[Cactus Jack]

As I'm writing this, Arkansas, who went into the night as a home favorite, trails Georgia 38-23 going into the half. The Razorbacks are 1 for 11 from three. Ivisic and Johnell Davis will typically make some of the looks they've missed tonight, but to say things are bad in Fayetteville is an understatement. The team assisted on 3 baskets in the first half while turning the ball over 7 times. Not a winning formula.

We're all too familiar with Calipari's approach to roster construction and the offensive woes his teams have faced in recent years. Now they are without Boogie Fland, who will miss the remainder of the year due to injury. Fair or unfair, the timing of the announcement and whether his draft stock might have come into play will be called into question by some fans (e.g., is this an injury like Noel suffered or an "injury" like Savir Wheeler sustained?).

Calipari seems to be at his best when he's got naysayers to prove wrong and I'm not saying that they can't win some games, but their offense has looked rough tonight. I'll just say it-- I've seen teams like Lexington Catholic run better sets at the high school level. Here, there's no cutting with a purpose, screens aren't being used effectively, the passes are a second late instead of crisp, and there's just a lot of dribbling.

Wagner has taken over the point and I'm guessing Davis, who is a pure two, will be pressed into ballhandling duty at times. Those two, Aidoo, Theiro, Ivisic, and Brazile are going to be his core six. Freshmen Karter Knox and Billy Richmond will see minutes. But there are a lot of players who do the same thing and have the same weaknesses-- and they don't mesh well.

How do you see Arkansas finishing and do you think that things will get to the point that it starts effecting Calipari's recruiting for next season?

No matter what, and I mean this even if they go winless in league play, I don't see them being able to get rid of Calipari barring him getting caught in some type of scandal that would give them cause for termination.

Meleek Thomas, Darius Acuff, and Isaiah Sealy are on their way in. Thomas is a small forward that ranks as the #9 player in his class and #2 at his position per ESPN. Acuff is the 7th overall player and top point guard per ESPN. Sealy is a forward in the 50+ range depending on the recruiting service and is the top player in Arkansas.

That isn't a bad start to a class, but it isn't out of this world, nor does it have a player that's the undisputed top in his class or can't miss NBA prospect that Cal has done so well with (Rose, Wall, Cousins, Davis, Randle, Towns).

Aidoo and Davis are gone. Maybe Brazile is back, maybe not. Assuming Thiero, Wagner, Ivisic, Knox, and Richmond are back, you still have the core of a roster that didn't perform well and has the same limitations. 

If the year continues it's course, I can't see players in the portal wanting to risk being part of such of a mess, at least if the NIL money is only marginally better. If you are a top portal target, wouldn't you look at what's happened with Davis and Aidoo and pause?

If so, where do you go if you are Calipari? If you are Arkansas, do you make demands related to assistant coaches and/or roster construction?

It's too early to count him out, but the remainder of Calipari's coaching career is in the emergency room and doctors are talking about a possible transfer to ICU if things keep progressing.