Arkansas Razorbacks Basketball

After leaving Kentucky to become the new head men's basketball coach at Arkansas, John Calipari has reportedly succeeded in getting a major recruit to flip from the Wildcats to the Razorbacks.

According to Shams Charania of The Athletic and Stadium, forward Billy Richmond has decided to play at Arkansas after originally committing to Kentucky in December and later de-committing.

Per 247Sports, Richmond is a 4-star recruit.

Richmond marks the fourth player who has flipped from Kentucky to Arkansas since Coach Cal departed Lexington earlier this month.

Per ESPN's Jeff Borzello and Paul Biancardi, Calipari's departure and subsequent replacement with Mark Pope led to the de-commitment of five of the six recruits who had committed to Kentucky as part of the 2024 class.

Richmond joins guard Boogie Fland and forward Karter Knox as recruits who have jumped ship from Kentucky to Arkansas. Also, forward Zvonimir Ivišić transferred from Kentucky to Arkansas after playing under Calipari last season.

Joe Tipton of On3.com reported on Richmond's commitment to Kentucky in December, noting at the time that Richmond had a significant link to Calipari.

His father, who is also named Billy Richmond, played for Calipari at the University of Memphis, and Richmond made it clear at the time that Calipari's presence at Kentucky had a lot to do with his decision.

"The reason I chose Kentucky [is] because it felt like this where I need to be," Richmond said. "[It] felt like home basically. Great coaching staff, a lot of family ties which made it comfortable and confident for me to pick Kentucky, and just Cal always keeping it real with me."

The addition of Richmond and other former Kentucky commits is huge for Calipari given the state of Arkansas' roster when he first took over.

During Calipari's introductory press conference at Arkansas, he made it clear that he had a lot of work to do, saying: "I met with the team, there is no team. ... We gotta get a roster together."

At the time, On3.com's Barkley Truax reported that there were no scholarship players from last season remaining on Arkansas' roster since they all either entered the transfer portal or the NBA draft.

Calipari is far from done in terms of shaping his roster for the 2024-25 season, but Richmond and the other former Kentucky commits give him a solid base of talent on which to build upon.

New Arkansas head coach John Calipari has another Kentucky flip.

Fland, a 5-star combo guard who previously signed a National Letter of Intent with the Wildcats, requested to be released from that commitment after Calipari left Kentucky to sign on with the Razorbacks.

And Collin Ginnan of On3 reported Thursday that Fland was committing to Arkansas.

Fland, a 6'2" and 170-pound guard from Archbishop Stepinac, is considered the No. 19 prospect overall in the Class of 2024, the No. 2 combo guard and the No. 3 player from the state of New York, according to 247Sports' Composite Rankings.

Adam Finklestein of the scouting site called Fland a "skilled guard whose biggest asset is his ability to shoot the basketball," though he's "developed into a reliable secondary ball-handler who has become increasingly capable of initiating offense with the ball in his hands."

Calipari has long been renowned for his recruiting ability, and he's already managed to bring both Fland and Karter Knox—a 5-star small forward who is considered the No. 22 overall player in the Class of 2024, per 247Sports' Composite Rankings—from Kentucky to Arkansas with him.

Zvonimir Ivisic, a 4-star center, is also transferring from Kentucky to Arkansas.

"I made the lifetime decision to come to college for [a] few reasons," Ivisic wrote in a statement. "Main ones to win a national championship and go to the NBA. Monumental part of that decision was coach Cal, and no one does both of those at the same time than him. That's why I am excited to announce that I am committing to coach Cal and Arkansas Razorbacks."

The Razorbacks now have the No. 24 overall recruiting class in 2024, per 247Sports. The Calipari Effect is in full swing.

Granted, Kentucky fans will note that Calipari struggled turning talented recruiting classes into legitimate contenders in recent seasons. Kentucky hasn't gotten past the first weekend of the NCAA tournament since the 2018-19 season, last reached the Final Four in the 2014-15 campaign and hasn't won a title since 2011-12.

Arkansas will be hoping a change of scenery does both Coach Cal and the Razorbacks a world of good. He's certainly bringing some talent with him.

Jayden Quaintance won't be joining head coach John Calipari in Fayetteville.

247Sports' Eric Bossi and ESPN's Jeff Borzello reported Quaintance has removed Arkansas from his list of contenders after reopening his recruitment.

The 6'9" center originally signed with Kentucky but requested to be released from his letter of intent after Calipari left and took the Razorbacks job. He's the No. 8 overall recruit in 247Sports' composite rankings for the 2024 class.

A natural question to ask was whether Quaintance would simply join the Razorbacks.

