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With Trevon Brazile Returning, a Look at John Calipari’s First Arkansas Team

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With Trevon Brazile Returning, a Look at John Calipari’s First Arkansas Team


The most memorable moment from John Calipari’s introductory news conference with the Arkansas Razorbacks was a classic Calipari quip.

“There is no team,” Calipari said, holding himself back from going through the traditional first news conference diatribes about “the first team meeting” that every other new coach in America seems to use. 

The reloading job Calipari walked into at Arkansas isn’t exactly unprecedented in the modern transfer portal. The Kentucky Wildcats, the job he left, also retained no scholarship players, and several other high-profile jobs barely had enough players returning to play two-on-two, let alone five-on-five, in spring workouts. But it was quite the undertaking, one that appears largely over in the first week of June after the Hogs announced talented forward Trevon Brazile would be returning to Arkansas after testing the NBA draft and transfer portal. 

Technically, the Brazile addition is a “retention” for Arkansas, since he spent the last two seasons there under Eric Musselman. Practically, though, this was a complete re-recruitment, with Brazile diving headfirst into the draft process for most of the time Calipari spent building his roster and then serendipitously becoming available late when the Razorbacks needed a starting-caliber power forward. 

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Once thought of as a potential first-round pick, an ACL tear early in the 2022–23 campaign and general ineffectiveness on a dysfunctional Arkansas squad last season left Brazile’s pro stock shaky. Instead, he’ll become the ninth piece of the puzzle for Calipari’s team, which features an intriguing mix of players following from Kentucky, top transfers and a few freshmen from Kentucky’s fall signing class. Calipari has said in interviews he plans on having nine core pieces and rounding out the remaining four scholarships with developmental players he termed as new-age “walk-ons.” While nothing is ever definite in this day and age of roster building, here’s a look at what Calipari’s first Arkansas team will look like. 

Wagner had long been thought of as a surefire one-and-done, but a middling first college season at Kentucky overshadowed by teammates Rob Dillingham and Reed Sheppard’s explosions left Wagner’s stock such that a second year of school made sense. After considering other options, he eventually followed Calipari to Arkansas, where he’ll be the presumed starting point guard. He’ll benefit from a fully healthy season after dealing with nagging injuries throughout 2023–24, but improving as an outside shooter is essential. Fland, a talented freshman from New York, should provide some bench shot-creation. 

The headliner here is Davis, thought of as perhaps the best transfer in the portal this spring and a legitimate potential NBA player. Davis led the FAU Owls to the Final Four in 2023 and averaged over 18 points per game a season ago, shooting 41% from three. He is capable of creating his own shot in ball screens, scored 25 or more points six times last season and seems like the early favorite to lead this team in scoring.

Then there’s Knox, a bruising freshman wing out of the Overtime Elite program who’s a natural three-level scorer. Being consistent from beyond the arc and on the defensive end will be a must for him, but he has a chance to be a highly efficient slasher for the Hogs. 

The other Kentucky transfer on the roster, Thiero, could be classified either as a wing or a forward, a jack-of-all-trades type whose biggest strength is on the defensive end. While not a floor-spacer, Thiero provides a good deal of utility with his ability to guard multiple positions, handle the ball and push the pace in transition. 

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The talent within this frontcourt unit is immense. Arkansas’s rim protection should be elite, with Aidoo, Brazile and Ivisic all posting well above average block rates at their positions last season. They each possess the ability to stretch the defense some, with Brazile and Ivisic being traditional “stretch bigs” and Aidoo continuing to expand his range after flashing that part of his game some with the Tennessee Volunteers. This group could allow Calipari to deploy more of the four- and five-out lineups he used with great success offensively early a year ago. 

The primary concern here: physicality. The Hogs seriously lack an interior “enforcer” who can deal with more physically dominant players down low. Aidoo really struggled with those types of bigs at Tennessee, but had cover in backup Tobe Awaka, a bruising force down low. Brazile and Ivisic won’t provide that same relief. If there’s one glaring hole on this Arkansas team, it’s a sturdy backup center, though even backup big men are hard to come by at this point in the transfer portal cycle. 

With the resources committed to make the Calipari hire a reality, expectations in Fayetteville, Ark., will be high … especially given that his predecessor made the NCAA tournament’s second weekend three times in the same five-year stretch that saw Calipari win only one tournament game and soil his good favor in Lexington, Ky. Given the challenges of essentially starting from scratch, it’s hard to argue with the roster Calipari built, one that has the talent to push for a spot near the top of the SEC and a trip to the second weekend. In some ways, though, having to build from nothing had its benefits, forcing Calipari to be more transfer heavy and embrace some of the modern roster-building concepts he had been resistant to adopt at Kentucky. 

