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Arkansas fans descended upon Bud Walton Arena in droves on Wednesday night, though they weren’t there to watch a Razorback basketball game.
Instead, they were there to officially welcome head coach John Calipari to the University of Arkansas and to watch the new Head Hog get to work.
After his plane landed in Fayetteville on Wednesday afternoon, Calipari stepped into Bud Walton Arena as a friend rather than a foe for the first time.
With zero players currently on the team, Calipari will be tasked with building his first roster in Fayetteville from the ground up.
“If you’re not into basketball, you won’t come here. If you’re drinking, smoking, clubbing, chasing, you won’t come here,” Calipari said when asked about expectations for his first Razorback roster. “This is about being at a place that is zeroed in on a culture that creates professional habits, and that includes academically. We didn’t have any issues at Kentucky. They all finished the term. You can care about the kids and still win. What’s changed a little bit is that the kids are all older,” he said, noting changes in the college basketball landscape. “They’re giving a bunch of waivers, and the kids make more from NIL than they would getting a job.”
Calipari’s closing statement was rather by-the-book but still gives Arkansas fans reason to be optimistic about the Hall of Fame coach’s tenure in Fayetteville.
“I’m looking forward to this, I’m excited. The fans seem to be excited. Let me get a team together, then we’ll all be excited.”
Despite the opening tip-off of Arkansas’ 2024-25 season not being until November, the buzz and excitement around the basketball program is sky-high.
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