Calipari was honest when he discussed the state of his roster during his introductory press conference. He said in effect "there is no team" because the players due to return had either entered the transfer portal or started exploring their NBA options.

Beyond Calipari's reputation as a coach, On3's Pete Nakos reported the men's basketball program will have a sizable NIL fund from which to draw. Those two factors allow for Arkansas to quickly replenish its ranks.

Zvonimir Ivišić announced on April 15 that he's joining the Razorbacks after spending his freshman year under Calipari at Kentucky.

For Quaintance, circling back to Kentucky is still on the table. Borzello reported an in-home visit with Wildcats personnel was scheduled for Tuesday, and his decision to remove Arkansas from the mix showed how Calipari wasn't the sole factor behind his original commitment.

Per Borzello, Memphis and Louisville are still in the running too.

By this point, most schools have finalized their 2024 classes and don't have the flexibility to add another player. But Quaintance is the highest-ranked uncommitted prospect on the board, so the coaches who have him on their radar will all mount a serious effort at the 11th hour.

In that respect, nobody has more to gain than Mark Pope, Calipari's replacement at Kentucky. Securing Quaintance's signature for a second time would be a major coup ahead of his first season in charge.

John Calipari isn't the only one going from Kentucky to Arkansas.

Class of 2024 recruit Karter Knox elected to follow the coach to Arkansas on Monday after previously decommitting from Kentucky, per ESPN's Jonathan Givony.

"Throughout my whole recruiting process, Coach Cal always said he wants to make me a pro, and I trust that he will do that for me at Arkansas," Knox said. "I also have a great relationship with Coach Kenny Payne, so getting to play for two coaches I admire is a dream come true. I'm looking forward to getting there, getting to work and bringing a winning mentality to Fayetteville."

Knox is a 5-star prospect and the No. 22 overall player in the class of 2024, per 247Sports' composite rankings.

The small forward's connection to Calipari goes beyond his initial decision to join the Wildcats.

He is the younger brother of Kevin Knox, who played for Calipari at Kentucky before he was the No. 9 overall pick of the 2018 NBA draft. The new Arkansas coach already helped one member of the family reach the sport's highest level and will look to do the same with the younger brother.

Knox was yet another departure from Kentucky's once promising recruiting class.

Givony noted Jayden Quaintance, Boogie Fland, Billy Richmond and Somto Cyril all decommitted from the Wildcats and could follow Knox to Arkansas. The Razorbacks have no shortage of openings since all 13 of their scholarship players from the 2023-24 campaign either entered the NBA draft, entered the transfer portal or ran out of eligibility.

While that would be cause for concern for many, this is a different era of college basketball. With the transfer portal readily available and many of his recruits at Kentucky now looking for new schools, Calipari started his tenure with a fresh slate when it came to roster building.

He is known as one of the best recruiters in the sport, so it wouldn't be surprising if the Razorbacks end up with quite the impressive team during his first season.

Landing players like Knox, who is an excellent scorer and can extend his offensive game beyond the arc, is an ideal place to start as Calipari looks to build another SEC powerhouse following his headline-making departure from Kentucky.

Former Kentucky forward Zvonimir Ivisic announced his decision to transfer to Arkansas and reunite with head coach John Calipari on Monday.

Ivisic made the announcement on Instagram.

The 20-year-old only played in 15 contests during his freshman season, as he was not cleared to play by the NCAA until Jan. 20 (via Grant Grubbs of On3.com). He averaged 5.5 points, 3.3 rebounds, and 1.3 blocks in 11.7 minutes per game.

Ivisic entered the transfer portal on April 13, a few days after Calipari announced that he would be leaving Kentucky after 15 years with the program.

The longtime Wildcats head coach was adamantly against the NCAA's hesitancy to allow Ivisic to play.

"It's not fair," Calipari said, per Grubbs. "For him to go through what he did to get into school for two months, what he's doing academically, how he is as a teammate. Every day he walks in, he says, 'Hey, Coach Cal!' Yesterday, or two days ago, I said to him, you know, I just want you to know I feel bad because I don't like how you were treated from the beginning to now."

Ivisic's eligibility was up in the air because he played professional basketball for SC Derby in the Montenegrin Basketball League and ABA Derby for two seasons from 2021 through 2023.

The 7'2" big should have a larger role in his sophomore campaign, as he showed some promise in his limited 2023-24 playing time. He shot 37.5 percent from three on 16 total attempts, while he scored a season-high 18 points in just 20 minutes during a win over Alabama on Feb. 24.

