In what could be the first “miss” of the John Calipari era, Arkansas did not make the cut for top-ranked recruit AJ Dybantsa.
The 6-foot-9 wing and unanimous No. 1 prospect in the 2025 class revealed his top seven Friday morning and the Razorbacks were noticeably absent.
Instead, Alabama, Auburn, Baylor, BYU, Kansas, Kansas State and North Carolina are still in the mix for Dybantsa, who plans to take official visits to all of those schools before making a final decision in February, he told ESPN.
Even as arguably the best recruiter in college basketball history, Calipari doesn’t land them all. Still, it was a bit of a surprise to see Arkansas completely left off Dybantsa’s list.
When news came out that Dybantsa would soon be revealing his finalists, national college basketball insiders like Jeff Goodman and Aaron Torres penciled in the Razorbacks as one of them.
Interestingly, his list was originally set to be a top eight, but he ended up including only seven programs. Dybantsa’s father mentioned to ESPN that they “left out schools that have a lot of money,” so it’s fair to wonder if Arkansas — and its reported war chest of NIL — might have been the last team cut.
Lessening the Blow for Arkansas Basketball
Missing out on AJ Dybantsa shouldn’t be downplayed. He is the unanimous No. 1 player for a reason, with some NBA scouts describing him as “Paul George with a similar body type to LeBron James at the same stage.” He is easily the front-runner to be the No. 1 overall pick in the 2026 NBA Draft.
However, the Razorbacks still have John Calipari at the helm.
In the past, when Arkansas has missed out on big-time players like Malik Monk or even Ron Holland, it’s been a tough blow because it ended up with significantly less-talented players as a result.
No one may be as good as Dybantsa, but Calipari isn’t bringing in scrubs now that he is out of the picture.
In fact, the Razorbacks already have the No. 1 point guard, Darius Acuff, committed in their 2025 class. He’s ranked as high as No. 4 nationally and is one of only two 247Sports Composite five-star recruits who’ve announced their pledge so far.
They are also a finalist for five-star guards Meleek Thomas (No. 6 overall in the 247Sports Composite) and Jasper Johnson (No. 10).
As for recruits who play a position similar to Dybantsa, Arkansas is in the mix for Caleb Wilson (No. 4) and Koa Peat (No. 5). The Razorbacks are set to get an official visit from Malachi Moreno (No. 26), as well, and he’s the No. 2 center in the country.
Needless to say, Calipari will probably find a way to add another five-star recruit or two to his 2025 recruiting class before it’s all set and done.
Calipari’s New Roster Construction Strategy
Another thing to consider is John Calipari’s decision to change how he builds his rosters at Arkansas.
Rather than relying almost completely on freshmen by bringing in seven or eight each year, the Hall of Fame coach has said he’ll limit himself to only three or four blue-chip freshmen and fill out the rest of the roster with players from the transfer portal, in addition to retaining some players from the previous season.
Excluding the Kentucky transfers, who are essentially holdovers for him, Calipari landed two of the best transfers in the cycle in Johnell Davis from Florida Atlantic and Jonas Aidoo from Tennessee.
Throw in Trevon Brazile as a true holdover and Calipari basically retained four players, signed three blue-chip recruits and brought in two top transfers to make up his nine-man rotation. The rest of the scholarships were then distributed to walk-on types.
That strategy is notable because Arkansas needs to hit on only a few big-time recruits. Even if Calipari misses on a few five-stars like AJ Dybantsa, chances are he’ll still land the amount he’s looking for before grabbing top transfers.
2024-25 Arkansas Basketball Roster Makeup
Here’s a player-by-player look at John Calipari’s first roster at Arkansas, through that lens…
Holdovers/Returnees
- Trevon Brazile
- Zvonimir Ivisic*
- Adou Thiero*
- D.J. Wagner*
*followed John Calipari from Kentucky to Arkansas
Blue-Chip Freshmen
- Boogie Fland
- Karter Knox
- Billy Richmond III
Transfer Portal Additions
- Jonas Aidoo
- Johnell Davis
Walk-On Types
- Lawson Blake
- Casmir Chavis*
- Jaden Karuletwa
- Ayden Kelley
- Melo Sanchez
- Kareem Watkins
*Has not been officially announced by the UA, plus is a 3-star recruit who originally signed with Washington
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How Boogie Fland Projects as a Razorback
Standing at 6-foot-2, freshman Boogie Fland is caught somewhere between a point guard and a shooting guard. His skillset and highlight reels would indicate he’s more comfortable as a score-first player – which is perfectly fine so long as he continues to round out his game in some capacity.
While he’s naturally more of an off-ball player, he’s gotten a tighter handle on the ball throughout high school that should have defenders while flashing a smooth shooting stroke that is arguably his top strength. Fland is a dangerous 3-point shooter, though his overall percentage dropped some at times due to sheer volume and occasionally settling for tougher looks simply because he knows he’s capable of making them.
More here:
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