Crunch time for Calipari’s roster rebuild

Crunch time for Calipari’s roster rebuild

[Applause] [Music] what’s going on everybody welcome back to the pot at the palace Curtis wierson Scotty borderon here with you on this Tuesday Morning from undisclosed locations in fville another weekend is coming gone with no commitments for the Razer backs which only means one thing Scotty momentum stash has to come back yeah I’m digging it I’m I’m 100% in on that 100% shout out shout out to the wife who uh does not want me to regrow one but she she got me a a prop it’s actually like a gummy bear too I already ate one of them but I saved one for the show we had we we’re bringing props onto this operation it gets boring for people when nobody’s committing so we got to do something you know I know dude I’m like there’s nobody committing and I’m getting stressed I feel like I’m in like that mindset right now where there’s not a lot happening but I’m kicking myself for not doing a lot if I know like it’s it’s a tough place to be in and we’re not even to June yet you know yeah exactly we’re not even yeah you’re right we’re not to the dog days yet even but it’s been uh it’s been a little bit interesting here the last couple weeks because not much has happened Arkansas still has seven players that’s enough to F the team um they’re not trying to fill the entire 13 so the people who are like they’ve only got half a roster well technically that’s true but they’re really just trying to add you know one or two more pieces here and maybe fill out uh with some Walk-Ons or whatever but still I mean the team theoretically should start trickling on to campus for summer session like over the weekend I mean that that’s coming so uh still some moves that they’ve got to got to finalize here with this roster so I thought uh that maybe we do a little bit of a a temperature check on on some of the top remaining targets here talk a little bit about roster construction while we’re at it and then you know move on to some to some other cool stuff I feel like you know we’d be remiss if we didn’t start with DJ Wagner who boy talk about a waiting game DJ Wagner does not care about people’s feelings or their timelines he’s he’s operating in his own world U and I joke because he’s he’s well within his rights to do that um but the further along we go the the weirder it gets and the weirder it feels obviously it was two weekends ago now that he took his official visit and it’s just been a really quiet recruitment for DJ and and for such a high-profile guy especially it was like that though when he was in high school so it’s it’s not entirely surprising but uh didn’t get the pop after his visit formally announced anyway and and you know it’s been what 10 11 days or something at this point so it it it’s weird man yesterday was wild Travis brandom over at 247 who’s I think one of the best recruiting guys out there he removed his crystal ball pred ition which you you never want to see um personally Scotty I’m still in the camp of of believing DJ Wagner will ultimately be a Razer back based on everything that I was able to gather yesterday uh but for anyone who’s alarmed by it at this point like I ain’t stopping you it’s it’s uh it’s a little bit strange and with no other announced visits scheduled it makes you wonder like what’s he waiting on what are we doing here yeah for sure yeah and the crystal ball thing is is really interesting um I do I will say my initial thought when you told me that yesterday that that happened um I still think it’s like very much in the real of possibility that DJ comes here it’s just less certain y now that he comes here so maybe you just feel you feel comfortable removing that Crystal Ball but there’s still like the door is probably it’s still very much wide open I would imagine for him to to come here it’s just not as you know much as a of a formality as maybe we we initially thought so yeah like I’m I’m kind of with you like it’s it’s um not g to keep people from being like what the heck is going on like that’s been happening literally for two weeks since before he even got to campus yeah yeah exactly um yeah it’s it’s tough but like if you look at you know you start to wonder if it’s taking this long you know maybe there’s some doubt creeping in with a lot of of people that you know he may not come here so you look at the on three point guard rankings after DJ the the top available point guard in the portal right now is ranked 217th overall that’s right I mean buddy it’s it’s pretty thin and I was I think I texted you yesterday it’s like if this DJ Wagner thing doesn’t happen I’m gonna feel like I got kicked in the gut oh man this business and then you know you might have to scroll down the page a little bit and find you a Latrell read or something or somebody along those lines that I mean you know C is at least I don’t think he played in that that St Peters game that lell Reed is from from St Peters and I’m kind of tongue and cheek on that but he’s a guy that I’ve looked a little bit into and he’s he’s kind of intriguing he was part of that St Peters team that that beat Kentucky but he didn’t play in that game um so you can’t even really say that Call’s familiar with him I doubt he I would doubt they he prepped for him but it it’s just