“We haven’t even touched what we’re going to be,” said John Calipari earlier this month. And it seems true. They have the talent but the passion is missing. After an inconsistent first half of the season, the Arkansas coach’s reputation seems to be in trouble, and let us not forget that he has been under fire for his series of losses at Kentucky in recent years, but Fayetteville was supposed to be a fresh start. In many ways, it has been. But even so, this up-and-down team filled with talent and still incurring losses seems to be receiving criticism no matter what. What’s the issue with the team?

Arkansas keeps coming out and then going back on to the AP Top 25 poll and while the team’s injuries account for it, one analyst thinks it’s the coaching, or lack thereof, that is the culprit.

On a new episode of ‘The Field of 68: After Dark’ on YouTube, host Rob Dauster discussed the ultimate gift from Santa that coach Cal should ask for. “I think what John Calipari should be asking for Christmas are co-ordinators.”

Then he named veteran coaches who could do Calipari’s job better. “He needs Special Assistant to the coach John Beilein out there to be running his offense and he needs Special Assistant to the head coach Luke Yaklich running his defense…so that he can just be the CEO. Let him go out there and do all the CEO stuff and all the Coach Cal stuff, do all the recruiting stuff in the press conferences, get Karl Anthony-Towns on speakerphone.”

The night Arkansas won against Michigan, John Calipari was a happier man than most. It was not the Razorbacks’ best win by any means. But it was a successful night for the winning team and Calipari celebrated. He entered the press conference room with Anthony-Towns on speakerphone and a light-hearted banter between them took place. But it seems like that move did not sit well with Dauster.

He continued, “Go do all that stuff, go be Coach Cal, let somebody else go out there who actually knows what they’re doing to coach his team up.” By any measure, the Arkansas coach has had a successful coaching career overall. Inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame in 2015, Calipari, along with Rick Pitino, remains the only men’s coach to lead three programs to Final Four appearances.

There was also Kentucky’s championship in 2012, but that was more than a decade ago. Lately, it seems like Calipari has lost his touch, and since 2019, he has only won one NCAA tournament game after missing the mark entirely in 2021, and losing in the first round in 2022 and 2024 as a No. 2 and No. 3 seed, respectively.

Top Comment by Belechere

John Calipari is the Mack Brown of college basketball. Great promoter, marginal coach.

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Nevertheless, he knows he can take the Razorbacks to where they need to be in March, no matter what the SEC throws their way.

John Calipari wants the best of the Razorbacks in February and March

If there’s anything Coach Cal has learned from his recent failures in Kentucky, it’s perhaps that Nov. and Dec. will influence a lot of play in Feb. and March, if you can make it. Should he push the Razorbacks to do their best and give it their all right now?

Probably not. Probably save some for next year. The Christmas break should be all the rest they need to get ready for what comes next.

“Like I told them, you want to win the game and go for Christmas, breathe for the first time, and then come back here absolutely jacked and juiced – let’s go,” said Calipari, per On3. “Let’s get ready for the grind that’s ahead of us.”

After a month of inconsistent performances, the Arkansas Razorbacks are finally back in the AP Top 25. Occupying the 23rd spot, they did go as high as 19 in late November but could finally change things up in January. As Calipari said, every team will have tough games! “No one in the league can predict anything…So whatever it is, every team is going to have hard games. Every one from top to bottom.”

Calipari and his team have one more game against Oakland on December 30 before the SEC play begins. But hey, the hogs are 10-2 heading into their ‘Christmas break’. That being said, their first nine games also showed us things that they need to work on:

1. They can work on their stretches of sloppy play. Their only clean victory was in November against Maryland Eastern-Shore which was a 74-point blowout.
2. Adou Thiero looks like a consistent player. But Johnell Davis might need a bit of work considering he was expected to be the team’s leader this season, or at least one of them. In the first five games, he averaged just eight points per game. And in the next three of four games, he scored at least 12. If he emerges as a bigger scorer in the SEC play, the team would do much better.
3. Arkansas shot 36.2 percent from three through nine games. That is 80th in the country and while it isn’t too bad, it is surely not the best either. It needs to improve to see success in SEC play. The team’s best three-point shooter so far has been Kentucky transfer center Zvonimir Ivisic. He made 19 of his 33 attempts from beyond the arc.