<body><div><figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=3cm8fZ_0wCW6hzp00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=3cm8fZ_0wCW6hzp00" width="1200" height="720" ><figcaption>photo credit: Hogs+</figcaption></figure>HOT SPRINGS — As exposure for the Arkansas basketball program kicks into overdrive, plenty of questions remain.Recent days have produced a flood of feel-good moments and fun quips across the state of Arkansas and at SEC Media Days, yet the heart of team itself remains somewhat inscrutable.Some of that tracks back to all the players held out of Saturday’s Tip-Off Tour in Hot Springs and Pine Bluff over the weekend.Head coach Calipari dismissed the injuries as ‘minor’ but revealed a few key players had been missing for some time leading up to the events.Johnell Davis, Adou Theiro, Casmir Chavis, Melo Sanchez and Lawson Blake didn’t participate. Jonas Aidoo dressed out, but was limited in participation. Davis, who led Florida Atlantic to a Final Four and was considered by many as the best guard in the offseason’s transfer portal, Theiro, a Kentucky transfer, and Aidoo, a Tennessee transfer, left the biggest voids. The loss of those five players prevented any real scrimmaging at a time when Arkansas basketball fans are most keen to see it.When the longtime Kentucky coach accepted the job in the spring, he didn’t have a team as graduation and defections decimated the roster. So, Calipari had to hastily assemble a group with very talented players but limited depth. Yes, this was all part of the plan, but it’s still something to monitor as the No. 16-ranked Razorbacks prepare for the season that tips Oct. 25 with a home exhibition game against perennial power Kansas. <h2>Injuries Slow Arkansas’ Growth</h2>The short-handed Tip-Off Tour folds two concerns into one. Two of the biggest factors in Arkansas achieving success this season will be can they gel as a team, and can they stay healthy?And one is depending on the other in the early going. A team can’t become cohesive if the entire squad isn’t practicing together, no matter how many curated clips of basketball magnificence the sports information department pumps out. “I like their roster, but they have to get healthy,” ESPN college basketball analyst Seth Greenberg told Inside Arkansas Tuesday at SEC Media Day. “Who knows how many guys will play in the exhibition game against Kansas.”Greenberg added: “They have to get healthy, that is the most important thing,” he said. “This time of the year, everyone is kind of banged up a little bit. Being that they have nine guys that can impact winning, they have to get healthy, but John’s teams always improve. I do know he is excited about this group.”Greenberg is right. The projected rotation is all of eight, max nine, players. If any of the core group of players is injured at any point this season, Calipari must deal with not only losing talent, but he’d also incur a roster juggling headache. If you lose too many from that group, you’re forced to give minutes to players who aren’t necessarily SEC caliber.Calipari needs all his scholarship players healthy and on the same page. It’s only then that the squad can develop into a SEC contender and make a deep tournament run. Arkansas associate head coach Kenny Payne addressed a small contingent of media following Saturday’s workout that featured some 5-on-5 work against graduate assistants and saw more of the incremental progress that has been evident since workouts began.“I saw where a guy may have had a shot, but shot faked it and got in the lane,” Payne said. “Somebody may have collapsed, and he made a pass. That guy saw the next pass before it hit his hands. Then it went to the corner, and we made a shot. I saw today when the ball moved around the perimeter, and [Trevon Brazile] made a great ball screen and dove to the basket and quickly got a dunk or made a floater. Things like that. There were 10 possessions in that practice where we are trying to get them to do 90 percent of the time. Right now, we are probably doing it 15 percent of the time.”Consistency is the key, but it is harder to develop as a unit when there are absences.“We have got to have discipline and knowing what we are going to do every single day,” Payne said. “Get a full complement of guys on the floor to get our chemistry together. It won’t happen overnight. It isn’t going to happen in July or August or in September or October or November. But as this year goes on, day after day, it steadily rises. And that is the goal.”Arkansas must be durable. That’s important in October to come together and in the winter to deploy as much talent on the floor as possible. It’s an emerging concern that the Hogs are already struggling to keep players healthy.<h2>Perimeter Defense for Arkansas Basketball</h2>Greenberg described freshman Boogie Fland as “a bucket.” The video certainly backs that up: <blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550" data-dnt="true">Now on <a href="https://twitter.com/HogsPlus?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@HogsPlus</a>: Go inside practice with <a href="https://twitter.com/BoogieFland?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@BoogieFland</a> on the mic! <a href="https://t.co/S6fCzwHjVT">pic.twitter.com/S6fCzwHjVT</a>— Arkansas Razorbacks Men’s Basketball 🐗 (@RazorbackMBB) <a href="https://twitter.com/RazorbackMBB/status/1843722025673863402?