Calipari's Talent Shooting Razorbacks Up Another Preseason Ranking

For a new coach who started with no players, rankings will raise expectations even more dramatically

Arkansas Razorbacks coach John Calipari at his introduction at Bud Walton Arena on April 10 in Fayetteville, Ark. / Craven Whitlow-allHOGS Images

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Expectations for Arkansas in John Calipari's first year are going to be off the charts compared to what Hog fans are used to seeing. They have been high the last few years under Eric Musselman, but this is going to keep climbing, apparently.

Another preseason ranking came out Wednesday and Gary Parrish of CBS Sports has the Razorbacks on a track to be close to the Top 10. Yes, the team that had nobody when Calipari came to town in April is now at No. 13. That's up a couple of spots after Trevon Brazile decided to come back. That likely played a huge role.

At Utah State last year, Parrish pointed out, Danny Sprinkle took over the program and rocketed them to a big season. He was named coach of the year. The question was asked if Calipari could do the same thing this year.

Razorback fans know all the details. Musselman bolted for USC and the Hogs shocked the basketball world by landing Calipari from a 15-year run at Kentucky where he had the Wildcats at this level every year. Now expectations may start to grow every year at Arkansas.

Brazile started 23 times last year, but only average 8.6 points a game and 5.9 rebounds. That was not what fans (or Musselman) had projected for him. It was part of a dysfunctional season for the Hogs that just kept spiraling downhill amid one wild bit of speculation after another all season. For whatever reason, Brazile hasn't appeared to be the same since suffering a torn ACL against UNC-Greensboro in December 2022.

Whether they can stay at that level is going to depend on how they fare in an SEC that has seven teams ranked in the Top 25 with Alabama at No. 2. The Crimson Tide will come to Bud Walton Arena at some point (we don't know when that's going to be yet) and that will probably be a three-ring circus atmosphere under a couple of big tops.

Now Calipari has to round up the talent to match those expectations. He didn't inherit anything, but it didn't seem to particularly bother him as he'd already been recruiting a top-ranked class for the Wildcats and just talked them into following his program to a different town.

"Arkansas is still building, but has already done enough to crack the Top 15 of these rankings," Parrish wrote.

He's probably not done, either after getting Johnell Davis (FAU), DJ Wagner (Kentucky), Jonas Aidoo (Tennessee), Adou Thiero (Kentucky) and Zvonimir Ivisic (Kentucky), and heralded freshmen Boogie Fland, Karter Knox and Billy Richmond.

Other SEC teams in the rankings include Auburn (10), Texas A&M (11), Tennessee (14), Florida (21) and Texas (22). I'll save you some searching because that's now five league teams in the Top 15 of the rankings. It's no longer just a football and baseball league.

Razorback fans' expectations are only going higher now. Calipari isn't complaining or dodging it. Nobody among the fans expected anything less.

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