FAYETTEVILLE — One question rings in my head as we approach a new Arkansas basketball season, headlined by the arrival of head coach John Calipari.
What would the expectations be for this Razorbacks team if it wore blue and white jerseys that said “Kentucky” on the front?
Calipari has preached patience since he took the Arkansas job. He says that one offseason isn’t enough time to implement his culture. Things begin Wednesday night against Lipscomb, but the hope is that the Hogs will be playing their best by March, poised for a deep tournament run.
But it seems like there are expectations for a drop-off. The Hogs are ranked 16th in the preseason USA TODAY coaches’ poll, and there is a general consensus that Arkansas is not in the same tier as SEC favorites Alabama and Auburn. ESPN’s preseason Bracketology pegs Arkansas a No. 6 seed in March.
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These expectations, all low considering Calipari’s track record, feel cautious. There’s a chance they prove to be downright silly.
He started outside the preseason top 10 in just two of his 15 years at Kentucky. He finished outside the top three of the SEC standings just three times, and the Wildcats were a top-four seed in the NCAA Tournament in more than 50% of the seasons with Calipari at the helm.
The name on the front of the jersey is different, but the core philosophies are the same at Arkansas.
The roster is loaded with talent and features four five-star recruits. There are future NBA guards, athletic wings and a physical big man.
The biggest change is a shift to rely more heavily on upperclassmen. Arkansas hit the transfer portal and reeled in two top recruits outside of Calipari’s former Kentucky sphere, bringing Johnell Davis and Jonas Aidoo to Fayetteville. Calipari hopes the switch leads to a deeper NCAA Tournament run after a string of early exits in recent years.
If this team was at Kentucky, the mindset would be ‘national championship, or bust’.
That was the annual, unfair expectation that likely played a role in Calipari’s departure. It doesn’t feel like Mark Pope is dealing with the same pressure, and Calipari isn’t during his first season at Arkansas.
But the talent is there for Hogs fans to believe that anything is possible. Failing to reach the second weekend of March Madness would be a disappointment. The stakes might be lower in year one, but there is still some sort of pressure.
The eyes of college basketball will be fixed on Fayetteville this winter, eager to see how Calipari fares in a new environment after leaving arguably the biggest job in college basketball.
With the talent on the roster, the national spotlight and the return of a mid-court logo near-and-dear to your hearts, this has a chance to be one of the most fun basketball seasons on the hill in a long time. There have been fewer, consistent powers in the last 30 years of college basketball than John Calipari.
Arkansas is the next, and possibly final, chapter.
Jackson Fuller covers the Arkansas Razorbacks for the Southwest Times Record and USA TODAY Sports Network. He can be reached at jfuller@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Fort Smith Times Record: Setting expectations for Arkansas basketball, John Calipari