it’s thin like if if Wagner doesn’t work out yeah no no doubt about and the other part of it is I I really don’t know where the heck else he would go I mean USC is over full at this point they got another commitment yesterday I don’t know it’s just like a never ending roster with with mus over there um which I guess we shouldn’t be surprised by people have mentioned you know SE in Hall but there hasn’t really been any public smoke on that front they’ve but what has been public is they don’t have a lot of nil money and they just took a guard so I don’t know about that there’s you know word out there that he kind of ghosted Florida which was the school that that they thought he might visit after Arkansas so nothing else is really surfaced there so I until told otherwise like I I still think it’s going to ultimately happen but you’re right man it it is thin if you get Beyond him uh in the portal you know like having an experience ball handler is super important I mean that’s that’s something that we’ve talked about a lot in terms of some you know it’s a priority I think for uh for this roster if you’re only going to add a couple more guys unless you pull a rabbit out of the hat with a noan trayor which I just I I don’t necessarily see that happening um unless they’re really working it behind the scenes but yeah I mean you kind of hinted at it but the top four available transfer point guards behind DJ uh Jordan lean you ever heard of him nope me neither Morehead State um are Tio Morris uh hard pass hard pass given his situation Braden Smith not the Purdue one and uh KK Robinson so yeah I mean I don’t know bring our baby boy home yeah exactly um the the guy who’s been mentioned probably more on our on our show here than he than he needs to or he has been anywhere else is sha Moore he’s still floating around out there somewhere so yeah that’s a that’s a little bit surprising like he’s a like he’s not going to be he’s not going to be a guy on your team but he’s he could be a nice piece on a team he produced in the SEC for a couple years yeah yeah exactly he’s got like the toughness and kind of I don’t know if want to say he’s got some dog in him but there’s some he’s he’s a tough he’s a tough kid for sure yeah and and the interesting thing about it is I mean we were mentioning names like Shaq Moore saying okay we’re assuming Arkansas is getting DJ Wagner but it might not heard if they you know added another backourt piece for insurance we’re not talking about a dude that we need to come in here and play 25 minutes a game or something so um if it doesn’t happen you just need you need Boogie to be that dude I mean yeah is pretty much where you’re at he he’s got to be a guy you probably have the ball in Nelly’s hands more than than maybe you initially planed to which he’s going to initiate the offense quite a bit anyway but there are ways to make it work but they they would almost have to add some kind of depth piece there like you can’t you can’t just go into the uh the season with one freshman point guard and and a combo and no other real ball handlers on your roster um and so if we’re doing like a temperature check with DJ Wagner right now I mean room temperature like like lukewarm you know like it’s just it’s tap water bro like I I don’t know you know so um and hopefully something happens sooner rather than later here again uh he’s not married to this nobody is but you know like summer practices are getting ready to to crank up here within the next week or two so if I’m DJ Wagner or anybody else like I want to be on campus and and with my team and building chemistry and getting comfortable and and all those things especially if I’m a league guard so um you know hopefully we get a little bit of news here soon and and hopefully it’s good news for the Razer backs um I’m still optimistic but I get it in terms of people being a little freaked out about it uh where the water is really warming up though is one of those International guards that we talked about last week uh eigor demon the the Russian sensation um I’m I’m I’m excited about the potential with this kid his his Trail is rumored to have gten cold with BYU who was uh I think they were rumored to have thrown a bunch of money at him or whatever and who knows how that works because it’s not I mean it’s an international Prospect you can’t just give him nil and so but these guys aren’t playing for free so we can let people connect the dots on how that works okay um but but that’s interesting and you know with him going cold with BYU um and then you know several sources out there saying that Arkansas’s pretty optimistic they like where they stand uh in the race there that would be awesome man um absolute stud great positional size as a guard I mean he’s he’s every bit of of 68 probably he could theoretically run some some point for you or you know take a little bit of pressure off guys in the back court if you’re if you’re not going to have um you know a true experienced veteran point guard well then it’d be nice if you had like three dudes in your back court who can handle the ball and and I think he could be one of those guys but I mean hell he’s a he’s a future lottery pick uh you play him off the ball I think he would solve some problems with uh with perimeter shooting if if