Florida will surely be the preseason No. 1 team in college hoops. Arkansas has to do better
Arkansas basketball fans know John Calipari can recruit, but can he assemble the very best roster imaginable? Cooper Bowser and Jeremiah Wilkinson are good, solid pickups in the transfer portal, but do they make Arkansas the best team it can possibly be? The Hogs look better than they did last season, but that's not what fans are interested in. The real question: Is Arkansas a Final Four-caliber team with this roster? It becomes harder to answer that question in the affirmative when considering what's happening elsewhere. Michigan and Illinois are stockpiling veteran talent. They are both going to be preseason top-five teams. Another team which is absolutely crushing it in roster construction? Florida. Todd Golden is basically bringing the band back together for next season. OnlyGators has more:
"Deciding to put off a professional career for another season, junior forward Thomas Haugh on Tuesday announced that he will return to Florida for his senior campaign, forgoing a potential lottery selection in the 2026 NBA Draft. In doing so, Haugh, the highest-ranked draft prospect to announce his return to college thus far, joins classmate and close friend, forward Alex Condon, in playing a fourth season with the Gators. The duo is pushing off the pro ranks another year to play for head coach Todd Golden in Gainesville, Florida.
"'It’s been my dream school. It’s been a dream the last three years,' Haugh said in a social media post. 'I’m coming back, baby! Go Gators!'
"Haugh will likely receive an NIL contract commensurate with his potential NBA Draft slot, though he told ESPN that it was not a financial decision to return to Florida. Haugh and Condon will almost certainly be higher picks in a thinner draft when the 2027 process rolls around.
“'It’s not just the NIL. It’s a chance to play with my boys, to play for Coach Golden, to go to the school I love to play for,' he said. 'It was definitely a tougher decision than last year, but it was best for my career and future.'
"While the Gators all took the team’s second-round 2026 NCAA Tournament loss to Iowa tough, for Haugh, a lifelong Florida fan, getting bounced out of March Madness just a couple of hours away from campus was a particularly harsh reality. In fact, Golden told ESPN that the loss was likely the deciding factor in Haugh’s decision to return.
“'I think that lit a fire underneath me,' Haugh said. 'I [didn’t] want my last memory of Florida basketball to be that.'
"Haugh surged over the second half of his sophomore season at Florida, replacing Condon as the team’s most effective big man while the latter dealt with an ankle injury. His strong play — initially off the bench before moving into a starting role — helped boost the Gators to the program’s first national championship since 2007."
Florida clearly has the best roster in the SEC with all its veteran anchors coming back. This raises the bar for John Calipari and Arkansas. Will it lead the coach to make another splash in the portal? That splash might be needed to lift Arkansas to a Final Four level. Right now, UA is not in that weight class.