Arkansas basketball frontcourt is obvious point of focus

The Arkansas basketball backcourt is absolutely stacked and has some real stars with Jordan Smith Jr., JJ Andrews, and more. The frontcourt has a lot of tall trees, but those players are raw and far less polished than what John Calipari has in his backcourt. We saw how unpolished the frontcourt is in the exhibition win over Gonzaga on Saturday.

Fact number one: Caleb Ourigou and Maper Maker combined for just 1 point and 3 rebounds in 26 total minutes (11 for Ourigou, 15 for Maker). 

Fact number two: Russian big man Ilia Frolov didn't even play.

Fact number three: Cooper Bowser, though he did grab 10 rebounds while scoring 9 points, was not as rugged defensively as he needed to be. This was a concern in the offseason and remains intact heading into the regular season.

We're not saying or implying that Arkansas' frontcourt is a bust or a big gaping hole in the roster, only that the players on the roster have a lot of work to do in developing and being ready to face quality competition. One exhibition game doesn't represent any sort of verdict on this group, but it does show how much improvement must occur for Arkansas to eventually reach its potential.

Offseason speculation centered around whether Ourigou would pass Bowser in the rotation. That seems to be something which won't happen anytime soon based on the Gonzaga game. Ourigou's developmental process might be a little slower than some fans were hoping for. John Calipari knows he has a lot of frontcourt players who are only just beginning to learn how to play college basketball and will need time to ripen into well-rounded performers. The glut of 17- and 18-year-old players on this team offers a high ceiling, but that ceiling isn't going to be reached in November and December. The goal is for that ceiling to be reached in late February and especially March. 

These players don't have to be ready next week. They have to be ready when the thick of the SEC season arrives and the Hogs will need more reinforcements. The backcourt plays with such energy and intensity that the freshmen guards are likely to hit a wall when late January and early February come around. That's precisely when the young bigs need to be ready to contribute on a consistent basis. They're not going to figure things out right away. The backcourt will carry most of the freight in November and December. When the calendar turns to 2027, however, the Arkansas bigs will need to be ready. Realistically, John Calipari needs these next two months to move along the developmental process so that the Hogs are ready for the SEC in January.