FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — New Arkansas coach John Calipari isn’t trying to put together a roster like anybody really expects. He’s not doing what fans and most of the media expect, but nobody really wants to believe what he keeps telling them.

“I just talk about what I want,” Calipari said. “Have you guys not understood that yet? You can ask me whatever you want, I’m going to say what …”

That last part sort of trailed off, probably due to exhaustion from having to answer multiple times a question that he’s made clear since April. Calipari’s looking for nine guys who can play to his level.

For those who haven’t noticed, that’s a higher expectation than what’s been seen around the Razorbacks for a couple of decades. He’s also talked about embracing the players who won in the past and did again.

Ronnie Brewer, who is part of the historic past as a player and because his father was a huge part of when Eddie Sutton started turning things around in the mid-70’s, was in the spotlight Monday. Calipari announced he will handle what he described as the mid-south, a region that includes Arkansas, Oklahoma, North Texas, West Tennessee, Missouri up to St. Louis and Mississippi.

“There’s an area that Ronnie can be [effective], but I also want him to be our liaison to all the former players,” Calipari said. “Anybody that knows how I’ve done this … I’ve talked to many of them already. We’re going to do a fantasy camp. I want them all to come back. Be a part of this. I’ve sent some pictures out of some of the guys. Corliss. The picture of him, and I’m saying we’ve got to get this back to where you guys had it. So he’s going to do that.”

The more his current players can be around guys who have won big in the past, he’s all for that. At Kentucky, he embraced the past.

He’s doing the same thing at Arkansas. Before Calipari took the job in April, he talked with Nolan Richardson. Don’t be surprised to see him around as much as he wants to be there.

But, it’s time to quit worrying about players 10-13 on the roster. There are guys who will be primarily for practice and development, and the change in number of scholarship players isn’t a big deal to him.

“Nope. I’m going to have eight or nine, and then I’m going to fill out the roster,” Calipari said … again. “You know what I can do? I can give walk-ons a scholarship now if I choose to. Maybe I use that somewhere else. Maybe I get GAs that can still play and I use it that way. How about I do that?”

Part of doing it the way everybody has gotten accustomed to seeing has changed with (or because of) the new rules in the game, particularly the free agency each year.

“What you don’t want with this transfer portal, every kid is a free agent at the end of the year,” Calipari said. “You have eight or nine, maybe one or two stay, but you’re not dealing with 10, 11, 12. Well, you got to do this, you got to start me, you got to do this. No, I’m not coaching a player so that another guy can coach him. I’m not doing that either. I got my eight or nine.”

That’s the magic number, folks. No matter how many ways the question is phrased, the answer is going to be the same.

When somebody tells you what they are, accept it. That works well with coaches, too. Take Calipari at his word.

HOGS FEED:

• Special rule gives insight into Calipari coaching style for Razorbacks

• Calipari wants Razorback fans to pull back on expectations

• Calipari unveils surprises in exhibition slate, updates schedule progress

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FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – According to John Calipari, kings think differently. And while Razorbacks fans are anxious to be anointed kings of the basketball world once again, their head coach wants them to cool it down just a bit.

As part of his end of summer workouts press conference Monday, Calipari told the story of Arnold Palmer being asked by a king what he would like as a gift, to which the legendary golfer requested a simple golf club. He waited a few weeks and was disappointed to see a nothing more than a thank you letter had arrive instead of the bejeweled driver he had imagined.

“So he opens the letter, and the letter thanks him,” Calipari said. “So he’s kind of disappointed, and he puts it back in the envelope, and there’s another piece of paper in there, and he takes out the piece of paper, and it’s a deed to a golf club.”

When he took the job and began skirting around the state, much like when Palmer met the king, Calipari had a decent idea of what he was getting into. It was a presence that was hard to ignore.

“I feel the excitement, like, I feel it,” Calipari said. “I feel it in the building. I feel it on the campus. I feel it around the state. I see it. I feel it.”

However, much like Palmer, he hadn’t fully processed how Razorbacks fans think. Much of the state was around for when Arkansas was a king in college basketball in the ’80s and ’90s when Final Fours were plentiful, as were trips to the national title game.

“I was told a couple weeks ago that we sold out season tickets,” Calipari said regarding a schedule that isn’t even complete yet. “People, it’s July. The building seats 20,000. Season tickets gone.”

Considering the slate was clean of coaches, players and even games when he arrived just a few months ago, Calipari is hoping for a nice golf club at best under the circumstances. Meanwhile, Arkansas fans envision domination the likes of which hasn’t been seen in Fayetteville since Nolan Richardson, although Eric Musselman certainly tried.

“What I say to you and all of our fans, I’m as excited as you are, but let’s be patient,” Calipari said. “I’ve already told you, we haven’t played.”

But that’s just not how Arkansas fans are thinking right now. Calipari acknowledges as much.

“First of all, they say, ‘How’s how’s it going?’” Calipari said. “I said, ‘It’s great. We haven’t lost a game yet.’ Everybody’s excited, but be patient because how we do this, it is a process. No staff, no team and no schedule three months ago.”

However, while he’s trying to get Arkansas fans to think a little smaller, behind the scenes, he’s working on getting his newly assembled team to think more like their crazed fans. On the practice courts, the bar is being asked to go much higher.

“Kings think different than we think,” Calipari said. “And I’ve got to get these kids to understand I want you to think big and dream big, but you must work bigger. But, your dreams for yourself and your teams have to be big as you dream bigger. Think bigger.”

