Arkansas

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

Published

7 months ago

June 4, 2024

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.

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.

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

Promotional campaign featuring Arkansas quarterback Taylen Green cost Central Arkansas Library System over $50,000 | Arkansas Democrat Gazette

Published

55 minutes ago

January 5, 2025

Press Room

Promotional campaign featuring Arkansas quarterback Taylen Green cost Central Arkansas Library System over ,000 | Arkansas Democrat Gazette

The Central Arkansas Library System spent over $50,000 on a recent promotional campaign featuring University of Arkansas quarterback Taylen Green.

The campaign’s elements included a photo shoot, an in-person signing event with Green in November and digital advertising.

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Shooting concerns reappear for Arkansas basketball after stinging loss to Tennessee

Published

9 hours ago

January 5, 2025

Press Room

Shooting concerns reappear for Arkansas basketball after stinging loss to Tennessee

A brilliant stretch of offense to close the nonconference schedule had Arkansas basketball feeling optimistic about the roster’s overall shooting. Entering the SEC opener against No. 1 Tennessee, the Razorbacks ranked fourth nationally in field-goal percentage (50.8%) while hitting 3-pointers at a 36.8% rate.

But preseason concerns appeared to be justified Saturday. The Hogs (11-3, 0-1 SEC) shot a season-low 37.7% from the floor against the Volunteers (14-0, 1-0), going 6 for 29 on 3-pointers and, even worse, 6 for 13 at the free-throw line.

Add it all up, and Arkansas got run out the gym in a 76-52 loss that represented the worst offensive performance of the year.

“Look, you don’t have to make all your 3s, but you can’t miss them all,” Arkansas coach John Calipari said. “You can’t miss 10 in-a-row, or you’re not going to win.”

DJ Wagner and Karter Knox hit on the first two attempts from downtown, but Arkansas then proceeded to miss 19 of its next 21 3-pointers. That drought coincided with a dominant Tennessee run that stretched the lead to double figures, and the Vols led 42-27 at halftime.

The offensive malaise wasn’t a total surprise. Tennessee leads the country in 3-point defense and is second in scoring defense, but it was a giant step back. Arkansas had scored at least 80 points in four straight games.

Boogie Fland and Johnell Davis represented Arkansas’ biggest disappointments from behind the arc. That duo combined to go 2 for 12, with Davis missing all four of his attempts. Davis had missed the Hogs’ previous two games with a wrist injury.

The Razorbacks’ leading 3-point shooter on the season is 7-foot-2 big man Zvonimir Ivisic, who entered Saturday 20 of 44. He went 1 for 2 against Tennessee, but he continues to struggle on the defensive end and has seen his minutes dramatically decrease in recent weeks.

Calipari needs to find a way to keep Ivisic on the floor. His impact stretching opposing defenses is too valuable. The Hogs play most possessions with at least two players who aren’t threats from the outside.

After the game, Calipari said the bad shooting numbers weren’t a product of poor offense. He thought his team generated quality looks, but the shots just would not fall.

However, he didn’t like how the misses negatively affected the Razorbacks in other dimensions.

“If we created a good look, and we miss some of them, I looked at them and said, ‘Guys, you’re not going to make every shot. Just keep playing. Fight.’ You’ve got to learn to fight when you’re not playing well. So this was a great learning experience for this team,” he said.

There are other, more important factors that played into the blowout loss.

Tennessee won the rebounding margin 51-29 and got 29 points from Chaz Lanier. Zakai Zeigler won the battle of New York City point guards against Boogie Fland, and Arkansas couldn’t have asked for a more difficult start to the conference schedule than a road game against the top-ranked team in the country.

Arkansas now has three days to regroup before a home game against No. 23 Ole Miss.

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Miss Arkansas wins Miss America’s Teen 2025; Miss Alabama is first runner-up

Published

17 hours ago

January 4, 2025

Press Room

Miss Arkansas wins Miss America’s Teen 2025; Miss Alabama is first runner-up

Peyton Bolling was crowned Miss America’s Teen 2025 on Saturday night in Orlando, Florida.

Bolling, who competed as Miss Arkansas’ Teen, is from Rogers and attends Bentonville High School. She performed a jazz dance in the pageant’s talent competition on Saturday. The teen pageant — which includes talent, evening gown and on-stage question segments — is part of the Miss America organization.

Along with the title of Miss America’s Teen, Bolling will receive $50,000 in scholarship money and a yearlong reign, according to the Miss America organization. During her year as Miss America’s Teen, Bolling will travel across the country and use her platform to raise awareness about her philanthropic effort, known as Simple Acts of Citizenship. She’ll also serve as a role model for young girls and a brand ambassador for the Miss America’s Teen program.

Ali Mims, Miss Alabama’s Teen, was named first-runner up for Miss America’s Teen on Saturday and earned $10,000 in scholarship money. Mims, from Harpersville, was featured throughout the finals event and performed a soprano aria during the talent competition, singing “O Mio Babbino Caro” (“Oh, my Dear Papa”) from Giacomo Puccini’s 1918 opera “Gianni Schicchi.”

Also, Mims was one of three winners in Tuesday’s evening gown preliminary for Miss America’s Teen, earning a $3,000 scholarship.

Mims is a student at Chelsea High School. Her philanthropic platform for Miss Alabama’s Teen is the Joyful Noise Foundation: Music Education for the Special Needs Community, It raises money to put musical instruments in special needs classes.

Ali Mims of Harpersville, Alabama, was named first runner-up for Miss America’s Teen on Jan. 4, 2025, in Orlando Florida. Mims competed as Miss Alabama’s Teen in the national pageant.(Courtesy of Miss America IP LLC)

A total of 51 teens were in the running for 2025, competing in preliminary events this week and the finals on Saturday at the Walt Disney Theater in Orlando. All had previously been crowned at pageants in their home states or Puerto Rico.

Aside from Bolling and Mims, the top five finalists were:

Brooke Bumgarner, Miss Mississippi’s Teen 2024 (second-runner up)
Abigail Mignucci, Miss New Jersey’s Teen 2024 (third runner-up)
Macie Krause, Miss Texas’ Teen 2024 (fourth runner-up)

As runners-up, Bumgarner, Mignucci and Krause each earned $10,000 in scholarship money, according to the Miss America organization. The finals were livestreamed on the Miss America YouTube channel and PageantVision.com.

The top 11 contestants for Miss America’s Teen were: