The Hogs haven't gotten back to the Final Four under Cal, but they're improving
Arkansas basketball hasn't yet made the promised land under John Calipari. The Hogs haven't yet gotten back to the Final Four for the first time since 1995. Until they do, the Calipari era won't and can't be considered a complete success. However, while the Razorbacks and their fans try to make the push up the mountainside in search of the summit, it's worth taking a short while to stop and enjoy the view. Arkansas is definitely higher -- better -- than it was a few years ago. CBS Sports college basketball analyst Jon Rothstein underscored this point earlier this week on his podcast.
Rothstein noted that John Calipari turned UMass into a Final Four program and took Memphis to the national championship game. Calipari has been able to take non-blue blood programs and make them great. Given how well Calipari is still recruiting at the high school level, it's reasonable to say Arkansas will be in the mix for the Final Four as long as Cal is working in Fayetteville. When Year 1 started so poorly (basically until the win in Rupp Arena against Mark Pope, the game which changed his UA career), Calipari's career appeared to be in grave danger. Now his tenure at Arkansas is on very solid footing. He hasn't reached the pinnacle in Fayetteville, but he's in a much better position to attain it compared to January of 2025.
Rothstein made the specific point that Calipari's current roster at Arkansas is a roster some blue blood programs would want and be happy with. North Carolina is one. Kentucky -- which Rothstein mentioned -- is another. If you count Indiana and UCLA as blue bloods, they would sign on the dotted line for this Calipari roster in a heartbeat. Arkansas has a rich history as a program, but it's not a blue blood and isn't in the same part of the college basketball hierarchy as Carolina or Kentucky. It's impressive that Calipari can recruit so much better than UNC or UK, and Rothstein made sure to emphasize that point.
In the background to this larger conversation about John Calipari's roster construction is the important point that Arkansas is waiting on NBA draft decisions from Meleek Thomas and Billy Richmond. If either of them stay, the Hogs will have an even better roster than what they already have. We also have to make the point that Calipari can still find a big man (maybe an international import) to round out his roster. These are problems ... but they are good problems for a program which is poised to make a third straight Sweet 16.
Things could be a lot worse -- just look at Kentucky.