Tag: Arkansas basketball

Meet Mark Pope, the Kentucky men’s basketball coach who replaced John Calipari

Mark Pope won a championship while playing for Kentucky.

College basketball fans will see someone new on the sidelines coaching the Kentucky Wildcats men’s basketball team this season.

After a decade and a half with Kentucky, former Wildcats head coach John Calipari is no longer leading the program. Now the head coach at Arkansas, the longtime face of the team brought a few of his former players to a new school in the SEC.

In his absence, former BYU head coach Mark Pope is now running the show for Kentucky.

OTHER NEW COACHES: The men’s NCAA basketball coaching carousel’s biggest moves, including John Calipari to Arkansas

Pope is originally from Washington and played college basketball for the Washington Huskies, where he was named Pac-10 Freshman of the Year in 1992.

He eventually transferred to Kentucky, where he played from 1994 until 1996. As a forward, he was team captain for the Wildcats when they won the NCAA men’s basketball championship in 1996.

Selected in the second round of the 1996 NBA Draft, he played professionally both overseas and in the NBA. After his playing career concluded, he began coaching.

Pope served as an assistant coach at Georgia, Wake Forest, and BYU before becoming head coach at Utah Valley in 2015. Pope took over as head coach for the Cougars in 2019 and was able to take the team to the March Madness tournament last season.

Now the head coach of his alma mater, fans will have high hopes for Pope’s first season. While several players left the team for the NBA or the transfer portal, he will bring former BYU top scorer Jaxson Robinson with him to the Wilcats.

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Calipari adds transfer Melo Sanchez to Arkansas basketball roster, per report

John Calpari wasn’t quite finished adding to the Arkansas roster, looks like.

Turns out, John Calipari wasn’t quite finished adding from the transfer portal.

Melo Sanchez, a rising junior from Division II Hawaii Pacific, is set to join the Arkansas basketball team, according to a report by WholeHogSports.

Sanchez, a 6-foot-4 guard, was a stat-stuffer last season. He averaged 14.6 points, 4.8 rebounds, 1.7 steals and almost a steal per game for Hawaii Pacific. He shot 35% percent from 3-point range and 80% from the free-throw line a year ago.

A California native, Sanchez has two years of eligibility remaining. He is joining the Razorbacks for next year, according to his father, per the report.

Calpari, who is entering his first year as Arkansas head coach, has had to re-build the Hogs from almost scratch. Trevon Brazile is the only returning scholarship player from last year’s roster and even he entered the draft, then the portal before deciding to return to Fayetteville.

Sanchez is expected to be a depth player for the Razorbacks with the roster Calipari has since built.

Joe Lunardi sees Arkansas as this seed in way-too-early 2025 NCAA Tournament projection

Here’s where ESPN’s Joe Lunardi has Arkansas in his way-too-early 2025 NCAA Tournament bracket.

The 2024-25 college basketball season is over four months away, and the NCAA Tournament is nine months away. That hasn’t stopped ESPN bracketologist Joe Lunardi from projecting his way-too-early 2025 March Madness bracket.

A lot of eyes and national interest will be on the Razorbacks and new coach John Calipari when Arkansas opens the regular season. The Hogs’ non-conference schedule is still being finalized, but they have a “guaranteed matchup” with Miami in the 2024 ACC-SEC Challenge on December 3 in Coral Gables.

Arkansas will reportedly face Michigan in the annual Jimmy V Classic at Madison Square Garden in December, as well as the Oakland Grizzlies at Bud Walton Arena at the end of the month.

On Thursday, Illinois athletic director Josh Whitman said that the Fighting Illini would play the Razorbacks on Thanksgiving Day in Kansas City, a reported nationally televised game on CBS.

In Lunardi’s latest off-season projections for the 2025 NCAA Tournament, the veteran bracketologist forecasts a record 10 SEC teams to make the Dance, with Alabama earning a No. 1 seed as the league’s top team. Auburn was a projected No. 2 seed with Tennessee and SEC newcomer Texas as No. 4 seeds.

