In one of the more aggressive moves of the offseason, the Arkansas Razorbacks lured one of the most successful coaches, and arguably the best recruiter, in college basketball history to Fayetteville. The Hawgs signed John Calipari to a five-year contract, with the goal of the program reclaiming the status it once held as a college basketball powerhouse. Calipari replaces Eric Musselman, who left Arkansas to become the head coach at USC. Calipari was tasked with building a new Arkansas basketball roster, and with his recruiting prowess it should come as no surprise that he has success on the Arkansas basketball recruiting trail already.
The Razorbacks have the No. 3 overall recruiting class and No. 1 transfer class, according to 247Sports. With only eight players signed and five scholarships available, Calipari still has work to do in building his team. If you love the Razorbacks, or just want the latest roster updates and college basketball transfer portal news, be sure to see what the proven team of insiders are saying at HawgSports, the 247Sports affiliate that covers Arkansas.
The team of insiders at HawgSports.com are providing up-to-the-minute scoop on the latest intel surrounding the Arkansas basketball coaching transition and roster changes. Launched in 2002, HawgSports has established itself as the top source for insider Arkansas basketball coverage. Trey Biddy, Danny West and Connor Goodson have a combined 30 years of experience covering the Razorbacks professionally. And right now, HawgSports is offering 30% off the first year of an annual subscription*, so now is the time to sign up.
The team at HawgSports has full coverage of who is coming and who is going on the Arkansas basketball roster. Head to HawgSports now to see all the insider info.
Arkansas basketball roster departures
Last year's Arkansas team returned 36.3% of its scoring from the 2022-23 roster, which is a high rate in this age of the transfer portal. But this year's Arkansas Razorbacks squad returns .0003% of its scoring, thanks to the lone holdover, Lawson Blake, scoring just one point a year ago. Thus, Calipari has a complete roster overhaul to make as the 2024-25 Arkansas basketball team will have no continuity. Double-digit scorers Tramon Mark and Khalif Battle have respectively transferred to Texas and Gonzaga as part of the mass exodus from Fayetteville.
The Razorbacks' average age of 22.7 last season was the second-oldest in Division I, when weighted by minutes. The team is losing nine seniors, and even those who lowered the average age have since departed. Layden Blocker and Baye Fall, who were Class of 2023 freshmen and top-10 national prospects at their respective positions, have since committed to other programs. So while Calipari has done a nice job in adding highly-ranked incoming recruits and transfers, he still just has a seven-man squad so there's lots of work to be done. Join HawgSports to see the latest on all of Arkansas' roster changes.
Arkansas basketball news, roster
In the process of building his roster at Arkansas, Calipari managed to deplete the roster at his prior school. He immediately flipped a trio of four-star high school prospects that he originally signed at Kentucky in small forward Karter Knox, brother of NBA player Kevin Knox, small forward Billy Richmond, and combo guard Boogie Fland. All three players are elite athletes that are capable of making an instant impact on both ends of the floor as freshmen.
He then added three transfers from Kentucky in guard D.J. Wagner, small forward Adou Thiero and center Zvonimir Ivisic. 247Sports lists all three players as four-star transfer prospects. Calipari's biggest recruiting coup may have been former FAU guard Johnell Davis. Davis was ranked as the No. 3 transfer prospect in the country and was a key player on FAU's Final Four team in 2023. The 6-foot-4 guard is coming off a season where he averaged 18.2 points, 6.3 rebounds, and 2.9 assists per game. Join HawgSports to get the latest on all of Arkansas' roster additions.
How to get insider Arkansas basketball roster updates
Calipari has already been in contact with multiple transfers from power-conference teams, so be sure to join HawgSports to see who they are and get the rest of the insider roster news.
Who are the top names Arkansas basketball is pursuing under coach John Calipari, and which power-conference transfers could land in Fayetteville? Go to HawgSports to see their insider information, all from a team of reporters with years of experience covering the Razorbacks, and find out. And reminder, HawgSports is offering 30% off the first year of an annual VIP membership*, so subscribe now before it's too late.
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