Calipari's reworked roster construction will benefit Hogs in major way

Hogs might not be a finished product yet but the coach's vision for next season is clear, but the approach will be different

Arkansas Razorbacks coach John Calipari on the sidelines against the Missouri Tigers at Bud Walton Arena in Fayetteville, Ark. | Nilsen Roman-Hogs on SI Images

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. -- Arkansas coach John Calipari continues to round out his roster which consists of 10 players as of Wednesday.

The Razorbacks second-year coach goes into the offseason with a different blueprint for a roster next season, hinting that his limited roster due to NIL won't be performed again.

Arkansas Razorbacks bench wants a flagrant foul called against the Mississippi Rebels during the second half at Bridgestone Arena. | Steve Roberts-Imagn Images

"We needed to have more. You don’t plan on what happened, but we needed more guys," Calipari said in March. "But, you know, when we had the guys, we played better as we got shorter."

Calipari's squad started out with an 0-5 record in SEC play but that wasn't due to a limited amount of player's either. Unitl the January road loss at Missouri, he had each of his nine rotational pieces available until Boogie Fland suffered a thumb injury that required surgery.

With the Georgia game just a short three days later, Arkansas' coaching staff had to reimagine a rotation without leading scorer but came away more efficient.

Teammates began to pick up the slack and play within their respective roles, unified for one cause and that was competing for a national championship.

Adou Thiero handles the ball against the Georgia Bulldogs. Arkansas won the game 68-65. | Nilsen Roman - Hogs on SI Images

No trades, no free agency deadlines and no G-leaguers available for pickup, Calipari was content with who he had and came away successful.

"I can’t make any trades, I can’t pick up anybody at the wire, this is who it is," Calipari said. So what we’ve done, how do we make this work? And that’s all I’ve been thinking about.

"That’s what I’ve been doing all season and now we’ve got two games left. We’re going to be in dogfights both games."

Each college basketball analyst counted Calipari out. Even Kentucky media, fans alike had something to say about his lack of success at Arkansas in the first season.

Florida State Seminoles forward Malique Ewin (12) on the court in the first half at Spectrum Center. | Bob Donnan-Imagn Images

While it was hard to imagine things going completely south, they eventually didn't. The ultimate was a Sweet 16 appearance ending in a heartbreaking loss to Texas Tech.

"They threw us in the coffin, they just forgot the nails," Calipari said after the Razorbacks' win over No. 2 seed St. John's. "We pushed it open and we came out.”

Not only has Calipari figured out he can't consistently win with a primarily freshmen laden roster or limited rotation to maximize his NIL budget but no he understands the more experience the better.

Memphis Tigers guard Derrick Rose (23) brings the ball up court during the first half of the finals of the 2008 NCAA Mens Final Four Championship against the Kansas Jayhawks at the Alamodome. | Bob Donnan-Imagn Images

Next year's roster will likely his oldest since the Chris Douglas-Roberts, Derrick Rose, Joey Dorsey led the national runner-up Memphis team in 2007-08.

Four players made at least one appearance in the NBA following the season after the Tigers went 38-1 with wins over Oklahoma, UConn, USC, Cincinnati, Georgetown, Arizona, Gonzaga, Mississippi State, Michigan State, Texas and UCLA before falling victim in overtime to Kansas in the title game.

Monday's additions of Malique Ewin and Nick Pringle gives Arkansas a 1-2 punch of physicality and experience compared to the length and athleticism Calipari had this season.

It will be worth monitoring over the next few weeks if the Razorbacks continue to target another combo guard similar to Johnell Davis and the decision of Nate Ament, the nation's highest ranked uncommitted prospect.

While Picasso is far from finished with this year's roster, it's been a lot more fun looking at the possibilities of what next year's team can be.

There are no promises it is anyone Arkansas has reportedly targeted or who fans think is actually on radar.