Value of Arkansas basketball depth can't be overstated

One of the really good parts of Arkansas basketball's easy win over Arkansas-Pine Bluff earlier this week was the wide distribution of minutes to the rotation John Calipari put on the floor. 

This was a legitimate nine-man rotation, with nine players playing at least 16 minutes and none of them playing more than 28 (Jordan Smith). A tenth player, Caleb Ourigou, played nine minutes, and a few other players got table-scrap minutes, including Ilia Frolov, who played four. It's likely that in bigger games against better teams, Calipari will shorten his rotation, though we can't yet say that for certain. Nevertheless, the Pine Bluff game offered an exciting possible preview of what to expect from this team.

Of course Calipari will have to match up with specific opponents and take away specific options from said opponents. He might not have the freedom to play nine players all the time the way he did against Pine Bluff. However, if Calipari can come anywhere close to this level of playing time distribution, Arkansas' ceiling should rise overall, and the Razorbacks' chances of doing something big in March will improve.

If Jordan Smith doesn't have to play 35 minutes a night the way Darius Acuff did, and if the other freshmen are playing mid-20s minutes on a consistent basis instead of hitting the low 30s, this group of young players will be physically fresh going into mid- and late February and then early March. Arkansas will have an energetic team with its legs intact. These young players won't hit a wall and they won't feel overburdened. Playing more players fewer minutes would enable Calipari to tell his guys, "You're not going to play as long, but when you're on the court, it will be easier for you to give 100 percent." Every player plays full tilt but gets more rest - not less - each night. That's a healthy and balanced approach to lineup management and the distribution of minutes. If Arkansas really can pull this off and maintain it over the course of the season, the Hogs should be in a really good position in March against opponents whose coaches have a seven-man rotation with players playing 33 to 36 minutes a night.

The season is young, but if the Arkansas bench can be good enough to justify meaningful minutes, John Calipari can maintain a nine- or 10-player rotation which keeps everyone energized and bouncy. Arkansas can throw a lot of bodies at opponents, stay athletic with every lineup combinations, and wear down the competition over the course of the season. For a young and deep team, this vision holds a lot of promise. Let's see if it becomes reality in the course of time.