Did Arkansas improve its roster? Part 1: frontcourt depth
HawgBeat basketball analyst Jackson Collier looks at the frontcourt depth for this year's team compared to 2024-25.
Arkansas head coach John Calipari has made it clear: he likes his team. He has said as much on multiple occasions, which should be worth something. After all, that's coming out of a Hall of Fame coach's mouth – one who has won a national championship – but liking the roster doesn't necessarily mean it is a better roster.
So, is it a better roster? Calipari is entering just his second season in Fayetteville after an up-and-down debut that concluded with a strong finish to the season en route to a Sweet 16 appearance. It was a major victory for the new head coach, who had failed to make it past the first weekend over his final five seasons in Lexington as the head coach of Kentucky, but Arkansas fans – right or wrong – are wanting more.
The Razorbacks have now been to two Elite Eights and five Sweet 16s over the past six seasons. Former head coach Eric Musselman broke the 25-year long drought of second weekend appearances by making three consecutive trips. There was no postseason appearance in Musselman's final season, but Calipari led the Razorbacks right back to the Sweet 16 in year one.
Fans now expect the second weekend, but want more. The investment into the basketball program in hiring Calipari, one of the highest paid coaches in the country, is monumental. Calipari's track record is that of a national championship contending coach. Arkansas has been there in the past, and is close to that level again, with the right type of coach and the right type of support.
But if fans want a Final Four or a national championship, the question must be asked: is this team better than last year's Sweet 16 team? Fans have expressed concern over the roster construction on social media and message boards, with the main areas of concern being the lack of perimeter shooting, the lack of frontcourt depth, not having one more go-to scorer, and relying on freshmen.
Recent additions have quelled some of the vocal portion of the fanbase, but in general, the questions still remain. Are these concerns justified, or is this team fine enough in those areas to be better than last year's team?
In this series, HawgBeat will take a look at each of the four areas which fans themselves most widely indicated as points of concern, listed above. Each piece will focus on the pros and cons that this roster has for each concern, providing in-depth analysis on why fans should or should not be concerned about each area, complete with a definitive conclusion at the end of each.
The first edition, the most commonly addressed issue by fans: frontcourt depth.
CONTINUE READING HERE
