HawgBeat Hoops Mailbag: 11/27/24
HawgBeat analyst Jackson Collier takes reader questions in November's Hawg Hoop Mailbag
Through six games of the John Calipari era, Arkansas boasts a 5-1 record, with the lone loss being a neutral court defeat against Baylor in Dallas.
So far, the Razorbacks have yet to be at 100% health this season, with transfer forward Jonas Aidoo only appearing in three games and missing each of the last three games. Additionally, lone returnee Trevon Brazile missed two games with a turned ankle injury, but he returned for the 109-35 route of Maryland-Eastern Shore on Monday.
The Arkansas fanbase and coaches alike are not quite sure what the team will look like when fully healthy and when the group develops chemistry. The sooner Aidoo is back, the better, as the Razorbacks have tough non-conference matchups against Illinois, Miami and Michigan looming.
HawgBeat ran our regular hoops mailbag series, where we answer reader questions, and team health was a hot topic of discussion, along with questions about recruiting and even the future. We take submissions from social media and on The Trough premium message board at HawgBeat.com.
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What do you think - after watching the team now for a month - should be the breakdown of minutes after Aidoo comes back? - HawgBeat user @Hogs1988
It might be a slow build with integrating Aidoo back into the lineup, so I'll just jump to what I think it could/should look like when he's fully back:Starters:
Jonas Aidoo: 26
Adou Thiero: 28
Johnell Davis: 30
DJ Wagner: 34
Boogie Fland: 34
Bench:
Billy Richmond: 16
Zvonimir Ivisic: 12
Trevon Brazile: 10
Karter Knox: 10
How many guys go in the first round from this club? How many drafted overall? - HawgBeat user @P1Hawg
If the level of play continues, I'd say:
First round:
Thiero, Fland
Drafted:
Wagner
Knox could work himself into a draft pick - he had largely been viewed as one before the slow start.
Brazile is dependent upon how he performs. Teams know his skillset and athleticism are enticing but another injury is another strike against him. I think he's more of a free agent signing and two-way guy.
Ivisic is tempting with how he's shooting, and the League loves unicorns, but he's also pretty bad defensively and not super quick, so it's hard to see a team taking a chance on him.
Richmond hasn't really been viewed as a one and done but could play himself into one.
Essentially, it's early and a lot of variables are in play.
Do you see an expanded role for Billy Richmond and if what will be that new role? - X (formerly known as Twitter) user @UnitedHogs
Yes, I definitely do, especially the way he's been playing of late. Richmond is just so energetic with a super high motor and explosivity. Of late, his talent and efficiency have both started to catch up with his effort.
Remains to be seen if that will continue as competition gets tougher, but as long as he maintains that effort, it'll be hard to keep him off the floor. He still has some things to work on. He needs an outside shot and to be a little more comfortable in his role against teams that aren't MD-Eastern Shore, but he's definitely caught my eye and I'm sure the attention of the coaching staff, as well.
Based on our performance and what you’ve seen from other SEC teams where do you predict us to finish in conference? - X (formerly known as Twitter) user @p_birdsong
It's tough to say right now because Arkansas still isn't healthy and teams are playing such an array of competition. I think given the performances so far, Auburn is my favorite to win the league and Alabama is a close second.
From there, things get a bit murky. I'd say Arkansas is in the tier ahead of the middle of the pack, but there could also be a lot of teams in that tier, as well. If I had to put teams in order right this second, I think I'd go:
1) Auburn
2) Alabama
3) Tennessee
4) Kentucky
5) Arkansas
6) Texas
7) Florida
8) Mississippi State
9) Ole Miss
10) Texas A&M
11) Georgia
12) Missouri
13) LSU
14) Oklahoma
15) Vanderbilt
16) South Carolina
Is that how I envision things finishing? Not at all, just how I see things sitting right now. There are too many factors and uncertainties to make a prediction of order of finish at this juncture, so I'll kind of squeeze by this question with somewhat of a power ranking instead of predicted order of finish.
Do you think we’ll add another recruit to this class or are we going to focus on the portal? Also, do you think Cal is going to increase his playable scholarship players to 10 or 11 next year or stick with 9? - HawgBeat user @Corporal Upham
They're looking to add another piece. Some names being mentioned for that final one or two spots are Nate Ament, Miikka Muurinen (reclassification candidate), Mo Sylla, and Keiner Asprilla (reclassification candidate). They've been connected with Ament and Muurinen for a long, long time now, and should be in a good spot for each. These guys will all most likely wait until the spring to decide, so just keep them on your radar.
As far as the playable scholarship players go, I don't think he's really going to go beyond 9 or 10 (an argument can be made that Chavis is a playable piece this year), but I think it will start to look different. Right now, your 10-13 pieces plus walk-ons are Blake, Watkins, Kelley, Sanchez, Karuletwa and Chavis. Blake and Watkins are seniors, so that opens two walk-on spots.
So, say for instance those two walk-on spots are then given to Kelley and Karuletwa without impacting their financial situation. Then you have Chavis and Sanchez as two of your 10-13 spots - a three-star recruit and a D-II transfer. The quality of that group is already better than in year one.
Then you have the roster building around it. It's a bit of guesswork since we don't know who will leave versus return for next season, but you lose Davis and Aidoo, most likely will lose Wagner, Thiero, and Fland, and currently have three, and up to four incoming freshman.
Say you return:
Brazile
Chavis
Knox
Richmond
Ivisic
And add:
Darius Acuff Jr.
Meleek Thomas
Isaiah Sealy
Nate Ament/Miikka Muurinen
That gets you to nine already, without any portal additions. Of course, more people could leave and in this era someone or multiple will most likely transfer out.
That's a long-winded way of saying there's a shot your 10-13 next year includes Chavis, Sealy, Sanchez, and another lower-tier portal guy or HS recruit. On paper, at least, it would seem more talented with more depth and more playable guys, even if the plan is still to only keep a core rotation of nine.