people were still concerned about that great my only thing is does it still leave you vulnerable in a couple spots that you might really need to to make additions like don’t get me wrong you you take eigor demon 11 times out of 10 like you just you just do it uh but then you’re kind of you’re almost like flooded with with kind of those wings and swing guys but um then you’re thin with true guards in the back court and you’re thin in the front Court also so I don’t know from a roster construction standpoint I think you would still need more obviously yeah I I think though Heat like doesn’t he he solve several like he checks multiple boxes right like he could like at that size what he he’s been listed what anywhere from what six six to 67 some sometimes I’ve seen 6’8 is that right I mean somewhere in that range so I mean theoretically I mean he could play a four um and then maybe you want to move Nelly off the ball he could bring the ball off the court you know what I’m saying like he could check and he I think he’s got a obviously got a nice jumper on him um I think I mean I think he would be I think he’d be great but I think he like you said he kind of fits into that swing position but he could still you know if you need a four I think he could play one um as long as you got a you know like a real deal five in there um he could bring the ball up the floor too I wanted to float this to you okay um what do you think about Billy Richmond as a ball handler I don’t know I don’t know what I think about Billy Richmond as a ball handler yeah I mean I don’t know that I’ve seen enough out of them yet and it’s hard to just it’s hard to gauge that kind of thing when you’re watching you know highlight highlights and you know not exact games or whatever um I don’t feel like it’s necessarily out of his might not be like the his top strength but I don’t think it’s like out of his willhouse at all um and maybe maybe if eigor is a guy that you end up Landing you can maybe experiment with some of the you know bring the ball up the floor type of stuff um I think at that point he might fit into like a three four and then maybe you have Billy maybe you have Billy like in a pinch or in like in emergency type situation maybe you have him as a as a third Handler I don’t know um but I just I think that there’s Billy’s just so versatile he really is and he’s got good size like it’s almost one of those deals like Eric you know he’d never had like a real traditional point guard um Billy at at his size I think he could be he could be intriguing as a as a guy that just like gets you into your stuff you’re not necessarily looking for him to facilitate or whatever um I think he could he could maybe do some of that so maybe if you get eigor you’re not asking him to bring the ball up the floor but then again you don’t want to you don’t want to limit what he can do because I think there’s there’s tons of potential like basically at any position that he could play yeah yeah for sure uh no I’d be intrigued by that and both of those wings honestly like Billy Richmond um Carter Knox like I don’t think he’s a guy that you would necessarily want facilitating your offense but he’s clearly a a creator of shots so um that’s you know that’s a position you could put him in like there’s more than one ways to skin a cat I think I would be more concerned about it from from a front Court standpoint again that’s that’s like let’s say you add like if you add DJ and eigor I I think I mean you’re you’re fine I think you’re in a in a really good spot but it’s then theier is you’re starting for he just is unless you’re going you know four complete guards and you want to put the you know 180 lb russan at at power forward in the SEC and and listen I mean there’s there are teams that run for guard or whatever um but you just don’t have much depth there and then you have big Z and AD do great at the five but that’s it and and there’s there’s just nothing there and and that’s why a guy like well a guy like case prior was so high on my list a guy like Coleman Hawkins is high on my list because that’s the type of swing that I feel like this team really needs from just a final roster building standpoint if you’re only going to have eight or nine Guys somebody who could swing from the four to the five in a pinch and like I don’t I don’t know how much you’d really want to do that with a a d The Arrow you can’t do it with a with an eagle demon it’s like you would have two options and if big Z or Jonas ad do go down or foul out or what then then what do you do because there’s just nowhere to turn and so for me if you if you don’t get you know one of these big fish you know stayer Pro type of guys um that’s okay it’s not the end of the world but I feel like you almost have to go add depth at the front court at that point like it would almost be negligent not to in my opinion not a dude who you think is going to be a big impact guy but you got to have some kind of insurance policy because you’re you know a rolled ankle and a and a bad whistle away from law and Blake being in there you know and no offense but I’m just saying so um but I I’m enamored with the idea of of Vore demon though just I I just think I think you could do so much with him sure um but I think if you if you get a guy like that it almost has to change your philosophy a little bit with with what you’re trying to do with the rest of the roster and this is only and this is only based off of cow’s words in my you know for me saying oh eight or nine it’s if it’s gonna be a 10th guy he’s gonna know he’s the 10th guy well then I think that guy would need to be a front Court piece and then I’m cool with it um and I think they’re guys out there like that um I would not I wouldn’t be sacrificing my recruitment of some of these stayer Pro guys either during this process and as I understand it they’re not doing that I I I I think they’re still engaged with some of these guys um obviously Coleman Hawkins is the the biggest name out there and it’s it’s kind of a weird deal with him because he’s still going through the draft process like he he did the combine and he’s doing workouts and everything like that everything you see is he’s either a late second round or like not on boards and what he was saying at the combine is he wants a he wants a guarantee if he can find a guarantee he wants to stay in the draft this ain’t a draft that’s gonna have a lot of guarantees in the second round um so he’s got to you know it’s like a pooper get off the pot situation here pretty soon the the draft withdraw deadlines next week on May 29th so um I’ll be really interested to see how things play out with him uh Arthur Kuma is another one who just every day I get a little bit higher and higher on Kuma I don’t know why um but I don’t know we’ll we’ll see what happens yeah I uh it’s interesting like if if you would think that this might be this would be the draft that Coleman Hawkins could get taken in no kidding as he stands but then again like yeah he had a good year but he had he’s had several seasons where he’s just been okay to slightly below average and then he had one year and I don’t know if one good college season is you know enough for these people like it’s just not not enough to move the needle to say yeah we’re gonna give you a guarantee in this draft um I I I almost don’t even want to say this Trevon Brazil like what’s what’s you think do you think C is like in any way interested in him I don’t know I really don’t know and I haven’t put a whole bunch of thought into that I T did play well at rup I think that was like one of his first games one of his first games back I haven’t even I haven’t looked been looking at mock drafts like I should have like I should be um so I don’t know he kind of looks the part of a cow player honestly yeah um but it is interesting I mean he he had already entered the draft and everything and at the time we thought he had you know hired the right type of agent he was just gone but it was well after Cal took the job that he entered the portal also yeah and so I I wonder if they had I mean I’m sure they had had conversations I don’t know yeah it’s it’s really interesting yeah I don’t and I don’t even know like I almost didn’t even want to say that because I think a lot of people are kind of they’re that ship is kind of sailed for yeah for a lot of people I think Kuma Kuma is super interesting talked about him a lot like I really like him and then some days I just really don’t like watching him at all um seems like your guy JT toppen turned a lot of heads when when he was at at the combine whether it was just you know his his measurables or his his motor you know the fact that he’s getting double doubles in these scrimmages when you know a lot of these guys can hardly score or hardly rebound and he’s doing he’s doing both of those things um he might have been a he might have been a riser for sure at the at the combine I mean you keep looking down this this list of power fours man it’s other than Coleman Hawkins JT toppen TB and and columa it’s kind of it’s getting kind of thin man it’s Lance wear season boy man I remember watching him in the Bahamas with you do we were so out on that man he he he picked up two fouls before he checked in not even joking yeah he’s like he’s like a like a KK Robinson type fouls committed per 40 guy in the front Court that’s exactly I’m going to give you uh I’m going to give you a scenario here I want to see what you pick you get we talked about three guys really let’s say you can only get two of them would you go DJ and eigor DJ and Coleman Hawkins or eor and Coleman Hawkins oh that’s good [Music] um I might go with um I definitely want Coleman Hawkins yeah and so it’s then it’s just like I know I think I would I think I’d go with uh I think I’d go with DJ I mean I think the I think the familiarity with Cal would would help and it’s not like eigor coming here couldn’t you know get acclimated quickly I mean I think he’s his his basketball I would allow him to to do that for sure um yeah I’m just I’m kind of partial to these guys that are familiar with the college game Andor you know got some familiarity with the coaching staff you know what I mean so I think I would I would go with the the two college guys yeah it’s it’s a tough one man I think I’m with you it’s hard to say no to like a guy that’s a projected lottery pick year man I our thought process was the same because immediately when I was thinking about this in my head I’m like okay which one of these guys would I have to like who would be number