John Calipari comments on Arkansas’ roster construction, physicality for next season
By Ethan Stone
Published:
The Arkansas Razorbacks were knocked out of the NCAA Tournament on Thursday night, falling to 1-seed Arizona 109-88. Ultimately, the Razorbacks just could not slow Arizona’s monster offense down when it mattered.
And already, head coach John Calipari is looking to the future. While speaking to reporters postgame, Calipari was asked about the Razorbacks’ plans for roster construction next season.
Specifically, Calipari was asked about 3 incoming 5-star freshmen — Jordan Smith, JJ Andrews and Abdou Toure — and whether Calipari will change his approach to roster building next year because of the physicality from some of the teams that gave the Razorbacks trouble, such as Florida and Arizona.
His answer was very interesting and contained multiple layers.
“Well, I made sure the guys we’re bringing in are all five-star players, but they’re physical,” Calipari began. “They’ve got a beast to them, which you have to have if you’re going to play against 25-year-olds. So those three do. And bringing some guys back, getting a couple other guys that want to be a part of this, seeing how we play and how kids improve, we’ll see.”
Calipari’s answer then morphed into a critique of the current state of roster construction in the NIL era. The hypothetical team he describes with his next statement appears to fit the description of the situation his former school, Kentucky, is heading into this offseason.
Either way, his point remains the same: Arkansas has some talented and physical building blocks to build around, while some other teams are going to be scrambling with “no idea” who’s coming back as of late March/early April. He admits, however, that even Arkansas will deal with this uncertainty in one way or another.
“We’re all in the same boat right now,” Calipari continued. “How about this? You have no recruits. You have no idea who’s coming back. You don’t have the money you had a year ago. You do not. Now all of a sudden you’re trying to keep guys, figure out who else out there wants to come, and who wants to put, like, a bidding war, which we wouldn’t be involved in. But that’s all there, that we all have to deal with. Then guys going pro, okay, do you think they may come back or not? You’re guessing. It’s a little bit harder than it’s been.”
Here’s a look at Calipari’s full answer:
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Ethan Stone is a Tennessee graduate and loves all things college football and college basketball. Firm believer in fouling while up 3.
