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In just a few short weeks, the Arkansas Razorbacks — led by first-year head coach John Calipari — will hit the floor for charity exhibitions at Bud Walton Arena on Oct. 25 against Kansas followed by a matchup with TCU at Dickie's Arena in Fort Worth on Nov. 1.

With a group of mostly new players, Calipari told reporters Tuesday those games will give him and his staff a good barometer of where his team is heading into the season-opener against Lipscomb on Nov. 6.

"Probably going to get stung pretty good," Calipari said. "But it's perfect for us to figure out where we are right now. For our fans to see where we are. The staff, everyone, has an idea of where we are right now, and that we've got work to do. I've never promised to have a magic wand."

The Head Hog said usually, his teams struggle early on and by the end of the year is when they start to fire on all cylinders. He said the exhibition games will help set the culture for the team heading into the season.

"You could take some spills early and they'd be what you need at that point," Calipari said. "We may play better than we thought, but this all about building a culture. The culture of what is expected, and whatever that is, do more. What is expected of you in this program, and then do more. And then, what is unacceptable. That's when you start building culture."

Calipari said that there's still a lot of work to be done before the start of the season, and mentioned several times in his press conference he didn't even have who would inbound the ball nailed down yet.

Still, he said the team will get thrown into the fire early on.

"You say, 'you don't have the team stuff locked down yet and you're going to play Kansas?'" Calipari said. "Yeah, and you're going to get hit in the mouth and you're hoping they swing. You're hoping they will learn from that experience. Shoot, I want to win every game I coach. But when you're building and you're doing this, you got to throw them in the fire and see where they are right now, and then we'll all know."

Exhibition games against tough opponents are something Calipari said he's been a proponent of for a long time. Instead of playing against low-level teams that wouldn’t test Arkansas, it could help put the players in better environments to grow.

"I like to challenge the guys, and when you're doing this, building, you need to see where the program is against (good competition)," Calipari said. "You get hyped, you play a couple bad teams...then you come out and you get your ears clipped back because you're not really what you think you are."

Calipari also mentioned the possibility of doing more situational work when they play Kansas and TCU.

"(KU head coach Bill Self) and I, (TCU head coach Jamie Dixon) and I, we’re all good friends, let’s play zone for five minutes," Calipari said. "Let’s press each other. Let’s do situation work, two- three-minute situations. We're up eight, then we're down eight. Let's see how we play. Why not? It's good for both programs."

Up next, Arkansas basketball will play charity exhibition matchups against the Kansas Jayhawks at Bud Walton Arena on Oct. 25 and the TCU Horned Frogs at Dickies Arena in Fort Worth, Texas, on Nov. 1. Be sure to tune in to HawgBeat for offseason updates on the Hoop Hogs ahead of season tip-off.

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One of three former Kentucky transfers to join John Calipari at Arkansas during the offseason, sophomore guard D.J. Wagner has never been a stranger to high expectations throughout his basketball career.

Wagner, the former No. 6 overall high school prospect in the class of 2023, was viewed as Calipari's next big-time NBA Draft prospect akin to names like Tyrese Maxey or Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.

Though he had his moments as a freshman last season, Wagner only averaged 9.9 points, 1.9 rebounds and 3.3 assists per game. The 6-foot-4, 195-pound point guard shot 40.5% from the field and an underwhelming 29.2% from three, but only turned the ball over 1.5 times per contest.

While speaking to the media Monday, Calipari said an ankle injury suffered against Miami on Nov. 28 was partly to blame for some of his deficiencies. Wagner missed a handful of games due to the injury and was never the same because of it, according to Calipari.

"Here’s what was funny — before he got hurt, I believe he was Freshman of the Week three times," Calipari said. "Like, ‘Well he just struggled.’ No, he was playing great. Then he got hurt and he never really bounced back from that. He had a couple things, but he didn’t."

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Now viewed as an X-factor for an Arkansas team full of freshmen and transfer newcomers, Wagner has taken it upon himself to become a vocal leader for the Hogs, according to Calipari.

"I think he’s healthy," Calipari said. "I think he’s more athletic than he was. The kid lives in the gym. He knows how to read his body now — when I need to step back, or when I can be uncomfortable and it’s good for me. But I’m expecting a lot from him. You want his leadership. When you walk into my gym, the voice you hear is his. That’s the voice you hear, which means he’s into his team."

As a member of the Wildcats, Wagner had 10 double-digit performances with two 20-point+ outings prior to his ankle injury. Like most freshmen in the SEC, Wagner had to learn what did and didn't work against college-level athletes, but there's still more room to grow.

"Now, I want him to play, do what you do, fail fast," Calipari said. "There’s some stuff that you did in high school that you can’t do in the SEC. Fail fast, learn, try it. After the third time, I’m looking, ‘Do you understand that doesn’t work now?’ I want him to go be who he is.

"Unbelievably coachable player, maybe one of the best I’ve ever had. If you tell him something, he does it that moment, right then. And then I blow the whistle and say, ‘Do you guys understand? I just told him and look what he did. He does it. Will the rest of you catch up to this? Just know that whatever we’re doing is to help you as a player and help the team.’"

Up next, Arkansas basketball will play charity exhibition matchups against the Kansas Jayhawks at Bud Walton Arena on Oct. 25 and the TCU Horned Frogs at Dickies Arena in Fort Worth, Texas, on Nov. 1. Be sure to tune in to HawgBeat for offseason updates on the Hoop Hogs ahead of season tip-off.

Across the conference:

Cal mentioned today that Wagner never fully recovered from an injury he sustained last season, but that now he is fully healthy and more athletic than before.

Relevant portions of the quote:

Here's what was funny... before he got hurt I believe he was freshman of the week three times. Then he got hurt and he never really bounced back from that. I think he's healthy and more athletic than he was. I'm expecting a lot from him. When you walk in the gym the voice you hear is his. I want him to play - do what you do. Fail fast. There are things he did in high school he can't do in the SEC. Learn. Try it. Unbelievably coachable player.

So I crunched the numbers...:

Wagner missed three games in the middle of SEC play last year. In the 11 games he played in after returning, he averaged just 6.5 points, 2.6 assists, and 1.8 rebounds on 32/26/91 splits. The Wildcats were 7-4 in those games and allowed 82.5 points per game.

In 18 games before that (including a tweaked ankle against Miami and another missed game in a loss to UNC Wilmington), Wagner averaged 12.0 points, 3.7 assists, 1.9 rebounds, and 1.1 steals on 44/31/70 splits. The Wildcats were 15-3 in those games and allowed 76.1 points per game.

Kentucky was 1-3 without Wagner last season.