one and I do think at this point um Hawkins just given his positional versatility and and experience and all that just seems like well if you get him like you got to get that guy right and then after that yeah it’s tough because um it’s basically taking the I don’t know that you can really call DJ Wagner a sure thing but just you kind of know what you’re going to get and maybe you get you know a higher a better version of it in year two uh but it’s just it’s a little bit safer and with with eigor like he could be your best player quite honestly or it could you know not translate and you could have the eligibility problems like they had with Z as you’re trying to get him cleared and never knowing what’s going on you’re gonna have nine guys exactly right exactly ex L don’t get hell if they only got eagor and not either of the other two i’ I’d still be over the moon to have him but yeah I thought that was a kind of an interesting interesting question to pose but the good news is I mean it’s now eagor situation could last a little bit longer because like he’s not you know he’s not dealing with the draft deadline or whatever he’s still playing but I think his his team’s in the playoffs but I think their Seasons wrapping up within the next week or so here uh and so we’ll see when he makes it a decision but his his timeline’s kind of whenever he wants it to be with these other dudes these college kids I I’d be really surprised if we didn’t get some some pretty significant movement here soon yeah I would think so I mean we’re moving up on that time when um I guess at least in the past Eric would be like helping kids move in to whatever apartment that they’re staying in or what have you and I’m about ready to see Cal doing some of that like just let me know that like these guys are for sure here mean like it was um I think it was it was good to hear not surprising obviously late last week Jonas Adu told John rosin he was you know hopping pulling his name out of the draft that’s good like I just didn’t even think about it just kind of uh he’s gonna wind up here yeah you don’t want to assume things but it’s I’m ready to just like see these guys on campus yeah and like see about nine or t of them that would be that would be preferable that would be neat yes that would definitely be neat um it is kind of fascinating to see how National media and and all the pants are kind of viewing where Arkansas stands right now given that they only have seven guys but they have seven really good guys and so I did want to want to chat about that with you and maybe see if we’re in agreeance with what some of these folks are thinking but uh before we do I want to take a real quick moment to tell you about our friends over at Signature Bank signature is a 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Bank to learn more uh so Scotty I went through last night and uh was just trying to get kind of a compilation of of some of these way too early polls to see where the Hogs are and you take these things with a grain of salt they don’t they don’t mean a damn thing but um I do think they’re a little bit more interesting or they get my attention I guess a little bit more than years past because you’ve got the coaching change you went from no roster and people being like who knows to now you’re starting to see you know Arkansas being respected for that like the Califa is in uh is full blast here so it’s pretty cool um going through some of them CBS Sports the top 25 in one with Gary Parish uh he’s got Arkansas at number 23 right now uh John rosin and he he he ranks 45 teams for whatever reason he’s got Arkansas all the way up at number 13 yeah Aaron Torres has the hogs at number 12 Jeff borzello at uh at ESPN has the hogs at number 19 uh so you’re seeing them creep up and up in the top 25 poles now some of these places still like um like Fanta over at Fox Sports um on three just released theirs and they’re they’ve got like qualifiers in there basically saying if you don’t if you don’t really have a full roster like you’re you’re not eligible to be in this ranking so where they would would ultimately fall it’s hard to say but um I know it’s tough because we’re still expecting some some additions to the roster here but when you look at this group right now this top seven I mean do you you feel like this is a top 25 worthy roster I think it’s a top 25 team as of right now I am not I do not agree with rosin and I do not agree what did you say Aaron Torres had yeah had him 12 I don’t necessarily agree with that just because I think it’s just it’s it’s incomplete right now think and I think the pieces that make the roster incomplete right now could make it like that number 12 or number 13 team you remember when like right before Arkansas or Arkansas got a do the arrow and we were talking about rothin he had Arkansas at like 31 somewhere in that ballpark and then they get a du the arrow and then he just like paland drumes the ranking and he puts them at 13 yeah man adut the Aro I don’t I don’t think you can’t understate like it’s a was a really big addition but it wasn’t worth I didn’t feel like it was worthy of like an 18 19 spot jump I just I don’t think that roster is there yet I don’t think it’s a top 15 roster I think right now it’s a top 25 roster but it