As for Arkansas, the Razorbacks were projected as a No. 5 seed in the Midwest Region by Lunardi. The Hogs currently have nine players on their roster for 2024-25. Three former Kentucky players have joined Calipari in Fayetteville: stretch big man Zvonimir Ivisic, forward Adou Thiero and point guard D.J. Wagner.

Combo guard Johnell Davis and forward Jonas Aidoo also transferred to Arkansas from Florida Atlantic and Tennessee, respectively. Incoming high school recruits Karter Knox, Boogie Fland and Billy Richmond committed to the Razorbacks, who recently learned that forward Trevon Brazile would return for another season after exploring NBA Draft options.

RELATED: Calipari’s first transfer class ranked No. 1 in the nation

In conference play, Arkansas will welcome Alabama, Ole Miss, Mississippi State, Texas, LSU, Oklahoma, Missouri, Florida and Georgia to Bud Walton Arena in 2024-25. They’ll also travel to Missouri, Texas and LSU, in addition to Tennessee, Texas A&M, Vanderbilt, South Carolina, and a highly anticipated matchup with Kentucky at Rupp Arena when Calipari returns to Lexington.

Other SEC teams who made Lunardi’s NCAA Tournament field of 68 are Kentucky, Mississippi State and Texas A&M, plus Ole Miss and Florida. Alabama, Kansas, UConn and Houston were projected No. 1 seeds.

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Calipari’s Razorbacks will play Central Arkansas at neutral site next year

Clarksville is halfway between the two schools. Play at CHS.

The Clarksville High School basketball gym probably isn’t quite big enough to host.

Clarksville is halfway between Fayetteville and Conway, the cities of the University of Arkansas and Central Arkansas. Those two basketball programs are set to play next season, the 2024-25 season, according to reports.

Arkansas and UCA have met eight times in the past, but only two since 1947. The Razorbacks are 8-0 in the series, including the last two wins in 2020 and 2021, each by at least 25 points.

Arkansas’ schedule is beginning to come along heading into new coach John Calipari’s first season. The Hogs are reportedly playing Miami (FL) in the SEC/ACC Challenge and Illinois athletic director Josh Whitman told reporters Thursday his Fighting Illini would play Arkansas on Thanksgiving Day.

Calipari has rebuilt the Arkansas roster from almost scratch. Zero scholarship players initially returned, though forward Trevon Brazile ultimately exited to transfer portal without a new destination. Almost every other player on the roster previously played for Calipari at Kentucky or was recruited out of high school when he was the Wildcats head coach.

Arkansas basketball to face Illinois on Thanksgiving Day, per AD

Illinois athletic director Josh Whitman said Thursday that his school would play Arkansas on Thanksgiving Day 2024 in Kansas City.

Turkey, the Macy’s parade, the Detroit Lions at noon followed by the Dallas Cowboys in the late-afternoon window on national TV. All of these are Thanksgiving Day traditions.

The Arkansas men’s basketball team? At least for 2024, the Razorbacks will reportedly be part of the holiday festivities when they play Illinois in a nationally televised game on CBS on Thanksgiving Day. The game will reportedly be played in Kansas City.

Illinois athletic director Josh Whitman made the announcement in a media gathering with reporters Thursday. The Razorbacks’ game against the Illini reportedly will tip off following the conclusion of the Chicago Bears-Detroit Lions game, which will also be televised by CBS this year.

Tipoff has not been officially announced, but with Chicago vs. Detroit scheduled for an 11:30 a.m. CDT kickoff, it would likely put Arkansas vs. Illinois tipping off around 3 p.m.

Illinois is the fourth reported non-conference game on the Razorback’s 2024-25 schedule. Arkansas will also play Miami in Coral Gables as part of the ACC-SEC Challenge on December 3.

It has been widely reported that the Razorbacks will also face Michigan in the annual Jimmy V Classic at Madison Square Garden in New York on December 10.

The Hogs will host Oakland on December 30 at Bud Walton Arena. Arkansas’ matchup against Miami is the only non-conference game officially announced by both schools.

Arkansas last met Illinois in March 2023, a 73-63 Razorbacks victory in the first round of the NCAA Tournament in Des Moines, Iowa. The Illini lead the all-time series against Arkansas, 5-1.

