Yet another five-star prospect will visit John Calipari in Fayetteville soon.
Originally, highly-touted power forward Caleb Wilson was scheduled to come into Fayetteville for an official visit this weekend. He was supposed to arrive in town Saturday for the Ole Miss game, the day after the Hogs take on TCU in an exhibition game down in Fort Worth.
However, news came out Friday that Wilson has postponed his visit to Arkansas. According to college basketball insider Adam Zagoria, his father said that Hogs’ trip to TCU was the reason behind the postponement (which does beg the question of why they only found out about said game, announced weeks ago, no). But the Wilsons still plan to visit at another time, and Caleb is still very much a rare find.
The Atlanta product is a consensus top-10 prospect in the Class of 2025, ranked as high as No. 5 by ESPN and Rivals and as “low” as No. 8 by 247Sports.
Needless to say, he’s a hot commodity right now. Look no further than his Instagram page, which shows off visits to Kentucky, Ohio State, Tennessee, North Carolina, Auburn and more.
Adam Finkelstein’s scouting report on 247Sports cites Wilson’s sky-high potential as a two-way player, with his length and athleticism making him an elite defender already. Offensively, he has a “soft touch” around the rim and runs well in transition, but is still working on improving his perimeter shot – as is the case with almost every elite high school forward.
A prototype modern power forward, Wilson would fit in perfectly as the frontcourt centerpiece next season – but the competition is stiff in the race to land his commitment.
Can Arkansas “Steal” Wilson from Kentucky?
There has been a ton of smoke around Caleb Wilson and Kentucky in recent weeks, with almost all the momentum swinging towards Kentucky basketball coach Mark Pope and the Wildcats. On3 insider Joe Tipton gave the latest on Wilson, saying a lot of recent buzz “is being carried by Kentucky,” and that his Arkansas visit will be “extremely pivotal” for Coach Cal in what is shaping up to be the first major recruiting battle between Pope and Calipari.
Two other sources went even further, with crystal balls for Wilson to Kentucky being placed by both 247Sports’ Aaron Gershon and On3’s Jacob Polacheck. Gershon has already been proven right on predictions for Kentucky’s current pair of five-star commits, Jasper Johnson and Malachi Moreno, so it’s clear he’s in the know.
Wilson took an official visit to Kentucky back in September, after which the Wildcats began to pick up steam. The visit was a resounding success, and he moved up his recruiting timeline from a spring commitment to a November or December decision.
“It was a great visit,” Wilson said after his UK visit. “I had a whole bunch of fun. I felt like I was embraced by the team, the staff, and also the fan base. I like the Cats, man. I really like the Cats.”
He took a trip to Chapel Hill on Oct. 5, but Pope had an at-home visit with Wilson as soon as he got home. That might have cooled down any potential momentum for UNC.
The Kentucky basketball smoke in the last week or so has come from swirling rumors about a seven-figure NIL offer, with HSTopRecruits reporting the two sides are “working out the fine print” on the financial side of things. Hogville’s Kevin McPherson said he’s heard rumblings of Kentucky “effectively doubling” Wilson’s NIL package to stave off competition from Arkansas.
But the man behind HSTopRecruits made sure to clarify they were “hesitant on counting UNC or Arkansas out.” As everyone is well aware, you can never count out Coach Cal in his pursuit of a five-star prospect – especially if he’s able to get them on campus for a visit.
And that’s just what Calipari has managed to do with Wilson. With Kentucky circling the wagons to celebrate being the frontrunner, this might be an opportunity for Arkansas to sneak in as a dark horse and get back in contention whenever they can get the somewhat elusive recruit to arrive.
Rich Paul Roadblock the Opposite of Klutch
One potential hurdle that Arkansas will have to clear is the big-name middle man representing Caleb Wilson: Rich Paul, a childhood friend of LeBron James and founder/CEO of Klutch Sports Group. The mammoth agency’s clients include a litany of stars such as James, Anthony Davis De’Aaron Fox and countless others. Five-star Nick Smith Jr. was also represented by Klutch during his lone season at Arkansas.