Calipari has now landed his first commitment with the Razorbacks as he attempts to turn around a program that finished with a record of 16-17 during the 2023-24 season.

Newly hired University of Arkansas men's college basketball coach John Calipari gave an honest assessment Wednesday of the work ahead of him after leaving Kentucky to become the Razorbacks' new coach.

Speaking at his introductory press conference, Coach Cal noted that he is essentially taking over a blank slate as far as his roster is concerned:

"I met with the team, there is no team," Calipari said. ... "We gotta get a roster together."

As pointed out by On3.com's Barkley Truax, Arkansas has no scholarship players remaining on the roster from last season.

Per Bob Holt of the Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, forward Trevon Brazile announced his decision to enter the NBA draft this week, while Khalif Battle, Tramon Mark, Layden Blocker, Davonte Davis, Joseph Pinion, Keyon Menifield and Baye Fall have all entered the transfer portals, leaving the Razorbacks with no scholarship players.

Calipari spent 15 seasons at Kentucky, leading the Wildcats to four Final Four appearances and one national championship, but major success has been somewhat fleeting in recent years.

Kentucky hasn't reached a Final Four since 2015 or won a national title since 2012, and it hasn't gotten past the second round of the NCAA tournament since 2019.

Calipari's Kentucky tenure ended with a whimper, as the third-seeded Wildcats were shocked by 14th-seeded Oakland in the first round of this year's tourney.

With patience wearing thin in Lexington, the 65-year-old decided to leave for an Arkansas program in need of some retooling.

The Razorbacks made three straight NCAA tournament appearances from 2021 to 2023, winning at least 22 games each season and reaching the Sweet 16 in each of those seasons, including Elite Eight appearances in 2021 and 2022.

However, Arkansas took a huge step back last season, going 16-17 and failing to reach the NCAA tournament.

Head coach Eric Musselman then left to take the head coaching job at USC, which led to a mass exodus of players and a bare cupboard for Calipari.

Of course, he has long been considered one of the best recruiters in college basketball, so it may not take him long to build Arkansas back into a national power.

The roster can't be reshaped overnight, though, and even if Calipari makes a strong, late push on the recruiting front, there figure to be some growing pains next season at least.

However, since Calipari is one of the greatest coaches of his generation and Arkansas isn't far removed from being a national title contender, the Razorbacks could soon become a hot spot for highly touted recruits once again.

Let the John Calipari era at Arkansas begin.

The Razorbacks' new men's basketball head coach was introduced to his new school during a Wednesday press conference, and he didn't hold back. Notably, he stressed that he accepted the position to build a team with "a dream and a burning desire to compete for championships."

Calipari also said he became "excited" thinking about building the program into a consistent winner:

Arkansas fans are surely excited as well.

While Calipari's tenure at Kentucky grew somewhat stale of late with stunning first-round NCAA tournament losses to 15th-seeded Saint Peter's in 2022 and 14th-seeded Oakland in 2024, he still has quite the history of winning.

He won a national championship, six SEC regular-season titles and six SEC tournament championships while reaching four Final Fours during his time with the Wildcats. Prior to that, he won seven Conference USA regular-season titles and four conference tournament crowns at Memphis, as well as five Atlantic 10 regular-season titles and five conference tournament championships at UMass.

Calipari also reached a Final Four at UMass and Memphis, underscoring his ability to win at programs that aren't on the same level as Kentucky.

Arkansas isn't on the same level as Kentucky historically, but Calipari said it is still an elite job:

The Razorbacks position was open because Eric Musselman left for USC this offseason. While he didn't win any SEC titles during his five seasons, he did guide the team to back-to-back Elite Eights in 2021 and 2022 and a Sweet 16 in 2023.

Arkansas has enjoyed some recent success, but Calipari said he still has plenty of work to do before the focus shifts to winning on the court.

"I gotta put a roster together," he said. "You're laughing—it's not funny. I just met with the team. There were three guys in there, and they were in the portal. So, we got work to do."

He will focus on culture as he is putting that roster together:

Arkansas will now be firmly under the spotlight at the start of the 2024-25 season, as Calipari is one of the biggest names in the sport and just switched schools inside the SEC. Kentucky fans surely won't be so welcoming when the Razorbacks face the Wildcats on the road, but fans of his new program embraced him during Wednesday's press conference.

John Calipari is officially the head men's basketball coach at the University of Arkansas.