Illinois advanced to the Elite Eight of the NCAA Tournament last season before falling to eventual national champion UConn.

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Alex Collins, Dave Van Horn on Arkansas’ 2024 Hall of Honor list

Arkansas baseball coach Dave Van Horn and the late Alex Collins are two of the nine Razorbacks greats who will be inducted into the school’s Hall of Honor in 2024.

Arkansas baseball coach Dave Van Horn and eight former Razorbacks athletes across six sports are on the University of Arkansas’ 2024 Hall of Honor class.

An induction ceremony will be held at the Walton Arts Center in Fayetteville on Friday, September 13, the night before the Razorbacks play UAB at Donald W. Reynolds Razorbacks Stadium. The list of inductees was announced by the university late Tuesday.

Van Horn has been Arkansas’ baseball coach since 2003 and has led the school to seven College World Series and 20 NCAA Tournament appearances. Arkansas was the 2018 College World Series runner-up to Oregon State.

Among the eight former athletes who will be inducted into Arkansas’ 2024 Hall of Honor class is the late Alex Collins. Collins passed away at the age of 28 in 2023 and will be inducted posthumously.

Collins is second on the school’s all-time rushing list with 3,703 yards and 36 touchdowns in three seasons. A fifth-round selection in the 2016 NFL Draft by the Seattle Seahawks, Collins played in parts of five NFL seasons between 2016-21.

Other Razorback athletes set to be inducted are former quarterback Matt Jones (2001-04), linebacker Ravin Caldwell (1982-85), baseball pitcher David Walling (1998-99), men’s basketball guard Kareem Reid (1995-99), track and field star Matt Hemingway (1992-96), women’s basketball’s Wendi Willits (1997-2001) and softball’s Devon Wallace (2012-15).

Jones was the Razorbacks’ starter from 2002-04, leading Arkansas to two bowl games. Caldwell helped lead the Razorbacks to 32 wins in four seasons (1982-85) before going on to play for the NFL’s Washington Redskins. He was a member of Washington’s two Super Bowl-winning teams in the 1987-88 and 1991-92 NFL seasons.

Here is a full list of accomplishments of Arkansas’ Class of 2024 Hall of Honor inductees.

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Former Razorback Jordan Walsh is latest Arkansas player to become NBA Champion

Jordan Walsh became the seventh former Arkansas Razorback to win an NBA championship Monday night.

Boston Celtics reserve Jordan Walsh became the latest former Arkansas Razorbacks player to win an NBA championship after the Celtics routed the Dallas Mavericks, 106-88, Monday night in Game 5 of the NBA Finals at TD Garden.

Boston won the series in five games, giving the franchise its record 18th championship in NBA history.

Walsh became the seventh former Arkansas player to win an NBA title. He joined Moses Moody and Bobby Portis among the most recent former Hogs to play on NBA championship teams. Moody played for the 2022 NBA champion Golden State Warriors while Portis was a member of the 2021 champion Milwaukee Bucks.

Other former Arkansas players to play on NBA championship teams are Corliss Williams (2004, Detroit Pistons), Joe Kleine (1998, Chicago Bulls), Darryl Walker (1993, Bulls), and Scott Hastings (1990, Pistons).

Walsh was a second-round draft pick by the Sacramento Kings in 2023 who was subsequently traded to the Celtics. He played in nine games for Boston during the regular season, connecting on 6 of 15 shots for 15 points and 20 rebounds. Walsh also had five assists and one block.

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Calipari’s first transfer class still ranked No. 1 in the nation

It’s proof that what Musselman built can not only be continued to increased.

John Calipari had to completely rebuild the Arkansas basketball roster when he arrived in April. The good news is the program and the coach sold themselves.

Arkansas had turned into a legitimate power – not the most elite tier, but a strong one – under previous coach Eric Musselman. He had taken the Razorbacks to three straight Sweet Sixteens, including two consecutive Elite Eights, before the wheels came off in 2023-24 and he left for USC after the season.

Calipari arrived to Fayetteville shortly thereafter with zero scholarship players remaining on the roster. Forward Trevon Brazile ultimately decided to return, but the rest of the group had to be filled in a hurry. In this day and age, that’s easier with the transfer portal.