But is this group a title contender? In my estimation, no. Meshing together a completely new group has its challenges, and the talent, while strong, isn’t going to blow away anyone at the top of the sport. Plus, Calipari has a lot to prove after two embarrassing early NCAA tournament exits in three years and no trips to the second weekend, let alone the Final Four, since pre-pandemic. 



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Arkansas

New statewide group promotes, aids prescribed burns | Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette

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New statewide group promotes, aids prescribed burns | Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette


The newly formed Arkansas Prescribed Burn Association held its first meeting in mid-October.

The association works as an umbrella organization, recruiting and maintaining new groups of landowners to conduct prescribed burns throughout the state.

“Properly planned prescribed burns reduce the fuel load, which can lessen or even eliminate wildfires,” said Thomas Baldridge, one of the association’s three directors. “But that’s only part of the benefit of prescribed fire. It’s the best tool available to land managers to increase wildlife habitat for turkeys, quail, deer and all sorts of other species.”

North American bird populations have declined by more than 2.9 billion birds in the last 50 years and the loss of grassland habitat is one of the largest contributors to that loss, according to a recent study conducted by Kenneth Rosenberg and highlighted by the National Audubon Society. Fire helps open up dense underbrush to promote seed-producing grasses and plants that are beneficial to grassland species on a year-round basis.

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Instead of manipulating land through dirt work or planting food plots, many landowners can turn the tide on the loss of wildlife habitat with the proper use of prescribed fire.

Baldridge said the formation of the prescribed burn association was a natural evolution to what the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission and other partnering organizations had been studying the last few years.

“Game and Fish started building prescribed burn associations a few years ago. Most of our members have been fortunate to have worked with many of the staff from Game and Fish, Quail Forever and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service on burns and other private land habitat projects. The prescribed burn association just sort of seemed to be a missing piece to the puzzle that was already being put together,” Baldridge said.

Hunter Johnson of Des Arc and Catrina Mendoza of Searcy share director duties with Baldridge, who also lives in Searcy.

Baldridge said the association used states like Oklahoma and Florida as templates to follow in their formation.

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“Oklahoma really sets the standard for a statewide prescribed burn association. They’ve grown to a massive organization with a budget over $1 million and eight full-time staff members to support all of their chapters.”

Game and Fish, Arkansas Game and Fish Foundation, U.S. Fish and Wildlife and Quail Forever all pitched in financially to help the new association build a firm foundation. Game and Fish granted the organization $25,000. Fish and Wildlife gave it $50,000 and Quail Forever provided $17,000 derived from its specialty license plate sales.

Baldridge says trailers, safety gear and other prescribed burn necessities also were donated to the association, increasing its startup assistance to more than $200,000 in funding and equipment. Since the organization is entirely volunteer-based, all of this funding is put directly into putting prescribed fire on the landscape.

Visit www.arfire.org for more information and to learn how to set up a new prescribed burn association in any area of Arkansas.



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Arkansas' official depth chart for Missouri game

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Arkansas' official depth chart for Missouri game


FAYETTEVILLE — The Arkansas Razorbacks (6-4, 3-4 SEC) have released the depth chart for Saturday’s regular season finale against the No. 24 Missouri Tigers (8-3, 4-3 SEC) at Razorback Stadium.

Arkansas recovered from a slow start to take down Louisiana Tech, 35-14, over the weekend in Fayetteville. Missouri bounced back from a loss to South Carolina on Sept. 16 with a 39-20 win at Mississippi State on Saturday.

A few changes were made to this week’s depth chart, most notably the absence of junior defensive end Nico Davillier at the defensive end position. The pass-rusher did not play against Louisiana Tech on Saturday due to a knee injury, and senior Anton Juncaj is the lone listed starter in Davillier’s place. Backing up Juncaj is freshman Charlie Collins.

At safety, sophomore TJ Metcalf and junior Miguel Mitchell no longer have an “or” listed between them. Metcalf is the starter with Mitchell backing him up. Finally, redshirt sophomore Brooks Edmonson is listed as the backup center behind Addison Nichols instead of redshirt sophomore Amaury Wiggins, who is no longer listed on the depth chart.

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Here is the full Arkansas depth chart ahead of Saturday’s game against Missouri, which is set to kick off at 2:30 p.m. CT on SEC Network at Memorial Stadium.



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Higginbottom key in win vs. old team | Arkansas Democrat Gazette

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Higginbottom key in win vs. old team | Arkansas Democrat Gazette


FAYETTEVILLE — Izzy Higginbottom sent a text message to her teammates on the University of Arkansas women’s basketball team Saturday night.

The note contained a list of things she felt the team needed to work on from its 94-71 loss Thursday night to Oral Roberts. First on the list was better energy.

Her message resonated.

Higginbottom played with passion and excelled against her former team as Arkansas found its defense in the second half to defeat Arkansas State 76-60 on Sunday afternoon at Walton Arena.

