
Now Calipari, 65, will be tasked with replicating that success in Fayetteville as the leader of the Razorbacks program. He acknowledged right away that it will be a challenging task, but one that he is looking forward to starting.
“I’m jacked about another opportunity,” Calipari told the media before joking about the harsh reality of Arkansas’ roster — or lack thereof.
“I’ve met with the team. There is no team,” he said. “We gotta get a roster together. … We’ve got work to do.”
We are aware of the situation pic.twitter.com/Wb4xVR21vI
— Arkansas Razorbacks Men’s Basketball 🐗 (@RazorbackMBB) April 11, 2024
Calipari is … not joking.
The 2023-24 Arkansas roster featured five graduate or fifth-year seniors with no college eligibility remaining. The nine players who had eligibility left all have entered the transfer portal or declared for the 2024 NBA Draft.
That means Calipari will have to build the Razorbacks’ 2024-25 roster from scratch. But he may get some help from former Kentucky commits who have re-opened their recruiting since his departure.
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Arkansas basketball roster 2024-25
It is not an exaggeration to say that Arkansas currently has zero players on its roster. But just because players entered the transfer portal does not mean they can’t return to Arkansas.
Brazile is the only player who is guaranteed to leave, as he hired an agent for the NBA Draft and decided to forgo his remaining college eligibility.
In addition to the players above, both of the Razorbacks’ 2024 recruits — four-star guard Isaiah Elohim and four-star forward Jalen Shelley — decommitted from Arkansas following the Calipari news. Elohim played at Sierra Canyon and is a California native, so it is not farfetched to think he will follow former head coach Eric Musselman to USC. Shelley had offers from 18 other schools.
It’s safe to assume that Calipari will try to bring some players from Kentucky’s No. 2-ranked recruiting class with him to Arkansas, too. His top two incoming prospects, five-stars Jayden Quaintance and Karter Knox, have both already decommitted from Kentucky. So did Somto Cyril, a four-star center.
Quaintance is the No. 8-ranked prospect in the class of 2024 and would be a program-altering commitment if Calipari can lure him to Arkansas.
Knox, in particular, feels like a safe bet to join Calipari in Fayetteville. He already has a relationship with his family that dates back to his brother, NBA player Kevin Knox, playing for Kentucky before becoming a lottery pick.
Calipari could try and pluck returning players from his Wildcats roster, too.
MORE: Tracking prospects who have declared for 2024 NBA Draft
Rob Dillingham and Justin Edwards already declared for the NBA Draft and Reed Sheppard is expected to follow them, but there are others potentially available.
Former five-star recruit D.J. Wagner has not yet decided on his future. His high school teammate, five-star center Aaron Bradshaw, entered the transfer portal. Sophomore guard Adou Thiero also entered the transfer portal.
Given Calipari’s history of bringing in talent, do not be surprised if Arkansas has a top-25 caliber roster heading into the 2024-25 season.