Three players joined him from Kentucky in guard DJ Wagner, forward Adou Thiero and center Avonimir Ivisic. All-SEC big man Jonas Aidoo headed to Fayetteville from Tennessee. And Johnell Davis left Florida Atlantic to become a Hogs basketball player.

Those five have provided Arkansas with the No. 1 transfer-portal recruiting class in the country, per 247Sports’ rankings. Combined with incoming freshmen Boogie Fland, Karter Knox and Billy Richmond – plus the returning Brazile – Arkansas’ roster is that of a likely top-10 team in the preseason.

And it’s proof that what Musselman built can not only be continued to increased.

Arkansas will face Miami in 2024 ACC-SEC Challenge

The Hogs will face the Miami Hurricanes in the 2024 ACC-SEC Challenge.

Another piece of John Calipari’s non-conference basketball schedule came into focus Wednesday afternoon.

Veteran college basketball insider Jon Rothstein reported that the Arkansas Razorbacks will face the Miami Hurricanes as part of the 2024 ACC-SEC Challenge, The game will played December 3 at Miami’s Watsco Center.

The Razorbacks have played Miami only one other time in school history, a 75-71 Hurricanes victory in the first round of the 2000 NCAA Tournament in Nashville.

Calipari was named Arkansas’ head coach on April 8 after spending 15 seasons at Kentucky. He inherited a blank-slate roster and has since added star combo guard Johnell Davis, former Tennessee big man Jonas Aidoo, and former Wildcats players Zvonimir Ivisic, Adou Thiero and D.J. Wagner Jr. via the transfer portal.

In addition to those players, Arkansas has also landed commitments from incoming freshmen Boogie Fland, Karter Knox and Billy Richmond. Forward Trevon Brazile recently announced that he would return to Arkansas after declaring for the NBA Draft on April 8.

Miami is coming off a disappointing 2023-24 season after reaching the Final Four in 2023. The Hurricanes finished second to last in the ACC at 15-17 overall and 6-14 in conference play. They lost several players to the transfer portal, including Wooga Poplar (Villanova) and Norchad Omier (Baylor).

Arkansas stays atop 247Sports’ basketball transfer portal rankings

A look at where Arkansas ranks in 247Sports’ college basketball transfer portal team rankings in June.

To say John Calipari has hit the ground running in his first two months as Arkansas men’s basketball coach would be putting it mildly.

Calipari, who inherited a roster with all of one player (Lawson Blake, a walk-on) back in April, has used his recruiting skills both on the high school trail and in the transfer portal.

In the portal, Calipari landed five commitments — three of which followed him from Kentucky in Zvonimir Ivisic, Adou Thiero, and most recently D.J. Wagner Jr.

That’s not counting former Tennessee big man Jonas Aidoo and the biggest get of all: star combo guard Johnell Davis, considered by many as the best player to enter the transfer portal after his rise at Florida Atlantic.

Those names pushed Arkansas to the top of 247Sports’ transfer portal team rankings in May, and the Razorbacks maintained their grip on that spot in updated rankings for June, released Monday.

Per 247Sports’ Brad Crawford:

“Calipari picked Kentucky’s roster clean of three players he wanted — DJ Wagner, Zvonimir Ivisic and Adou Thiero — and also signed 6-11 Tennessee big Jonas Aidoo along with FAU star Johnell Davis. That gives the first-year Arkansas coach the nation’s No. 1 group in the portal this cycle. Davis is a top-five transfer overall and recently withdrew from the NBA Draft after averaging career highs with 18.2 points, 6.3 rebounds and 2.9 assists per game last season.”

Arkansas edged Indiana and Kansas for the top spot in 247Sports’ transfer portal team rankings.

The Razorbacks’ 2024-25 roster currently stands at nine players. In addition to the five transfers mentioned above, Arkansas has incoming freshmen Boogie Fland, Karter Knox and Billy Richmond, plus the recent return of forward Trevon Brazile. Brazile announced he would play for Arkansas after declaring for the NBA Draft on April 8 following his redshirt sophomore season.

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