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“I personally knew how much this game meant to her,” Arkansas forward Jenna Lawrence said of Higginbottom. “Obviously, you want to beat the team that you’ve recently been on, so I just think she was really amped up — the most amped I’ve seen her for a game.

“I’m just really proud of how she performed and how she was a leader on and off the court.”

Higginbottom, a 5-7 transfer guard who played two seasons with the Red Wolves, filled the stat sheet with 15 points, a career-high 8 rebounds and 5 assists.

“When the other team shoots threes, they become speed rebounds,” Arkansas Coach Mike Neighbors said. “I thought she dug a bunch of those out, and then that got us going on transition, too. She was out in front of the break leading it, getting to the foul line and created a couple of good catch and shoot looks for (teammates).”

The Razorbacks (4-3) snapped a two-game losing streak and won their second game against an in-state opponent this year. Arkansas won 71-60 in overtime at Arkansas-Little Rock on Nov. 11.

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“It stinks to lose any day,” Neighbors said, “but especially if you get on a little bit of a streak, it’s easy to get (down). So, I thought it was important for us to stay above .500. You feel different when you win. I don’t know if we played any better yet. I’ll have to go home and watch, but I think we did.”

After giving up 38 points before halftime, the Razorbacks held the Red Wolves to 22 points on 8-of-36 (22%) shooting in the second half.

Arkansas State (2-3) went seven-plus minutes without a field goal between the third and fourth quarters. That stretch proved decisive as a 38-35 halftime deficit for Arkansas turned into a double-digit lead for most of the final quarter.

“We started getting all the 50-50 balls,” Neighbors said. “Before that, it was about (half). I think it was like 90-10 in that third quarter. The effort was much better. I thought our focus was a lot better.”

Arkansas State entered on a two-game win streak, which included a 100-96 victory at Arizona State. The Red Wolves fell to 3-9 all-time against the Razorbacks, last winning in the 2005 Women’s National Invitation Tournament.

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A fast-paced, back-and-forth first quarter saw two lead changes and runs of 6-0 and 5-0 that helped Arkansas State take a 23-19 lead into the second quarter. The Razorbacks committed six turnovers in the period that resulted in 10 points for the Red Wolves.

Arkansas took a 33-27 with 3:32 remaining in the first half before Arkansas State closed with an 11-2 run. Kennedie Montue beat the shot clock with a three-pointer to give Arkansas State a 38-35 lead just before halftime.

Fatigue appeared to play a factor in the first half, in which Arkansas was outscored 26-2 in bench points. Arkansas State Coach Destinee Rogers made mass substitutions throughout the game and had 10 players log minutes.

Arkansas forward Vera Ojenuwa, who put up a double-double with a game-high 20 points and 10 rebounds, scored 12 points before halftime.

The Razorbacks took a 39-38 lead early in the third quarter on a jumper by Kiki Smith, who finished with 15 points. The teams went back and forth for a while before Lawrence connected on her first three-pointer of the game to put Arkansas up for good at 46-43 with 4:01 remaining in the third. Lawrence finished with eight points and 10 rebounds.

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Arkansas State ran a full-court press for most of the game and Arkansas fared better against it as time went on. The Razorbacks found Ojenuwa alone under the basket on multiple press breaks.

“For two days straight, we worked on just breaking their press and making sure we see Vera wide open,” Lawrence said. “Because the way their press was, they put all of their players in front and left Vera wide open in the back.”

As the Razorbacks built their double-digit lead in the fourth quarter, Higginbottom drove past defenders for three fast-break layups.

Arkansas finished the game on a 12-4 run, including six unanswered, to close the door.

The Razorbacks shot 30 of 67 (45%), including 7 of 27 (26%) from three-point range, and 9 of 12 (75%) from the free-throw line.

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Arkansas State went 23 of 74 (31%), 9 of 35 (26%) and 5 of 7 (71%) in those categories, respectively.

Anna Griffin led the Red Wolves with 16 points and 8 rebounds, followed by Montue, who made 3 three-pointers and scored 13 points. Both Griffin and Montue played off the bench, while Wynter Rogers was Arkansas State’s highest-scoring starter with 8 points to go along with 8 rebounds and 4 blocks.

Arkansas State’s starters outside of Rogers — Crislyn Rose, Zyion Shannon, Kyanna Morgan and Shaunae Brown — combined to go 4 of 36 from the field and scored eight points. Bella Weary and Mimi McCollister provided 7 and 6 points, respectively, off the bench for the Red Wolves.

Arkansas won the rebound battle 48-42 and had a season-high 16 assists.

Six Razorbacks scored at least eight points: Ojenuwa (20), Higginbottom (15), Smith (15), Lawrence (8), Carly Keats (8) and Danika Galea (8). Karley Johnson and Lawrence led the Razorbacks with three steals apiece.

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