What Calipari has to do for Razorbacks to reach full potential

Hogs' coach frustrated by 'my turn' mindset of team to be competitive on national scene

Arkansas Razorbacks coach John Calipari during the first half against the UCA Bears at Bud Walton Arena. | Nelson Chenault-Imagn Images

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Like any hall of fame coach who's won more than 800 games in his career, there's a bit of discontent from Arkansas coach John Calipari during his postgame opening monologue Tuesday night.

It was painfully obvious to see Arkansas was the more talented team against the in-state UCA Bears Tuesday night, but Calipari wasn't pleased even with a dominant second half performance.

"We got so much work to do," Calipari said after the 93-56 victory. "Tomorrow's practice is going to be, I need to do some stuff with the two bigs in, because I like that group. I think they're bought in.

"Both of them. Got to get Malique [Ewin] to play harder. Got to get Nick [Pringle] to recognize the spacing that he's got to have, where he's got to be standing. We got to have three or four things we do with those two in there together."

While the Razorbacks went into intermission with a slim nine point lead, things never seemed to be out of control. It just takes a few weeks to get guys to figure out how to play as a team, even if the squad appeared to gel together perfectly during preseason action against Memphis and Cincinnati.

Take last season for instance, the victory over Kansas in exhibition play had no bearing on what was to come during the regular season. Don't forget about the win over No. 1 Purdue in Eric Musselman's final season at the helm with the Razorbacks, because the nation soon found out it was fool's gold.

Arkansas Razorbacks guard Karter Knox (11) dribbles the ball up the court against the Memphis Tigers during the second half at FedEx Forum. | Wesley Hale-Imagn Images

Calipari has a track record of getting things right given his lone losing season dating back to 1988-1989. Coach speak tells everyone that there's things to work on and certainly there is, but it's important he edifies his team through what they already do well.

He specifically mentioned sophomore wing Karter Knox for his production on the boards, but wants him to be a better team player instead of playing hero ball. Should he do away with his "Superman" ways, there will be an opportunity for the Razorbacks' offense to flourish and not go through dry spells.

"You saw we did both running up and screening," Calipari said. "Well, you got to do a few other things. You can't just run one thing. Karter, 10 rebounds. Like, that's who he should be. Yes, he made shots, but he rebounded the ball for us.

"Still we're not cutting enough to create space. We're not passing just to pass. Everybody catches it, thinks he's got to make a bounce or a play. Just pass it. ‘It's my turn.’ Can't play that. Can't play ‘my turn’ basketball."

Double-double dominance pic.twitter.com/xWT4u2sXxq

— Arkansas Razorbacks Men’s Basketball 🐗 (@RazorbackMBB) November 12, 2025

One guy who's seen an uptick in minutes at a surprising rate is true freshman small forward Isaiah Sealy. He saw just a minute of action against Michigan State, but against Southern and UCA he's averaged over 15 minutes per game while scoring six points, three rebounds and two assists without committing a turnover.

Sealy struggled to find a rhythm Tuesday night against the Bears, shooting just 1-of-5 from the floor including an 0-of-2 mark from three. Calipari is pleased with the Springdale native's motor that he opted to keep him on the floor because he does two things well.

Defend.

Rebound.

"But really happy for Isaiah [Sealy]," Calipari said. "Again, like he fouled that 3-point shooter, and let me tell you why I didn't get upset. He raced in down the other end to offensive rebound. I mean, he did exactly what I wanted him to do, and when he turned and started running back, he's not veteran enough to tell the guy in front of him, ‘Take mine.’

"He just, he doesn't know it yet. So what did he do? Ran right down the middle of the court and then what? And then ran out to the corner to go get his guy and ran him over. And I'm like, ‘Look, he did what he I wanted him to do.’"

Like any good coach, Calipari does notice deficincies in the freshman's game, such as shooting too often from three instead of making the decision to drive to the lane.

Sealy's stroke is clean and pure, but hasn't been able to connect beyond the arc during the regular season. Calipari wants to see him use his quick first step and attack the rim which will allow him to get get easy points at the free throw line.

Arkansas Razorbacks wing Isaiah Sealy lining up on the free-throw line against the Southern Jaguars in a game at Bud Walton Arena in Fayetteville, Ark. | Nilsen Roman-allHOGS Images

"I still say he’s shooting too many three's," Calipari said. "What do you think [Sealy] looks like when he goes at the rim? How about when he gets to the foul line? So get fouled. You're not getting fouled shooting 3s. When we do our shooting drill, 10 guys do the shooting in five minutes. We have guys making anywhere from 70, most of them between 70 and 55. He makes 40. ‘Why are you shooting threes? Drive the ball."

The Razorbacks have a confident bunch of shooters and Calipari doesn't want to take that away by any means. But, what he does want is for them to listen and asorb what he teaches them to move forward to the ultimate goal of winning a championship.

"If I can get [the team] to play the way I'm trying to get you to play individually, your life is going to change," Calipari said. "I got some guys that try to shoot too many balls, would you say? But they're fearless, and they could run for president because they have an out-worldly ego and I don't want to take that away. So I got to juggle balls as we go and continue to coach them. ‘You can't shoot bad shots because you're shooting too many already.’ I told them after the game in front of their teammates. That's when these guys got to do it. But I like my team."