All Hogs

Calipari Comes to Fayetteville with Only One Scholarship Player

Brazile announces he will fully commit to NBA draft

Kent Smith

Arkansas Razorbacks forward Trevon Brazile laughs while on the bench. He will leave the Hogs to fully commit to the NBA draft, leaving incoming coach John Calipari with no returning players from last year's team.
Arkansas Razorbacks forward Trevon Brazile laughs while on the bench. He will leave the Hogs to fully commit to the NBA draft, leaving incoming coach John Calipari with no returning players from last year's team. / Nelson Chenault-USA TODAY Sports

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark,. – It looks like new Arkansas coach John Calipari is going to get to start with a clean slate.

According to reports, Arkansas forward Trevon Brazile has officially decided to go all in on the NBA draft and will not stick around to see how things play out with the new coach.

"Arkansas made a big hire with John Calipari," Brazile reportedly told ESPN today. "I'm happy for the program, but am going out for my dreams. I'm all the way, 100% in the NBA Draft."

That means the only scholarship player technically on the roster is Isaiah Elohim, a 4-star incoming freshman who chose Arkansas over Kansas and Villanova. Whether he will stay with the program or ask his release remains to be seen, but unless something official comes out, it is to be assumed he will be the first piece of the Calipari era. This means the Eric Musselman regime has been officially wiped clean in less than a week.

Brazile was considered a first round draft pick despite an injury that killed the momentum of a hot start two seasons ago. Expectations were high this past season, but he never really found his groove.

At times it even felt the team took a step back when Brazile was on the floor because he struggled to find his old playing form. His point production dropped by more than three points per game to 8.6 while his overall total barely doubled last season despite playing three times as many games.

Brazile also missed a stretch of games during the season for injury purposes. As a result, he not only tumbled out of the first round, but out of the draft projections completely.

The NBA draft will take place on Thursday, June 27. Should Brazile get an NBA combine invite, fans will be able to see if he can get fully back on track May 12-19.

HOG FEED:

• New Arkansas coach will need to reinvent himself a little from his old Kentucky habits

• Calipari hire catches all off guard, even most seasoned veteran reporters

• Hire of Calipari reaffirms Arkansas as national power

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Kent Smith
KENT SMITH

Kent Smith has been in the world of media and film for nearly 30 years. From Nolan Richardson's final seasons, former Razorback quarterback Clint Stoerner trying to throw to anyone and anything in the blazing heat of Cowboys training camp in Wichita Falls, the first high school and college games after 9/11, to Troy Aikman's retirement and Alex Rodriguez's signing of his quarter billion dollar contract, Smith has been there to report on some of the region's biggest moments. 

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