Arkansas Has Chance to Land Potential Megastar in Transfer Portal

Calipari now free to shape possible national championship roster

Arkansas Razorbacks coach John Calipari during Sweet 16 practice Wednesday at the Chase Center in San Francisco. / Michael Morrison-Hogs on SI Images

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — One way or another, Arkansas fans were going to wake up this morning asking "Who's Next?" Although, those who took the 16-point lead over Texas Tech as a sign they could get some rest for work and just read about how many the Hogs won by in the morning might be stunned the answer is no longer Florida.

Instead, that question takes its alternate form. Who are the next players to join the Razorbacks roster?

Of course, that can't be determined until Arkansas coach John Calipari knows who is coming back, which may take longer to find out than originally expected because of multiple NBA caliber performances down the stretch.

Arkansas for sure needs a veteran athletic big man which will be the hardest to find. Chances are he may not be in the portal yet, and even then, it may be after the NBA combine concludes that whomever he may be comes truly available.

It's safe to assume Calipari will go shopping for a guard and a forward as insurance given what he learned about injuries. He will be looking for guys who have had success against elite teams and who demonstrate toughness and resiliency.

That puts two players high on the possibility list, one of whom Arkansas has reportedly already contacted.

The first is Pop Isaacs, the guard formally from Texas Tech who was setting the world on fire at Creighton before complications from a previous hip surgery shut down his season at the height of his career. Now, considering how taking on injured players hampered the Hogs early on this season, it is understandable why Arkansas fans might be apprehensive about this. 

However, this is a much different situation. Last season Calipari was not only putting together an entire team, he planned to create a short roster, which meant every person has to pan out for this thing to work.

That's no longer the case. As long as Karter Knox and DJ Wagner don't go into the draft, Arkansas is more than set at the guard position as far as experienced leaders who can dominate. 

Behind them are a pair of All-American freshman guards waiting to develop similar to how Knox and Billy Richmond grew throughout the season. All that's missing is a veteran sandwiched in between who can keep momentum going while also scaring the daylights out of opponents in three-guard sets.

That's why it's more than worth taking a shot at Isaacs. Prior to last season, Isaacs had hip surgery to deal with a torn labrum.

Unfortunately, the surgery didn't go quite as planned, leaving Isaacs playing in pain. Still, in four of his final five games last season, he put up 25 points and seven rebounds against Nebraska, 18 points and five assists against San Diego State, 25 points and six assists against Texas A&M, and he closed his time at Creighton with 27 points, seven rebounds and four assists in a 13-point road win over then No. 1 Kansas.

That last performance took place while the pain became so much Isaacs had to shut it down. There's no doubt he's tough and resilient.

He's also got potential best player in the country vibes and big game ability. Even if he needs a good portion of the season to continue healing, he still has two full seasons of eligiibilty because of his medical redshirt.

What Arkansas fans will like most about him is how quickly he loads up and gets off highly accurate three-point shots. He's nearly unguardable it happens so fast.

While Isaacs certainly fills the high impact veteran guard role, the forward position might end up being filled by 6-foot-10, 220 pound former Alabama turned South Carolina Gamecock space filler Nick Pringle. He started every game for Lamont Paris, averaging over 24 minutes per game while racking up just shy of 10 points and six rebounds per game.

He doesn't fit the shot blocker mold, but he does give Arkansas the length at the position that created problems for a lot of teams, plus he has plenty of tape for Calipari to assess him against elite SEC talent. The good news is he does find a way to pop out in big games.

He had 18 points in an upset of Clemson, another 18 points, along with nine rebounds, in an upset of Arkansas, 16 points against Tennessee and a dozen against Florida and Ole Miss. That's production Calipari can work with while he shapes Pringle into a bulldog type defender.

One of the bigger positives is Pringle has raised his free throw percentage of an abysmal 35% during his freshman year at Wofford to 66% last season. He's made a 10% jump in free throw shooting each season, so, not only is there evidence of hard work being put in, but that there's room for continued improvement in his fifth season of competition.

If Calipari brings in those two while keeping a good nucleus of players from this season's team to go with a quality crop of freshmen, next season could be the crazy ride Arkansas fans dreamed of when he came from Kentucky. Sure, there are over 1,000 names in the portal, so the odds of these two being one of the small amount who will be taken at Arkansas are slim, but it's definitely a starting point.

HOGS FEED:

• Davis' March Magic Nearly Gives Hogs Elite Eight Berth

• Razorbacks blow lead, season against Texas Tech in OT thriller

• Late night ahead for Razorbacks against Texas Tech in California

• Calipari's wife stepped into Razorbacks' biggest shoes in best way possible

• Don't expect Calipari to jump out of coffins if Razorbacks win