Andrews Lost for Words When Razorbacks' Calipari Made Offer

Complete interview talks with Arkansas in-state star 2026 recruit after getting offer from head coach

New Arkansas Razorback offer JJ Andrews from Little Rock Christian drives in the lane in the Class 4A state championship game in March at Hot Springs against the Farmington Cardinals. / Tommy Land-HighSchoolonSI.com

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — John Calipari's flair for dramatics obviously is starting to show up in making offers for Arkansas right now. JJ Andrews was a little surprised when assistant coach Chin Coleman handed him the phone Monday afternoon.

It turned out to be none other than Calipari on the other end and, after some discussion, made the offer to Little Rock Christian's highly-ranked star.

Nate Olson from our sister site, High School on SI, visited with Andrews for over 20 minutes and got the information on that call was completely unexpected. He knew he had been putting in the work, though.

"I was speechless," Andrews told Olson.

• Complete Interview with Newest Razorbacks' Offer

As a sophomore, Andrews averaged 21 points and 10 rebounds for Little Rock Christian last season. He has performed well at Peach Jam winning the Nike EYBL U16 title. HIs Bradley Beal Elite team was 7-0 against some of the other star players in the country.

He led the Warriors to the Class 4A state championship last year, downing Farmington in the final in Hot Springs. He is the 15th-ranked player by ESPN for the 2026 class and On3 has him listed as No. 20 overall and the No. 1 player in Arkansas.

It's another step in Calipari's goal to recruit the players within the state's border that can compete at the level he wants. But they have to fit in with what he's looking for and apparently the 6-6 guy that's listed by some as a "game-changer" probably fills that role.

Andrews is also a legacy recruit. His dad, Shawn, played football at Arkansas, but that didn't mean it was automatic he was coming to Razorbacks. Thos decisions come down to what's best for the player, in his family's view.

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