[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.

[Old School Hound]

Players like having their picture taken with Drake and playing for a guy who knows how to get them paid in NBA. Cal isn't going any damn place and he'll continue to draw talent that will soon make more money in six months than most BGR basketball scholars will make in a lifetime.

[Old School Hound]

Hogs have caught fire in the second half. Halftime adjustments, baby!!!!

[Old School Hound]

Bud Walton is ROCKING!!! Unlike retirement home Rupp, no little blue-haired ladies crocheting or little grandpas doing word search puzzles in Bud Walton tonight. It's LOUD!!! Regardless of record, Cal has 'em excited in Hogville.

[Cactus Jack]

Players like having their picture taken with Drake and playing for a guy who knows how to get them paid in NBA. Cal isn't going any damn place and he'll continue to draw talent that will soon make more money in six months than most BGR basketball scholars will make in a lifetime.

No arguments to the bolded.

Just wondering if he's going to win enough to out-compete North Carolina, Duke, UConn, Kansas (and possibly Kentucky) on the recruiting trail. Arkansas isn't Kentucky, but neither was Memphis.

Players coming out of the portal usually don't need a finishing year to get to the NBA. If they're talented enough, they can just go. That and if I viewed Calipari as the next step from Musselman's teams that went deep in the tournament instead of a guy with a big salary who just puts guys in the NBA is what I'd worry about most as an Arkansas fan.

Arkansas got a couple of breaks on (whistles or no calls... though nothing nefarious) at around the 5:15 to 4:30 mark and are trying to stage a comeback as Georgia's foul trouble grows.

[Old School Hound]

Unreal comeback by the Hogs. You would have thought they won the national title tonight. That joint was ROCKING!!! Georgia couldn't buy a free throw late. Cost them the game, along with some questionable whistles. Georgia is not a very good team.

[-STAT-]

Well, I guess I am one of those so called BGR basketball scholars as OSH so lovingly put it.

To each is own but I just don't understand the infatuation with how they're doing or how they're going to do in the future. I never liked him even before he came to Kentucky, definitely didn't like him when he was there, and still don't like him now, and there's still people out there that do and that's completely fine if you're a Cal fan. But he is gone now, I understand those fans still want to keep tabs on how Arkansas is doing, then there's ones who want to keep tabs just so then can throw jabs at him since they aren't doing good, I'm not one of those to waste my energy on something or someone I really don't care about. I will just keep focusing on Kentucky Basketball.

[Cactus Jack]

Well, I guess I am one of those so called BGR basketball scholars as OSH so lovingly put it.

To each is own but I just don't understand the infatuation with how they're doing or how they're going to do in the future. I never liked him even before he came to Kentucky, definitely didn't like him when he was there, and still don't like him now, and there's still people out there that do and that's completely fine if you're a Cal fan. But he is gone now, I understand those fans still want to keep tabs on how Arkansas is doing, then there's ones who want to keep tabs just so then can throw jabs at him since they aren't doing good, I'm not one of those to waste my energy on something or someone I really don't care about. I will just keep focusing on Kentucky Basketball.

Understand where you're coming from, but keeping up with Cal is keeping up with Kentucky basketball in some sense.

Seeing where things went wrong at Kentucky, if there were problems with the administration, boosters, and fans, and keeping an eye on a team that would love to consider Kentucky a fierce rival, even if Kentucky fans don't really see it that way.

I honestly think Calipari did very well at Kentucky. Not that I agree with everything he did, just that he was an overwhelming net positive. I'd cheer him in his return to Rupp. At the same time, I don't think that saying any of that conflicts with believing that it was best for the program that we parted ways.

[-STAT-]

Well, I guess I am one of those so called BGR basketball scholars as OSH so lovingly put it.

To each is own but I just don't understand the infatuation with how they're doing or how they're going to do in the future. I never liked him even before he came to Kentucky, definitely didn't like him when he was there, and still don't like him now, and there's still people out there that do and that's completely fine if you're a Cal fan. But he is gone now, I understand those fans still want to keep tabs on how Arkansas is doing, then there's ones who want to keep tabs just so then can throw jabs at him since they aren't doing good, I'm not one of those to waste my energy on something or someone I really don't care about.  I will just keep focusing on Kentucky Basketball.

Understand where you're coming from, but keeping up with Cal is keeping up with Kentucky basketball in some sense.

Seeing where things went wrong at Kentucky, if there were problems with the administration, boosters, and fans, and keeping an eye on a team that would love to consider Kentucky a fierce rival, even if Kentucky fans don't really see it that way.

I honestly think Calipari did very well at Kentucky. Not that I agree with everything he did, just that he was an overwhelming net positive. I'd cheer him in his return to Rupp. At the same time, I don't think that saying any of that conflicts with believing that it was best for the program that we parted ways.

@Cactus Jack I see where you're coming from as well. I can see it from that perspective of observing where things went wrong, and also paying attention to see if those things occur while he's at Arkansas. 

No denying he did have success while at Kentucky, I just hate what he turned the program into. I am a realist, I completely understand that some of the players mentioned like Wall, Davis, Cousins etc. were destined for bigger & better things in the NBA, and making all the money in the world, but what I got tired of was having to learn new players names every single season. Kentucky basketball just became a passerby for players to go to the NBA, like I said I completely understand that they had the opportunity to go, be the #1 or a high draft pick, but that's what Cal hung his hat on more than anything else. Kentucky basketball basically recruited itself for years, tradition & history, success but that's what turned me against him more than ever is that he went away from it. He always thought he was bigger than the program, that was even true the day he took the job. 

I do agree that it was time to separate, Kentucky will be fine in the long run, I think hiring Pope brought back that since of nostalgia when we had Pitino, and even Tubby Smith that tradition, and Kentucky recruiting itself with the name on the front of the jersey. 

CJ I appreciate your perspective on this, and love everything you share on here in other threads, you go in depth with a lot of things, you start a thread for discussion and have a great amount of info and stats to back that up.