Arkansas athletic director Hunter Yurachek announced Calipari's hiring Wednesday. The school's website added he signed a five-year contract with a starting salary of $7 million per season:

"The contract runs through April 30, 2029 with a maximum of two automatic rollover years for NCAA Tournament appearances that would extend the contract to 2031. The deal includes a $1 million signing bonus and features retention bonuses of $500,000 each year of the contract along with one-time bonuses for making the NCAA Tournament, reaching the second round, Sweet 16, Final Four and winning a national championship."

When it was first reported Calipari was going to Arkansas, ESPN's Pete Thamel and Jeff Borzello noted his base salary was expected to be "slightly less" than the $8.5 million he was making at Kentucky.

The official terms of the contract released Wednesday confirmed that. Calipari is essentially set to make at least $7.5 million per season between his starting base salary and the $500,000 retention bonus he gets each year.

Calipari's most recent contract with Kentucky was a 10-year, $86 million deal signed in June 2019.

It shouldn't be too hard for Calipari to earn the bonus for making the NCAA tournament. Even though the Razorbacks didn't make the field this season after finishing 16-17, they were a very good tournament team the previous three years.

Arkansas advanced to the Elite Eight in 2020-21 and 2021-22, and had a Sweet 16 appearance last season.

Calipari hasn't come anywhere close to having that much success in the tournament during his final three seasons with the Wildcats. They lost in the first round as a No. 2 seed in 2020-21 and a No. 3 seed this season.

Kentucky's only tournament win since the 2019-20 season was in the first round against Providence last year.

Despite the disappointing record this season, Arkansas didn't seem like it was going to be in the market for a new head coach. Eric Musselman won at least 20 games in each of his first four seasons and had a 111-59 record overall with the Razorbacks.

Musselman pulled off a surprise when he decided to leave Arkansas for USC after Andy Enfield was hired by SMU.

Calipari is staying in the SEC where he has coached for the past 15 seasons with Kentucky. He went 410-123 with 11 combined regular-season and conference titles, four Final Four appearances and a national title in 2011-12 with the Wildcats.

Arkansas' investment in the men's basketball program will reportedly extend well beyond a contract for incoming coach John Calipari.

ESPN's Pete Thamel and Jeff Borzello reported Sunday night the Razorbacks are finalizing a five-year deal with Calipari to seal his exit from Kentucky, and his salary is expected to be a little lower than the $8.5 million he earns annually with the Wildcats.

While going from Kentucky to Arkansas is a step down in terms of prestige, On3's Pete Nakos reported that NIL "cannot be overlooked in Calipari's decision-making."

"Having dollars to spend in the transfer portal and recruiting won't be a problem in Fayetteville," Nakos wrote. "A source told On3 on Sunday night that Calipari will have 'at least' $5 million annually in NIL funds to disperse. The same source estimated the budget will be in the $6 million ballpark."

CBS Sports' Matt Norlander reported Sunday night the family of John Tyson, the founder of Tyson Foods, is not only close with Calipari but also "prepared to make a major commitment" to secure his arrival:

ESPN's Myron Medcalf noted Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones and the Walton family, which earned its wealth through Walmart, could also be notable boosters to Arkansas' NIL fund.

Sure, the Razorbacks' only national championship was 30 years, but Eric Musselman took them to the Elite Eight of the NCAA tournament in 2021 and 2022. The school isn't wrong for thinking the right head coach with sufficient resources can get the men's basketball program back to the top of the sport again.

Given the way the last few seasons have unfolded, it's worth asking whether Calipari is the guy. The Wildcats failed to advance past the second round in any of their last three March Madness trips despite continuing to attract blue-chip talent. It's possible that Calipari's best days are behind him and his Arkansas tenure is like the Jimbo Fisher era for Texas A&M football.

But there's no question he'll have the infrastructure around him necessary to achieve big things with the Razorbacks.

The college basketball world got quite the shock Sunday night.

Pete Thamel of ESPN reported that Kentucky coach John Calipari had come to an agreement on a five-year deal to become the head coach at Arkansas.

This comes after Calipari served as the Wildcats head coach for 15 seasons. He compiled an overall record of 410-123 with the program and led it to a national championship in 2011-12.

His tenure in Lexington ends with a first-round loss to 14-seed Oakland.

Fans took to social media to express shock at the decision and hype up the Razorbacks' chances at making a step forward in the SEC.

He takes over an Arkansas team that went 16-17 in 2023-24. However, the program had reached the NCAA tournament in the three seasons prior, including two trips to the Elite Eight in 2020-21 and 2021-22.

The Razorbacks job became available after head coach Eric Musselman departed to become the new head coach at USC. The program was previously in talks with Kansas State coach Jerome Tang and Ole Miss coach Chris Beard.

The Razorbacks lost both meetings to the Wildcats in 2023-24.