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Longtime Kentucky basketball coach John Calipari stunned the college basketball world when he decided to take his talents to Arkansas following 15 seasons with the Wildcats, and it would appear he’s already decided to harness a very uncharacteristic approach as he prepares for his inaugural campaign with his new squad.
John Calipari had already put together an impressive résumé thanks to what he achieved at UMass and Memphis before taking his talents to Kentucky in 2009, and he wasted no time picking up where he left off.
The Wildcats squad that was led by Anthony Davis secured a national championship in Calipari’s third season, and while Kentucky hit a couple of brief rough patches during the coach’s tenure, the program was still a perennial contender that cemented its status as a blue blood under his watch.
Calipari’s success was contingent on his ability to attract some of the best players in the country. That approach worked out pretty well, but at the same time, it was a bit risky when you consider his roster was usually defined by young players—including a steady stream of one-and-done freshmen—who tended to use Kentucky as a stepping stone before quickly making the leap to the NBA.
During a recent conversation with Jim Rome, Calipari surprised plenty of fans when he acknowledged he’ll likely be taking a different approach now that he’s taken the reins for the Arkansas Razorbacks.
During the conversation, the veteran skipper noted the NIL Era has given players more incentive to remain in college and has subsequently made it harder for the freshman he’s historically been fond of relying on to hang against opponents with more experience, saying:
“I can’t recruit seven freshmen on my team. I can’t do it anymore because teams are too old. My average age on my team last year was 19.4. The teams that we were playing against were 24 years old.
“Kids—because of NIL—don’t ever want to leave. ‘How else can I stay two more years?’ Here’s the point. We were all in school fighting to get out. They’re all fighting to stay in.”
As things currently stand, the Razorbacks boast three freshmen (Karter Knox, Boogie Fland, and Billy Richmond III) ahead of the upcoming 2024-25 campaign, all of whom Calipari recruited to Kentucky before convincing them to follow him to Arkansas.
It seems safe to assume he’ll be more than fine despite pivoting from his signature roster management technique, but only time will tell if that ends up being the case.