HOGS FEED:

• Calipari unveils surprises in exhibition slate, updates schedule progress

• Cauley-Stein explains why it’s John Calipari, not Kentucky blue that brought top recruits

• Analysis of Pittman era recruiting shows why dip in wins, offers hope for near future

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• Follow allHOGS on X and Facebook

FAYETTEVILLE — Mike Armstrong estimated he’s been an official at close to 1,000 track and field meets over the last 35 years.

That includes low-key season openers at the University of Arkansas to NCAA and United States Championships around the country and international competitions around the world.

But this week will be different.

For the first time in Armstrong’s Hall of Fame officiating career, he’ll work at the Olympics.

Armstrong, 65, is officiating several events in Paris, starting with the decathlon on Friday.

It’s the high mark of Armstrong’s second career as a track and field official. His primary job is being director of the Christ on Campus ministry at Arkansas since 1982.

“Officiating at the Olympics was the one thing I hadn’t done,” said Armstrong, who lives in Springdale. “You hope to be selected, but there are lots of quality people around the world to fill these spots, so you feel fortunate when your name appears on the list of those assigned to this meet.”

There are about 200 officials working track and field events at the Olympics, but Armstrong is one of 12 referees — and the only American.

It’s unusual for officials from overseas to work meets in Europe — just as most of the officials at the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles will be Americans — but Armstrong’s experience and accomplishments merit his presence in Paris.

Armstrong is 1 of 60 officials rated at a gold level by World Athletics through its certification process involving a thorough series of testing evaluations. He’s the chairman of the Officials Committee for USA Track and Field.

“Because of Mike’s knowledge and leadership, he’s one of the top 10 officials in the world,” said Lance Harter, coach of Arkansas’ women’s track and field team from 1990-2023. “He’s a pretty big deal and respected by everyone worldwide.”

Armstrong has worked at the last two World Outdoor Championships in Eugene, Ore., in 2022 and Budapest, Hungary, in 2023 as well as the World Indoor Championships in Portland, Ore., in 2016. He began officiating at NCAA meets in 2000 and has worked every United States Olympic Trials since 2004 along with numerous SEC Championships and U.S. Championships.

Including competitions such as the Pan American Games, World Under-20 and World Masters Championships, Armstrong has traveled to 18 countries.

“Mike’s been all over the world to officiate at these meets and he brings that experience back to Arkansas to benefit us with the volume of home meets we have every year,” said Chris Bucknam, the Razorbacks’ men’s track and field coach since 2008. “I really don’t know what we’d do without him.

“We’re all replaceable, I guess, but he’s just done a phenomenal job for so many years.”

Armstrong said he’ll follow the same principles as an official at the Olympics that have always guided him.

“The main thing you want to do is make sure things are safe and fair and the athletes have the chance to perform to the best of their abilities,” he said. “Follow the same process and protocols and don’t get carried away with the pomp and the circumstance that surround it.”

Armstrong was inducted into the Arkansas Track and Field Hall of Fame in 2015 and the USA Track and Field National Officials Committee Hall of Fame in 2021. He was named the 2023 recipient of the Robert Giegengack Award, named in honor of the former Yale coach and presented annually to a person who excels in contributing to the excellence and high standards of the sport of track and field.

“There’s no greater honor than to be recognized by your peers,” Armstrong said. “I’ve been blessed.”

Harter said Armstrong has the perfect temperament to be a meet referee, especially when coaches complain or file protests.

“Mike is just rock solid,” Harter said. “He never gets flustered or overly emotional. He’s very even-keeled and his approach when talking to coaches is to say, ‘OK, this is the protocol, this is the rule we’re following.’ All the coaches know he’s always going to be fair.

“I’ve also had coaches ask me, ‘What does Mike do for a living?’ And when I say, ‘He’s a minister,’ that seems to carry some clout. This is a man who knows how to treat everyone with respect and kindness.”

Bucknam said that when he coached at Northern Iowa and came to meets at Arkansas, it became clear Armstrong was totally neutral.

“There’s never been any home cooking for Arkansas with Mike in charge,” Bucknam said. “A coach might get contentious every once in a while. But Mike knows all the rules, and when he makes a decision, it’s impossible to argue with him because everything he does is based on the facts.”

Kevin Trainor, Arkansas’ senior associate director for public relations, was a freshman at the UA in 1990 when he first met Armstrong. They became close enough friends that Armstrong officiated at Trainor’s wedding when he married his wife, Ruth.

“Mike is a great minister, but watching him take on the challenge as a track and field official and seeing how much he’s grown has been special,” Trainor said. “He’s very humble and likes to work behind the scenes, and he knows track and field inside and out.

“There are so many different rules — whether it’s NCAA rules or international rules — and he knows all of them. He’s a noted expert, and he’s training the next generation of track and field officials.”

Armstrong, who earned a bachelor’s degree at Ozark Christian College in Joplin, Mo., and a master’s degree in counseling at Arkansas, said he began officiating at meets hosted by the Razorbacks in 1989 at the invitation of a friend and insurance agent, Whit Hensman.

“Whit was a track official and he asked if I wanted to come help,” Armstrong said. “So I worked at a meet, and really enjoyed being around the athletes and the officials.

“It helped that the Razorbacks had an outstanding program so there were always a lot of great meets with great athletes coming through.”

Armstrong said he couldn’t have been an official for so many years — and traveled extensively — without the support of his wife, Gina. They have two daughters and five grandchildren.

“Mike and Gina are a great team,” Bucknam said. “She’s at all the track meets helping as well.”

Trainor said Armstrong being the only American referee for track and field in Paris speaks to his elite status.

“It might be harder to make the Olympic officiating team if you’re not from the country hosting than it is to make your country’s Olympic team,” Trainor said. “But Mike has earned that distinction, and we know he’ll represent the United States with great class and dignity just as he has represented Arkansas for all these years.”