This time around, Wilson’s Klutch ties could be unfortunate for Arkansas because of the harsh criticism Coach Cal has faced from Paul in recent years.
Calipari has a reputation for being an NBA factory that turns blue-chip prospects into professionals year after year, but Paul doesn’t seem to buy that. He gave the example of his client Chris Livingston as someone who was done wrong by Calipari.
“He was [the No. 12 prospect] going into Kentucky when he went there. When he left there? They’re talking about how he can barely be a pro. How?” Paul asked. “Who’s taking responsibility for that? Someone has to be held accountable.”
“If I was coaching a young man or woman, when you come in here my job is either you’re leaving here just as good as you did when you came in or better,” he continued. “There’s no way you’re leaving here worse, because I’m taking the responsibility.”
That’s about a clear-as-day shot at Calipari’s development of Livingston, or lack thereof. He ended up being selected 58th overall by the Milwaukee Bucks in the 2023 draft – a difference of around $10 million from the contract he signed and the deals the first-round picks received.
The natural response to that critique would be to point to the dozens of lottery picks Calipari has produced, including two top-10 picks in the most recent draft. Some of those clients – like Davis, Fox and John Wall – were coached by Calipari at Kentucky before their eventual lottery selections.
Coach Cal has faced plenty of criticism in recent years for his shortcomings in the NCAA Tournament, but very few people target his ability to develop players and get them drafted – that’s almost universally recognized.
Despite his clients’ past successes with Calipari, recent signs point to Paul being a bit more skeptical of the Naismith Hall of Fame coach than others. That could come back to bite the Razorbacks in their pursuit of the Klutch-affiliated Wilson.
Especially given the recent rumors that his recruitment is being driven by an NIL arms race, which means the agents will likely be heavily involved in the process. More Klutch oversight may not bode well for Arkansas.
Other Blue-Chips in Play for Arkansas Basketball
In addition to Caleb Wilson and current five-star commit Darius Acuff Jr., Arkansas is also in hot pursuit of a number of other elite prospects in the 2025 class.
Most notable of that group is five-star Meleek Thomas, the No. 1 shooting guard in the country. Last week, multiple sources indicated Arkansas has emerged as the runaway favorite to land the highly-touted guard. There had previously been tough competition from UConn, but that was before the Huskies landed top-25 prospect Darius Adams, a shooting guard, which signaled that their chase for Thomas had slowed down.
Thomas was on the books for a visit to Kansas State last weekend, but that never came to fruition. Adding in his canceled visit to Alabama a few weeks ago, and Arkansas appears to be the last school standing. In fact, McPherson called it “just a matter of time” until Thomas pulls the trigger on a commitment.
The Hogs are also in a good spot with a pair of blue-chip big men. Chris Cenac, the No. 1 center in the country, visited Arkansas for the LSU game on Oct. 19. Unfortunately for Calipari, the New Orleans native got to witness his home-state Tigers put the hurt on Arkansas – which might have put a small dent in the Razorbacks’ chances.
Miika Muurinen, a Finnish prospect currently playing his high school ball in Arizona, also visited Arkansas back in September. He’s the No. 1 power forward and No. 6 overall prospect in the 2026 class, but he’s reportedly considering reclassifying to 2025 – which puts him in play for the Hogs as an alternative if Wilson falls through.
Also at the power forward spot, Calipari recently paid a visit to five-star Nate Ament, though he’ll have to beat out Duke to land his services. Four-star wing Shon Abaev also visited Arkansas a few weeks ago, and the Hogs made it into his top five schools.
On the in-state front, Springdale native Isaiah Sealy, a four-star prospect in the 2025 class, also listed Arkansas in his list of finalists alongside Ole Miss, Cal and Boston College. The question is whether or not he’s a take for Calipari amongst all these five-stars, but the thinking is he’ll stay home if he’s wanted.
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Some more recent insight on Caleb Wilson from Joe Tipton and Jacob Polacheck:
Highlights’ from Caleb Wilson’s dominant junior season:
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More coverage of Arkansas basketball from BoAS:
