On the court and in the moment, John Calipari brought every school he coached at to play in a Final Four game. He'll hope to continue that trend at Arkansas, the fourth program he's become the head coach for. The 65-year-old coach shocked the college basketball world when leaving Kentucky for Arkansas and in doing so, he brought many of the top high school recruits and players from last season's Wildcats roster with him to the SEC. Calipari led Kentucky to a 35-3 record before losing in the Elite 8 and finishing No. 2 in the final AP Poll in his first season in Lexington, so can Arkansas basketball fans expect a similar turnaround for the 2024-25 college basketball season?
Big-time college basketball has often become a series of one-year commitments with the emergence of the transfer portal and one-and-done NBA prospects and few have proven better at bringing in those recruits as Calipari. If you love the Razorbacks, or just want the latest roster updates and college basketball transfer portal news, be sure to see what the proven team of insiders are saying at HawgSports, the 247Sports affiliate that covers Arkansas.
The team of insiders atHawgSports.comare providing up-to-the-minute scoop on the latest intel surrounding the Arkansas basketball coaching transition and roster changes. Launched in 2002, HawgSports has established itself as the top source for insider Arkansas basketball coverage. Trey Biddy, Danny West and Connor Goodson have a combined 30 years of experience covering the Razorbacks professionally. And right now, HawgSports is offering 30% off the first year of an annual subscription*, so now is the time to sign up.
The team at HawgSports has full coverage of who is coming and who is going on the Arkansas basketball roster. Head to HawgSports now to see all the insider info.
Arkansas basketball roster departures
Last year's Arkansas team returned 36.3% of its scoring from the 2022-23 roster, which is a high rate in this age of the transfer portal. But this year's Arkansas Razorbacks squad returns .0003% of its scoring, thanks to the lone holdover, Lawson Blake, scoring just one point a year ago. Thus, Calipari has a complete roster overhaul to make as the 2024-25 Arkansas basketball team will have no continuity. Double-digit scorers Tramon Mark and Khalif Battle have respectively transferred to Texas and Gonzaga as part of the mass exodus from Fayetteville.
The Razorbacks' average age of 22.7 last season was the second-oldest in Division I, when weighted by minutes. The team is losing nine seniors, and even those who lowered the average age have since departed. Layden Blocker and Baye Fall, who were Class of 2023 freshmen and top-10 national prospects at their respective positions, have since committed to other programs. So while Calipari has done a nice job in adding highly-ranked incoming recruits and transfers, he still just has a seven-man squad so there's lots of work to be done.Join HawgSports to see the latest on all of Arkansas' roster changes.
Arkansas basketball news, roster
The Razorbacks have the top-ranked group of transfer players by 247Sports, with all five of their transfer portal additions being four-star players. Johnell Davis was the third-highest ranked player in the transfer portal by 247Sports to highlight that group of five four-star players coming to Arkansas. Davis, a fifth-year senior, averaged 18.2 points at Florida Atlantic last season and the 6-foot-4 guard shot 41.4% on 3-pointers last year.
Outside of Calipari along with guard DJ Wagner and center Zvonimir Ivisic from Kentucky, Arkansas has pulled assets from other SEC schools this offseason. The Razorbacks landed 6-foot-11 forward Jonas Aidoo, who averaged 11.3 points and 7.3 rebounds per game in his third year at Tennessee. Arkansas will rely heavily on transfer portal additions along with incoming freshmen, which is often when Calipari is at his best in forming rosters.Join HawgSports to get the latest on all of Arkansas' roster additions.
How to get insider Arkansas basketball roster updates
Calipari has already been in contact with multiple transfers from power-conference teams, so be sure to join HawgSports to see who they are and get the rest of the insider roster news.
Who are the top names Arkansas basketball is pursuing under coach John Calipari, and which power-conference transfers could land in Fayetteville? Go to HawgSports to see their insider information, all from a team of reporters with years of experience covering the Razorbacks, and find out. And reminder, HawgSports is offering 30% off the first year of an annual VIP membership*, so subscribe now before it's too late.
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