might be borderline like I’m I’m kind of I’m kind of in agreeance with Gary Parish like I think it is a I think it’s a top 25 team but it’s like it needs some some pieces to be yeah you know maybe that that Torres rosain range I’m I’m glad you said that because uh I pulled Gary parish’s little blurb that he had for Arkansas and he said uh and he had him at number 23 and he said this ranking is based on John Kiper’s Razorbacks returning zero players from a team that finished 16 and 17 under Eric muscleman Arkansas is still building but has already done enough to crack these rankings by securing commitments from and then he listed them all out there so um I like that he acknowledges it like hey you you got the pieces here to be a a really good team but it’s not over yet and and so I yeah I definitely agree with that um I wonder you know what a what a DJ Wagner does for things like this just in terms of of overall perception after that he might yeah you never you never know about him I mean obviously uh you know like if they got if they got Wagner and Coleman Hawkins like you I mean it’s a top 10ish yeah what are we talk team at that point um and I wonder about a guy like eigor demon who like I could see him like causing a real boost with like ESP like with borzello and like these guys who really followed the international game and the NBA mock drafts and everything with it not having as big of an impact with some of these others who are just you know transfer portal and and college player focused so I wonder what that would do but it it’s fascinating man it’s always fun to uh always fun to look at another thing that I where do you think you would put them right now like if you were doing a say you’re Gary Parish you’re doing a top 25 in one where where do you where do you slot him right now 20ish yeah probably yeah I think I’m right there in the middle of what somebody had him 19 yeah B had him 19 yeah I think I’m right smacking the middle between borello and and Parish I I think that’s a like that’s a safe spot for them right now because I mean look you do have really good pieces and it’s based on you know what we’ve seen from these college guys the last several years at their own schools and we don’t we don’t really know like these freshman could come in here and just light it up like they just they really could or right you know maybe one of them lights it up and a couple of them are you know a little bit little bit slower to catch on and maybe that you know hurts the hurts the team overall um but yeah I think that’s a that’s a safe spot and if you do get you know a couple really big pieces I think you’re you’re legit top 15 team pushing top 10 for sure definitely uh Joe lardy’s already done a Bracketology oh my god dude I no man yeah it uh I think it it was put out a week ago today which you know obviously had all of Arkansas’s current commits on it uh but Arkansas did make the field as a seven seed facing pit in the first round uh that game would be in Milwaukee so we’d be at the home of Bobby poris and uh then they would get the winner of Iowa State and akan in the second round what do you think about that us taking a trip to Milwaukee um there are probably worst places in America to drink a beer yeah there you go I mean it’s probably not on my you know my top list of destinations but no it’s not I’ve done after last year I’ll go wherever yeah and I’ve been to Detroit before for a tournament and that was I I I went that was a solo trip for me so I didn’t really and I didn’t really even know Bob that well at that point so we didn’t really hang out at all it was just a was a weird trip but yeah I’d be I’d be okay with Milwaukee um I would be a little bit concerned for you though if Iowa State wins Arkansas wins you get TJ otzelberger that in that second round that’s my guy yeah that’s your dude yeah that’s that’s that’s uh that’s my guy I still believe the Razer back red though in that second round oh man um I I also pulled I was looking at some of the recruiting rankings just out of interest uh but I I think 247 does a really good job with they separate the high school rankings from the portal rankings and they have a combined you know like overall recruiting class rankings so I I turn to them quite a bit but um I mean 247 they have Arkansas is the number six overall uh freshman like incoming freshman class but that’s based on just having three players and so if you do it based on like the average player ranking they’re actually number two behind Duke uh and so that’s really impressive you know right off the Jump uh they’re number one in the transfer portal ranking on average which I mean that makes a lot of sense I mean Nelly Davis and Jonas Adu are top 10 guys everybody’s very high on theier and and obviously big Z so I mean that makes a lot of sense and they were number three uh in the overall combined freshman and transfer ranking behind Duke and Bama wow Nate oats man yeah I’m telling you he’s getting some he’s got some dudes man he does he really is like he got the uh how do you say it learon PHS yeah learon phon yeah fine yeah there you go um him and Big Cliff like he’s he’s had a had a nice little offseason and that and it came on the heels of like a final four run and then like his whole team leaves yeah and