Arkansas coach John Calipari’s roster construction has consistently been a topic of conversation on a national scale in the seven weeks since his hiring.
As of May 30, the Razorbacks’ first-year head coach has eight scholarship players in the fold — five from the NCAA transfer portal and three from the high school ranks. And Calipari said this week he is close to finalizing Arkansas’ roster.
The Razorbacks reached eight scholarship players last Sunday, when former Kentucky guard DJ Wagner committed. Opinions from a few national analysts vary a bit on the significance of the Wagner pledge, but, overall, Arkansas stands firm in the eyes of many with him on board.
“I think Arkansas is a top-15 team to begin next season,” CBS Sports college basketball analyst Jon Rothstein said on the latest College Hoops Today podcast. “I’m looking at a starting lineup right now for Arkansas, as of today: Boogie Fland, DJ Wagner, Johnell Davis, Adou Thiero, Jonas Aidoo. That will give you a situation, in my opinion, to win 25-plus games with John Calipari.
“Nobody, I think, is going to give Arkansas the same type of sizzle in terms of a roster because it doesn’t have Kentucky across the chest. But John Calipari is putting together a roster at Arkansas that is very comparable to the roster he would’ve had at Kentucky.”
College basketball analyst Jeff Goodman, in a recent episode of Field of 68: After Dark, did not appear to be a big fan of Wagner’s fit with the others in the Razorbacks’ backcourt. He expressed Arkansas still may not have a ball mover at the guard spot.
“DJ Wagner is not a point guard,” Goodman said. “I know he averaged three assists per game, but he’s not a point guard. He’s still wired more to score than he is to pass. Johnell Davis is not a point guard. He is wired to score. Boogie Fland is not a point guard. He’s a hell of a shooter and could probably play some point, but he’s also a freshman.
“That’s what worries me [and] that’s what scares me about Arkansas. That’s what has me thinking, ‘Unless they add another piece, I don’t think Arkansas is a team you’ve got to worry about deep into March.’ I think they’ll be a top 25-ish team and they’ll get better, as Cal’s teams generally do over the course of the year.
“But, right now, I just worry about not their talent level, I worry about their fit.”
Field of 68 analyst Rob Dauster said the addition of Wagner aided Arkansas with depth and experience. Like Goodman, he relayed concern that the Razorbacks’ lead guards lean score-first rather than pass-first.
Dauster does believe it can work, though.
“I’ll be curious to see how DJ Wagner’s role with this team develops this year,” he added. “But I do really like the backcourt of Nelly Davis and DJ Wagner. I know DJ Wagner did not necessarily have the freshman year a lot of people projected, but I think that he had a better year than people gave him credit for.
“I think that he improved in some areas more than people gave him credit for, and I think if you’re getting the bounce-back season where he already knows what’s kind of going to be expected from him and he knows the coaching staff, this is a really nice pickup for Arkansas.”
Dauster said Wagner, who was 15th in the SEC with 96 assists in 2023-24, filling the role of team table setter is best for his long-term prospects.
“If he wants to be able to continue to grow to the level that was expected of a top-10 prospect, he probably has to figure out how to be that ball mover, creative facilitator type,” Dauster said, “because I’m not sure he’s an NBA level score-first point guard if he doesn’t have the jumpshot.
“I think he has to find a way to be that guy.”