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John Calipari’s first year at Arkansas started slow but ended with a bang, beating Bill Self and Rick Pitino in the span of three days to make a run to the second weekend of the NCAA tournament before losing a heartbreaker to Texas Tech in the Sweet 16. For a transition year, it’s hard to argue with the results, even if the route to get there was bumpier than expected.
This year’s Arkansas roster, Calipari’s first with a full offseason to recruit, looks a lot more complete. There’s potential one-and-done talent here, but this isn’t like his Kentucky teams with a new roster every year. In fact, Arkansas returns a higher percentage of its minutes played than anyone in the SEC, with three starters and a fourth key rotation cog back.
D.J. Wagner hasn’t had the college career many expected given his recruiting pedigree, but he’s a proven starting-caliber option in the backcourt who took steps forward as a sophomore. Trevon Brazile had an uneven start to his season but was at his best when Arkansas was making its run in March. He scored in double figures in seven out of his final nine games, shot 39% from three in that stretch and brought some serious edge on the boards. Karter Knox also finished strong, with 15 points in the win over St. John’s and 20 against Texas Tech. The former five-star looks like a prototypical sophomore breakout guy.
The talent injection around that trio is real. Is it enough to get Calipari back competing for national championships?
Projected Starting Lineup
PG: Darius Acuff
SG: D.J. Wagner
SF: Karter Knox
PF: Trevon Brazile
C: Malique Ewin
Key Reserves: G Meleek Thomas, W Billy Richmond, C Nick Pringle
Key Additions
Calipari has long coveted Darius Acuff, a Michigan native who Calipari started recruiting when he was at Kentucky. Acuff is an absolute bucket-getter, and while he’s less shifty than Rob Dillingham was, it’s easy to envision a similar role for him in college. Expect to see the ball in his hands more this season, sliding Wagner off the ball.
Wagner’s minutes could also get pushed by Meleek Thomas, another five-star who has earned a reputation for being one of the most competitive players in the class. He’s a dynamic off-the-dribble scorer and shotmaker, though that style can sometimes lend itself to inefficiency. Finding shots for all of Acuff, Wagner, Thomas, Knox and Billy Richmond will be a challenge.
Up front, Calipari added a pair of experienced centers from the portal. Malique Ewin didn’t get a lot of attention playing for a bad Florida State team, but he was quietly one of the most productive bigs in the ACC. He’s a highly effective passer, which should add an interesting element to this Razorback offense. Nick Pringle is a proven SEC big from his time at Alabama and South Carolina. He’s not a huge threat offensively, but he’s a big body who’s effective on the boards and can finish around the rim. That platoon should be a huge upgrade from a physicality standpoint from Jonas Aidoo and Zvonimir Ivisic a year ago.
Causes for Concern
For as much firepower as this Arkansas backcourt has, it features almost exclusively guys who need the ball in their hands to have success. Can players like Acuff and Thomas, who’ve spent their entire careers being the best player on their teams, all of a sudden adapt and defer at times? Even their projected starting center, Ewin, is a guy who commands touches. There’s a real fear here that perhaps the whole might not be as good as the sum of the parts.
The Bottom Line
This is the most continuity a Calipari team has had since the 2015 Kentucky squad that went 38–1. No one should be expecting that from Arkansas this year, but it’s not unrealistic to expect the Razorbacks to seriously contend at the top of the SEC. At his best, perhaps Calipari’s top attribute was his ability to get players who all believed they were the best player to buy into a team concept. If he can do that with this ball-dominant backcourt, the Hogs should be back in the second weekend … and could maybe go even further than that this March.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Sports Illustrated’s Men’s College Basketball Preseason Top 25: No. 14 Arkansas.
