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Razorbacks' Coach Shares Motivational Story Behind Ewin's Huge Outing

Struggling big men no problem for Calipari as he digs into bag of tricks to get his bigs ready for March after downing Missouri.
Jacob Davis|
Arkansas Razorbacks forward Malique Ewin (12) talks to coach John Calipari during the second half against the Jackson State Tigers at Bud Walton Arena. Arkansas won 115-61.
Arkansas Razorbacks forward Malique Ewin (12) talks to coach John Calipari during the second half against the Jackson State Tigers at Bud Walton Arena. Arkansas won 115-61. | Nelson Chenault-Imagn Images

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Arkansas RazorbacksMissouri Tigers

COLUMBIA, Mo. — Malique Ewin had a relatively quiet Saturday morning matinee through the first 37 minutes of game time against the Missouri Tigers on Saturday.

He kicked it into high gear late in the second half and overtime to help the Arkansas Razorbacks take down its northern border rival, 88-84.

Ewin arrived to Fayetteville with the reputation as a capable point forward who could gobble up defenses with a versatile skillset.

Fans noticed his game early on with solid individual performance in non-conference play, but couldn’t bring that type of energy every game.

Arkansas coach John Calipari is in search of a steady post presence, and Ewin certainly delivered Saturday afternoon.

He even did more than become an issue in the post, but extended out beyond the arc to drill a three with 2:32 to play to put the Razorbacks ahead for good in overtime.

“I called him in my room last night, I was going to bed and said “I’ve got to call [Ewin]’,” Calipari said. “I’ll be honest with you, I did it as much for me as him. I just want to make sure I’m doing everything in my power to help him.

‘I’m not giving up on you. I’m not. And I want to tell you a story about a kid, Chris Wilcox. He did not play his freshman year hardly at all. Matter of fact, his sophomore year, halfway through the year, he wasn’t starting.’”

Like Wilcox, Ewin hasn’t started much this season. In fact, he has only started one game for the Razorbacks despite outplaying fellow big Nick Pringle for the majority of the year.

With his 17-point outing against the Tigers Saturday, he’s put together double-digit scoring performances in four of his previous five outings. He’s averaging over 13 points, seven rebounds in that stretch as Calipari knows the right buttons to punch for his players to respond.

“[Wilcox] had a game like Malique [Ewin] just had and Maryland went on a run,” Calipari said. “You ready? They won the national title and [Wilcox] was a first round draft pick and had a long career.”

Calipari hasn’t been successful in this business through five decades without being a master motivator. Knowing he’d be short his leading scorer, the Razorbacks needed someone to step up and a big way and it happened to be Ewin who responded.

That’s coaching, making others better through love and encouragement has paid off for years. Ewin was relentless in the post, nabbing four offensive boards which oftentimes gave his team extra possessions and second chance opportunities.

His grit helped Arkansas outscore Missouri 14-11 in second chance points, and outrebounded the Tigers 13-10 on the offensive glass. Ewin added another five defensive rebounds to finish the day with nine for the second time in four games.

“I said ‘That could be you but you’ve got to go by stuff, play with more energy. I’ve had guys say they didn’t know Darius Acuff was that good. Meleek Thomas, never knew he was that good. Never knew [Trevon Brazile], Billy [Richmond] was that good. I never knew he was this good’,” Calipari continued.

“I want them saying that about you. That’s what moves me as a coach. Never knew he was that good. ‘You can be that guy, but I can’t do it for you.’”

For the second straight year, Calipari and his coaching staff have dragged their post players to the finish line through motivation tactics. Perhaps the recent emergence of Ewin is a sign of great things to come for the Razorbacks over the next few weeks.

That's certainly a welcome sign as Calipari likely doesn't want to waste a Final Four caliber backcourt because of a brutally weak interior.

"So, that's the talk we had last night, and we need [Ewin] to be that guy," Calipari said. "And Nick [Pringle], the last game and even this game, the way Nick and what he did is perfect. Perfect. We've got two guys kind of playing off one another."

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Jacob Davis
JACOB DAVIS

Jacob Davis is a reporter for Arkansas Razorbacks on SI, with a decade of experience covering high school and transfer portal recruiting. He has previously worked at Rivals, Saturday Down South, SB Nation and hosted podcasts with Bleav Podcast Network where his show was a finalist for podcast of the year. Native of El Dorado, he currently resides in Central Arkansas with his wife and daughter.

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