Calipari Warns Incoming Freshmen to Follow Hogs' Examples, Not Kansas Star 'DNP'

Visit with Jim Rome serves as teachable moment for 5-stars, makes clear Arkansas Razorbacks coach not down for drama

Arkansas Razorback head coach John Calipari directs his players during the second half against Alabama at Coleman Coliseum. | David Leong-Imagn Images

DNP.

It used to be a designation in a box score that let readers know a player either was injured or not good enough to get on the court in a particular game.

Now, though, it's the brand of a notorious player at Kansas whose initials and weekly attitude are summed up so well in the three letters that it may well be the name of his shoe next year.

For most programs he is just a reason for fans to look over and grumble that Darryn Peterson, the high profile freshman for Kansas who has an aversion for showing up and putting in work, is what's wrong not only with college basketball, but college sports in general.

However, for Arkansas, DNP should be a cause for great concern. The Razorbacks have been signing a lot of McDonald's All-Americans over the past half decade or so dating back to middle of the Eric Musselman tenure.

That's possibly part of the reason why Arkansas coach John Calipari went on the "Jim Rome Show" yesterday and made it clear that when it comes to the Razorbacks, there won't be any of the sort of attitude DNP has put on display lately showing up in Bud Walton.

"I want [college players] to have money, but I don't want it to come into the middle of what I do," Calipari said. "Don't trip over nickels trying to get to $100 million. Don't. And if you're all about just money or being told that we're just gonna let you do what you do, you're not coming with me anyway."

That statement was directly pointed at DNP and the nightmare Bill Self is dealing with at Kansas. The Jayhawks were left to figure out a way to take down Oklahoma State two weeks ago with the players left after DNP decided to sit down immediately after hitting a three 18 minutes into his playing time.

"You have eight or nine guys. You can't afford to have more. And if you do have more, they're transferring any way."@CoachCalArk on roster building in the age of NIL and the transfer portal. pic.twitter.com/z1L8pqB13y

— Jim Rome (@jimrome) February 25, 2026

He watched for basically an entire half, which had Kansas fans furious and Self clearly miffed at having to explain why this supposed superstar decided to shut it down while his team needed him after already having a reputation of running and hiding entirely from good teams like Duke, UConn, Arizona and Tennessee looking to expose him.

"Well, we've had it more than a couple of times," Self said after a loss to Oklahoma State. "I didn't anticipate that tonight at all. I thought he was good to go. Obviously, we only got 18 minutes out of him. That's disappointing because he could have had a really big night. One thing about it is it's happened often enough that our guys have learned to play without him even though that's not the way we want to play, but that's something that we're not unaccustomed to right now."

"Don't trip over nickels trying to get to $100 million."@CoachCalArk on how he avoids the transactional nature of college basketball and prepares his players for the next level. pic.twitter.com/xs1W2XWPJ0

— Jim Rome (@jimrome) February 25, 2026

At one point in time during last Saturday's loss to Cincinnati, a fan posted a photo of the Kansas players huddling together under the basket on one end while Peterson slowly walked toward half court unconcerned that he was missing out and a major chemistry issue. 

It's a look Calipari is grooming his three incoming freshmen to avoid at all costs. It's an important message to get clear now because JJ Andrews, Abdou Toure and Jordan Smith are all high school 5-stars in grown men's bodies who have the potential to think of themselves as a DNP rather than a Darius Acuff, Jr.

"You know, it confirmed this recruiting class," Calipari said. "We just have, I mean, you're talking about all American tough, great kids. I'm telling you, three of the nicest kids have been raised right from their families coming in for next year."

And it's three young men who have been getting coached through the media. Yes, technically Calipari is speaking about information that is relevant about his team, but most of the coaching points he is making that he wants his incoming players to pick up on is addressed before a single question can be asked.

He's going to make sure the information about Acuff being in a walking boot for multiple days before going out and dropping 49 in a double-overtime loss to Alabama is heard. He makes sure word gets across the country about Acuff getting the option to rest while further recovering in a boot against Missouri only to have his prized freshman guard say he's not missing a game after a loss.

.@CoachCalArk explains why he's "got a really neat team to coach" and puts @RazorbackMBB's Darius Acuff up against his best guards ever. pic.twitter.com/e8wZ2SHUas

— Jim Rome (@jimrome) February 25, 2026

All of these anecdotes that establish the Arkansas culture as drastically different from what DNP is being allowed to experience are getting prime air time any opportunity Calipari gets to repeat it.

"And so I got this kid, Darius Acuff, whose numbers are with everybody," Calipari said. "But more importantly, the kid is hurt and is he's playing like he's playing anyway. I tried to get him to sit out of the last game, and he looked at me and he said, 'Coach, we lost last game. I'm playing.'

"And, you know, I mean, he's averaging over 22 and six assists. He's getting more than three rebounds a game. All these guys [people] are talking about who are terrific players are about the same as he is. You look at the player he is and the ability to score, you start thinking about Jalen Brunson. Let me ask you, is he Jalen an all-star? Yes, okay."

But Calipari has other players he would like his incoming stars to emulate rather than DNP as well. Perhaps no player is more highly spoken of all season long than Billy Richmond for the way his hustle and team play has always found a way to impact the game.

The other player who gets a lot of talk, especially as of late, is Acuff's fellow 5-star freshman Meleek Thomas. Both are players Calipari is confident are about to make a lot of money by doing things the right way on the floor for the Razorbacks.

"Larry Brown, who loves basketball players, not shooters, [or] defenders. This, if you're a basketball player, he loves you. He loves Billy Richmond and Meleek Thomas. Meleek Thomas came in here, just shoot the ball every time. He is now, he had eight rebounds last game. He passes the ball well. He plays with great energy, so he's another one.

". . . I'm able to talk about it after Billy Richmond had the quietest 21 points I've ever seen in all my years. Because he does so many other things, you're not really keeping track of what he's doing scoring the ball."

Meanwhile, Monday night, DNP unexpectedly showed up to play against a No. 5 Houston team that has hit an unsual low point with a three-game losing streak. However, he tried to quit on the Jayhawks once again by asking out after a three in the same fashion he did against Oklahoma State, but this time Self knew better. He refused to allow his star to leave the court, forcing DNP to tough it out as he struggled the rest of the game while finally reaching the rare 30 minute mark of playing time for him.

That's not something in which Calipari has any interest. He's not going to beg a player to try, he's not going to coddle someone's momma, and he definitely has no interest in hearing from a player's agent. When Andrews, Toure and Smith arrive, they are to know ahead of time to be their own men.

" I don't talk to parents," Calipari said. "I tell the kid you got to deal with your parent. I'm not. I'm coaching 12 players. I can't coach 36.

"I don't hear from agents. They may be mad at me, but I don't know about it because they're not calling me. My job is to prepare the young person to be able to go in that league and have a long career, or you get your degree, you understand what it is, and now you go on with life, but you're prepared for that, and that's what I'm trying to do this year."

Calipari wants his incoming freshmen to find a love for the game. They're allowed to appreciate money and they can bring all the confidence in the world, but neither are allowed to be a personal priority.

"You got to go and say, 'What's next, and love basketball," Calipari said. "I was on the practice court today. I got a couple guys on my team that just love basketball. Yeah, they don't — 'Okay, I got a lot of money, but I could care less.' That's the mentality. But you know, like I said, I'm excited about what we got going here, and by us being able to sign those three for next year, it tells you this is, like the cool place to go. And if you really want to get better, you come here.

"I don't promise anything. I don't have a magic wand. I can't do the work for you, but I know this, this culture has prepared a lot of young people to go on and do great things."