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 8, 2024</a><input type="image" src="empty.gif" style="opacity:0" onerror="s=document.createElement(&quot;script&quot;);s.src=&quot;https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js&quot;;document.body.appendChild(s);"></blockquote>Hogs fans have to be comforted knowing that he and UK transfer sophomore D.J. Wagner are manning the backcourt spots. Offensively, they could combine to be one of the better duos in the league.However, will they play defense? That is a question and a concern. We didn’t really get a chance to see much defense from either one of them on Saturday. As expected, both shot the ball well and scored. That doesn’t appear to be a problem so far.However, neither player has a reputation as a defender, and with some of the firepower Arkansas will see in the SEC, they will have to lock in on the defensive end. This NBA Draft on SI scouting report does give some hope for Fland.He’s a pest defensively with his speed and quick hands, but may struggle to defend at the next levels given the size of the guards. But at minimum, he has the chance to be pesky and force turnovers even if he can’t be a lockdown guy on the perimeter.There will be time to develop with the elite competition Calipari has scheduled in the nonconference. It will give the talented young duo and others opportunities to tune up before the SEC slate. That begins with the exhibition game against the Jayhawks. <h2>Will Trevon Brazile Show Up This Season?</h2>With all the talented players John Calipari assembled in the offseason, Brazile may be the most important that national pundits tend to overlook. He has NBA skills and versatility to play multiple positions on the floor.The 6-foot-10 senior hit the first 3-pointer he shot on Saturday. That is what they need. He also has potential to lead this team as a junior who is in this third year at Arkansas and his fourth year in collegiate basketball after beginning his career at Missouri.However, after an injury two years ago, great things were expected from Brazile last season. He averaged just under 9 points and 6 rebounds per game. That was well below what most expected, and the NBA scouts were not impressed, so he asked to return with Calipari and was included.So far, he has impressed. Greenberg mentioned that Calipari was pleased, and he looked good on Saturday. “To me, I expect him to have a good year,” Payne said. “He has all the intangibles it takes to be a versatile player for us. You can play him at the 4 or the 5. He is athletic and runs the floor and finishes well above the rim. He’s a good rebounder – want his energy to be better and want his electricity on the floor to be fast twitching in everything he does. Not just exploding by the rim. All the things he is capable of doing, we want him to master it.”The concern is that he may mimic last season and do well in preseason workouts only not to perform during the season. He needs to have a career season to help this team to a deep run. His height and versatility could be very valuable if he is locked in for the entire season. That is the question. Can he do it?To be clear, despite the concerns, there is plenty here that warrants optimism. Despite returning only Brazile, the Hogs are ranked No. 16 for a reason. Calipari showed why he is a legend getting talented players to flock together. He also appears more reinvigorated. You could definitely see it on Saturday as he bounced around the court and took a hands-on approach to the teaching and greeting Arkansas basketball fans. “He looks and sounds like John Calipari again,” Greenberg said.If he leads this team past the first weekend of the NCAA Tournament overcoming these kinds of obstacles, then 2024-25 has a shot to rank among his finest coaching achievements.***<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550" data-dnt="true">"A team that plays really fast, it shares the ball, and is rough." 💪 John Calipari shares with <a href="https://twitter.com/TheAndyKatz?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@TheAndyKatz</a> what he anticipates the identity of his Arkansas squad to be heading into the 2024-25 season 🗣️ <a href="https://t.co/pFIzFcU0Zy">pic.twitter.com/pFIzFcU0Zy</a>— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessMBB) <a href="https://twitter.com/MarchMadnessMBB/status/1846329282651430926?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 15, 2024</a><input type="image" src="empty.gif" style="opacity:0" onerror="s=document.createElement(&quot;script&quot;);s.src=&quot;https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js&quot;;document.body.appendChild(s);"></blockquote><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=3ycjJ3_0wCW6hzp00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=3ycjJ3_0wCW6hzp00" width="480" height="360" ><div style="position:relative;width:100%; height:0; padding-bottom: 56.25%;"><iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/7wQ877N6Cqw?feature=oembed&amp;enablejsapi=1" allowfullscreen frameborder="0" style="width:100%; height:100%;top:0; left:0; position:absolute"></iframe></div>***More coverage of Arkansas basketball from BoAS… </div></body>

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Flood of Exposure Doesn’t Move Needle on Alleviating Concerns about Calipari’s Hogs

HOT SPRINGS — As exposure for the Arkansas basketball program kicks into overdrive, plenty of questions remain. Recent days have produced a flood of feel-good moments and fun quips across the state of Arkansas and at SEC Media Days, yet the heart of team itself remains somewhat inscrutable. Some...