John Calipari Was Brutally Honest About Status of Arkansas Roster Upon Arrival

Karl Rasmussen | Apr 10, 2024

Arkansas Razorbacks basketball coach John Calipari during his introductory press conference. / Screenshot via Arkansas Razorbacks Men’s Basketball on X

John Calipari was introduced as the new head coach of the Arkansas men's basketball program on Wednesday, and he didn't waste much time before offering an assessment of the current lay of the land.

Although he spoke optimistically and expressed excitement about starting this chapter of his career, Calipari was candid when discussing the current state of the roster, or lack thereof.

"I'm jacked about this new opportunity," Calipari said. "Now, I met with the team. There is no team. So now, I've got to—[Arkansas athletic director] Hunter [Yurachek] is extremely confident, but we've got to get a roster together. But we will."

We are aware of the situation pic.twitter.com/Wb4xVR21vI

— Arkansas Razorbacks Men’s Basketball 🐗 (@RazorbackMBB) April 11, 2024

Calipari takes over the Razorbacks coaching gig that was vacated by Eric Musselman when he agreed to become the coach at USC. The most prominent obstacle Calipari will face early on into his tenure with the program will be filling out Arkansas's roster.

As it stands, the official Razorbacks roster lists just one player, senior forward Lawson Blake. Last year, Blake averaged 0.3 points and 0.3 rebounds per game. The team has zero scholarship players.

The 2023–24 Arkansas squad was loaded with upperclassmen, including nine seniors. Sophomore Trevon Brazile declared for the 2024 NBA draft, while freshmen Baye Fall and Layden Blocker and sophomore Keyon Menifield have all entered the transfer portal. Leading scorer Tramon Mark also entered the portal after his junior season.

With Calipari in town, Fayetteville figures to be a popular destination for players in the transfer portal, and he'll look to rebuild a depleted roster ahead of his first year at the helm.