John Calipari It was presented as New coach of the Arkansas men's basketball program on Wednesday, and he didn't waste much time before offering an assessment of the current state of the floor.
Although he spoke optimistically and expressed his excitement about starting this chapter of his career, Calipari was candid when discussing the current state of the roster, or lack thereof.
“I'm excited about this new opportunity,” Calipari said. “Now, I've met the team. There's no team. So now, I have to–[Arkansas athletic director] Hunter [Yurachek] Very confident, but we have to get the list together. But we will.”
Calipari takes over the Razorbacks' coaching responsibilities vacated by Eric Musselman when he agreed to become the coach at USC. The most notable hurdle Calipari will face early in his tenure with the program will be filling out Arkansas' roster.
Right now, the Razorbacks' official roster only features one player, senior forward Lawson Blake. Last year, Blake averaged 0.3 points and 0.3 rebounds per game. The team does not have any scholarship players.
Arkansas' 2023-2024 team was full of upperclassmen, including nine seniors. Sophomore Trevon Brazile has declared for the 2024 NBA Draft, while freshmen Bay Vale and Lyden Blocker and sophomore Keon Minnifield have entered the transfer portal. Leading scorer Tramon Mark also entered the portal after his junior season.
With Calipari in town, Fayetteville is a popular destination for players in the transfer portal, and he will look to rebuild a depleted roster ahead of his first year at the helm.
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