Arkansas basketball coach John Calipari faces first challenge to small roster construct

Posted by author November 15, 2024 Basketball

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FAYETTEVILLE — It only took three games, but Arkansas basketball coach John Calipari is dealing with the repercussions of his small roster.

Officially, the No. 21 Razorbacks (2-1) have 15 players available. But, in reality, Arkansas has nine players who Calipari wants to use in his rotation. The others are likely going to play in emergency situations.

The Hogs might be approaching a crisis point after Wednesday’s 65-49 win over Troy. Trevon Brazile sustained an ankle injury, while Jonas Aidoo still looked hobbled from an ailment that ruined his preseason. Neither player saw the floor in the second half, and freshman point guard Boogie Fland left the game with an injury before returning to close out the victory.

If Fland is healthy, Arkansas has seven available players, but Calipari still isn’t reaching for the panic button.

“One team I had, I had six guys. And you know who were happy? Those six,” Calipari said Wednesday. “They were so happy. They smiled every day. They’d come in whistling and skipping.”

Calipari is referring to his 1995-96 UMass team that reached the Final Four. Only six players averaged more than 10 minutes a game. Five players averaged 30 minutes or more.

A similar strategy might be required over the next few weeks, but there are other questions that need solutions, outside of dividing minutes.

As long as Brazile and Aidoo are sidelined, Arkansas only has one big man available in Zvonimir Ivišić. Adou Thiero played some center against Troy, but he is only 6-foot-8 and much closer to a small forward than a center. When Thiero is the five, Calipari will have to make sure he has a bigger lineup at the other positions to neutralize some of the height discrepancy down low.

Foul trouble will also be a grave concern, and Calipari indicated he might have to implement a new defense with his bench getting smaller.

“We’re in foul trouble, and I don’t have any subs. Better go zone,” he said. “But you better not say, ‘Yeah, stand there and wave your arms.’ We need to teach them how to play the zone and how we would play it.”

If there is a silver lining, it’s Arkansas’ upcoming schedule. The Razorbacks next three games are home against Pacific, Little Rock and Maryland Eastern Shore. Calipari has two weeks to get Aidoo and Brazile healthy for back-to-back games against Illinois and Miami.

But as Troy and even Lipscomb showed in the first two weeks of the season, Arkansas can be challenged by some of these mid-major schools inside Bud Walton Arena.

The first big test of the Calipari era, navigating these injury problems, arrives with similar foes on the horizon.