John Calipari fills another clear need for Arkansas basketball
John Calipari needed a proven frontcourt player in the transfer portal. He got one in Furman's Cooper Bowser. Calipari needed to give Arkansas a scoring guard. He just got one in Jeremiah Wilkinson from Georgia. 247Sports has more:
"Wilkinson is one of the most gifted scorers available in the portal and boasts significant high-major experience. He began his collegiate career at California where he was the team's second-leading scorer for the 2024-25 season, averaging 15.1 points on 39.9% shooting from the field and 32.1% from 3-point range. Wilkinson transferred to Georgia after just one season in Berkeley, where improved slightly in all three categories.
"The 6-1, 185-pound rising junior averaged 17.4 points to lead the Bulldogs in scoring this season. He knocked down 41% of his attempts overall and 35.7% of his 3-point attempts. Wilkinson also averaged 1.6 steals, which made him one of just seven players in the SEC to average 1.5 or more steals this season. Against Arkansas back on Jan. 17, Wilkinson scored 20 points on 7 of 16 shooting to go with 4 of 10 from 3-point range and a season-high four steals in Georgia's 90-76 win over the Hogs.
"Wilkinson was Georgia's primary source of offense this past season and was a big reason the Bulldogs made an appearance in the NCAA Tournament. In the team's first round loss to Saint Louis, Wilkinson went nuclear off the bench. He scored 30 points on 9 of 21 shooting, including a record 7 of 15 from three. His seven made threes and 15 attempts were both NCAA Tournament records for a Georgia player."
Jeremiah Wilkinson gives Arkansas the 3-point shooting the Hogs needed. The incoming Arkansas recruiting class has a backcourt which plays good defense and shares the ball. A 3-point shooter is the piece Calipari needed, and he has filled that gap in the roster. Cooper Bowser might not be the complete answer in the paint, but he clearly does things which should help Arkansas. The limitation might be that Bowser will be valuable more as a backup than as a starter, but if he's playing 20 minutes a night and providing value, that's what matters most.
Now, let's see if John Calipari can make one more valuable addition to next season's roster. It should be a frontcourt piece. If Cal can come through on that front, Arkansas could be really special next year, with the level of depth it clearly lacked this past campaign.