then everybody’s like oh my god dude like nobody in B’s sa like nobody is no none of the players on that roster were happy after a final four run and he’s just like you know watch this I’m gonna go get me some dudes right yeah I mean he’s gonna wind up getting like two guys back and it’ll be Grant Nelson and Mark Sears yeah like the two guys that you wanton back absolutely it’s absolutely nuts sorry Nick Pringle but we’re we’re leveling up with Big Cliff here yeah where did he go do we know where Nick Pringle win oh I don’t I can do he care I I do not care yeah whatever he shoot one-handed free throws wherever he wants yeah that’s exactly right that’s exactly right um all right man before we get out of here we talked about it a little bit yesterday but I thought it would be fun we’ll do it again once we’ve got a full roster intact but maybe just based on just the the seven guys that Arkansas has right now U I thought it would be fun to just do a couple bold predictions for this uh for this Razer back roster anything that we think might go against the grain or what other people might think whatever uh just curious to see if you came up with anything yeah I actually came up with a couple player bold predictions I could probably save them but I think like I think this could be a really good defensive team like I think I think it could be a high turnovers forc team um I’ll probably go with like top 25 in the country in like steel percentage and I’m like that’s perfectly me like totally kpom driven nerdy Kish um yeah I think it can be I think they can be disruptive like Boogie’s good on the ball uh he could be a pest on it um was told like Nelly Nelly can be good on the ball but I think he’s I think he can be really really good as a help Defender active hands in the lane and anytime you got Adu and and you know Z in there they can alter shots block shots keep guys from taking shots maybe make them dribble back out to the perimeter and they ultimately turn the ball over um that kind of thing the arrow is nasty yeah the arrow is nasty too um yeah and then the second one might be like I think this is going to be a team that gets out and runs like I think it’s going to be um I don’t know how bold this is but I just think they’re G to play one of the fastest Paces in the country like I could I could legitimately see that and I think those guys playing with Tempo and with Pace I think it unlocks it unlocks all their games so I would i’ probably really good defensively in terms of like maybe disruption turning like forcing turnovers and I think they’ll I think they’ll legitimately run with like literally anybody that excites me yeah I I think I agree with both of those things um I’m really really intrigued to see what this group looks like defensively which is another reason why I’m excited to see how they uh how they fill out the rest of the roster here but they you’re right I mean they’ve got a lot of the ingredients you know necessary to be a to be a pretty disruptive team and I love the idea of them playing fast man just yeah get up and down the floor uh this doesn’t strike me as a roster it’s going to be just a bunch of you know Clunkers and half court sets and quite honestly that’s not in Cal’s wheelhouse so right exactly you’re not maximizing your guys if you’re playing like a you know a very I don’t even know what the word is but you’re just like you this team cannot play in the mud like you’re just you’re not doing any of these kids service a good service if you’re you’re playing in the mud with them exactly exactly I had player ones too one that I mentioned on I I said it on John’s show actually last week but um I I just think I think big Z is gonna average more points per game than Jonas a do I just think he’s gonna outscore him and I don’t think he’s gonna play as many minutes as him U and that’s not a knock on on Adu because I think he’s going to be a a force I mean he’s he’s coming off an all SEC year but I think that’s just how high I am on big Z and his potential with a full off seon and you know being acclimated right away having the full preseason playing against the bums in non-conference instead of making your debut halfway through the SEC season um I think he’s gonna be a really really critical piece for Arkansas so I’m I’m I’m very high on him yeah I think I think that’s a I think that’s a really good one because if he and I I agree with it because if he say he plays like 20 minutes a game right like that’s I think that’s a I think that’s a good maybe a good range for him right now um you want to maximize I keep saying maximize but you want to make the most of his minutes when he’s out there so in those 20 minutes he needs to be getting some shots up yeah for sure and so I I like that I think if if he’s on the floor you gotta you got to take advantage of the minutes he’s out there no doubt do you uh do you have uh Theo’s dad’s bold prediction on your list of him shooting 45% from three I had shooting 55% there we go yeah that’s and that’s bold that is that is bold very bold um one of the one of the player predictions that I had was um I’m Gonna Keep on this Billy Richmond train there we go I might be the conductor I think he might be I like that I think he starts at least at least half the team’s games oh I like that I like it a lot I mean you know unless call is just really changed his stripes he’s gonna he’s he’s starting two of those freshman I would think so you would you would really think and it’s it’s it’s actually interesting because you’re the you’re a big billy Richmond guy and I love him too I’m a big Carter Knox guy yeah um and so I I one of that I wrote down was uh Carter Knox all SEC freshman team okay and I wonder if could two of those could both of those things be true at the same time I don’t know might depend on how they fill out the rest of the you know the rest of the rosters very well could and yeah if they add a if they add an eagor that could knock Billy Richmond out of the starting lineup you know what I mean yeah that could kind of screw both of those up KN probably stand on his own I’m sure Billy could too but yeah I think that would that could potentially change some things another player prediction I had and this is kind of based on some of the feedback that I got when I did the analysis on johnell Davis um I think he could have or be close to a two one assisted turnover ratio like that but I think I think if you don’t get a DJ Wagner that could change some stuff you know what I’m saying because you have the ball in your hands more it’s just unless you’re just Mike connley you know what I mean or somebody along those lines that’s just super secure with the basketball like you’re gonna turn it over yeah know I mean but I think he’s not the not as a slight to his teammates at FAU but I think he’s I think he’s going to have a little bit um have a better Supporting Cast around him I think and you know I go back the reason I made this pred this prediction was that Nick Wilson guy from the Palm Beach Post told me like half of Nelly’s turnovers were on his teammates really um that’s kind of hard to it’s I believe it kind of but I just I haven’t seen him with my own eyes so I’m just kind of taking his word for it um but I think you get some high level guys around him maybe another piece or two um I think he could I think he get the assist numbers up there turn keep the turnovers down because he wouldn’t have to force stuff he wouldn’t have to force it um and that’s I think that’s where guys get in troubles when they’re trying to make stuff happen instead of letting the game come to them absolutely absolutely I like that one a lot um I I’d be curious to see what the uh what the listeners think too so if you’re if you’re listening to this segment uh HP in the hop in the YouTube comments and throw our throw your bold predictions at us and we’ll uh maybe we’ll pick some of the good ones and and discuss them on an upcoming episode they could be that could be a lot of fun um I think that about does it for today I will give a a housekeeping note um for those itching for recruiting news commitments all those all those things can still happen whenever uh but we are entering a dead period starting tomorrow on the 22nd it goes through June the 2nd uh so if you’re looking for news on visitors and things like that that ain’t a thing not happening um so just so you’re aware it’ll be a little bit quiet on that front for for 10 days or so and then I’m sure it’ll ramp back up especially with uh probably 2025 kids uh they’ve kind of got that break in the Grassroots season after this weekend really for most of June they’ll have some of those like schol AIC events that they put in there on random weekends but lot of the aaou stuff isn’t going on it’s usually a pretty big month for uh for visitors and based on uh based on Cal’s whereabouts last weekend he was like front and center for pretty much every you know five-star recruit in the country so I’m sure they’re gonna have some doozies on campus Kenny Payne was out there with him too that was good to see yeah man yeah him and Ken picture I saw from on three was like oh look at John caliper and Mark Pope chopping it up and like two seats down it’s Kenny Payne just chilling chilling living the life man yeah yeah living the life I heard Chen Coleman was out and about too so that’s that’s good um but yeah so be on the lookout for all that and uh we’ll have another episode here in the next day or two will it be a commitment episode that would be cool cuz I missed that but either way I think at some point this week we’ll uh we’ll go live and let people vent their frustrations or excitement or whatever they need to do and we’ll uh we’ll handle it all in stride so yeah sounds good to me buddy all right well we’re going to get out of here folks again appreciate you guys as always for tuning in if you’re not subscribed already make sure you do that Natty State Sports on YouTube check out all our content written wise over at natat sports.com woo for Scotty borderon it’s been Curtis Wilkerson the pot the palace we will catch you guys very very soon youall have a good one

It’s crunch time for John Calipari when it comes to finalizing his first roster at Arkansas.

Curtis and Scottie are back with a new episode of The Pod at The Palace where they discuss the latest with DJ Wagner, Egor Demin and Coleman Hawkins before taking a look at where the Hoop Hogs stand in way-too-early polls and offer a few bold predictions for the current roster.

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