In the dog days of summer, with all three major sports in the offseason, nothing gets fans more riled up than perceived disrespect on a preseason rankings list.
What better things do we have to do in late August than scream from the rafters that your program should actually be number one on a random list of best tight ends in college football, or that your coach’s taste in beer is superior to another’s?
In this case, the outrage is over a list ranking the best backcourts in college basketball, compiled by Field of 68’s Rob Dauster.
The list – brace yourself – excludes Arkansas from the top ten. That’s right – the team with the nation’s No. 1 transfer, the top point guard in the 2024 class and a top ten prospect in the 2023 class is apparently not one of the nation’s best backcourts. Burn the bridges. Ready the ships. It’s an outrage. A disgrace.
Indeed, here Arkansas basketball fans seem to have a common enemy with their sworn nemesis from the Bluegrass State. If as a Hogs devotee you feel like you’ve been wronged, then just wait until you see how Kentucky basketball fans are dealing with their own perceived slap in the face. The Wildcats are another notable absence from the top ten despite a number of intriguing transfer portal additions.
In all seriousness, let’s dive into Field of 68’s takes and see whether the Razorback and Wildcat guards deserve this modest ranking amongst their backcourt peers.
Field of 68’s Reservations on Arkansas Guards Worth a Closer Look
On paper, the backcourt that head coach John Calipari has assembled is absolutely loaded. True freshman Boogie Fland was the top-ranked point guard in his class, and shooting guard Karter Knox is a five star in his own regard.
Johnell Davis was ranked as the No. 1 impact transfer in the nation, regardless of position, by none other than Field of 68. The Hogs also added DJ Wagner, who was a top ten prospect in the 2023 class and followed Calipari from Kentucky to Arkansas.
Despite the talent in the rotation, Field of 68 is very reserved in its ranking of the Hogs’ guards. That starts at the top with Goodman.
“I love Nelly Davis, but I do think there were some issues within FAU because of Nelly,” he said. “There’s some things that he gives you and there’s some things he can take away. We saw at the end of games, there were some head-scratching decisions that he made with the ball in his hands at times.”
That’s likely referring to his mistake at the end of FAU’s NCAA Tournament game against Northwestern, where he prematurely threw up a contested last-second heave with time still left on the clock.
While Davis’ experience at the college level is usually touted as a positive aspect of his game, Goodman looked at it from a different lens as a potential cause for concern because of Calipari’s tendency toward younger guards.
“Generally, Cal is dealing with these talented freshmen that he can program because they’re kind of a blank slate,” he said. “Johnell Davis isn’t like that. This is a different dude for John Calipari that he’s never had to deal with.”
Kentucky Media Outraged at Dauster’s Disrespect
Experience is one of the most promising aspects of the additions Pope has brought to Kentucky. Aside from two true freshmen guards, the Wildcats boast a whopping four graduate transfers in the backcourt. Despite this, Kentucky slots in at a modest No. 16 on Dauster’s list.
Wildcats Today, a Kentucky sports show hosted by Andrew Stefaniak and Carson Nash, titled one of their daily episodes “Kentucky’s backcourt is being disrespected by national media.” Both hosts, who are of course unbiased in every which way, agree that Kentucky comfortably belongs in the top ten.
In a college hoops rendition of an iconic Twitter meme, it appears Arkansas and Kentucky fans might be able to join hands on this issue.
Stefaniak said Calipari might be partly at fault for the low ranking, as Kentucky having “every five star in the world” for the past 15 years has made this year’s backcourt look modest by comparison.
Nash agreed, adding the media’s expectations have been “brain rotted” by Calipari’s recruiting prowess. He argues that while Coach Cal’s teams were more impressive on paper, new Kentucky head coach Mark Pope’s inaugural squad will actually fit together much better on the court.
“This offense is elite. The ball movement, the open shots. The backcourt is going to thrive in this offense. Why is it 16th?”
DJ Wagner’s Evolution Key for Arkansas Basketball
Dauster, who co-hosted the episode alongside Goodman, said the performance of Wagner will also be vital for the Hogs, and that he might need to accept a different role than the one he’s used to to really thrive in his sophomore season.
“If he is trying to be the DJ Wagner that’s the scorer, the bucket-getter, the guy we all thought was a top-five prospect in the 2023 class and he’s trying to show how good he can be as a lead guy you build the offense around…I think that is something that will not go well for him,” he said.
Dauster added the best thing Wagner can do for Arkansas is to try and play the role of a pure facilitator, like Dajuan Harris Jr. does for Bill Self at Kansas. Being the head of the snake on the defensive end and accepting a more pass-first role could take Wagner to the next level, he said.
That’s certainly something Wagner showed the potential to do last season, as he managed to average 3.3 assists per game last season at Kentucky despite having to share the ball with two lottery picks in Rob Dillingham and Reed Sheppard.
Lazy Critiques of Johnell Davis Don’t Hold Up
Goodman was doubtful the backcourt trio would be able to share the ball, as he sees them all as score-first combo guards rather than true floor generals.
While all these players are certainly good ball handlers who enjoy leading the offenses, it’s pretty far-fetched to suggest they couldn’t make things work. Wagner’s playmaking chops combined with Fland and Davis’ sharpshooting provides a pretty natural combination for offensive sets.
Goodman then delivered his hastiest remark of the show, directed towards the backcourt trio.
“None of them make people better,” he claimed.
Uh…what? Davis averaged 2.9 assists per game last season, and led the mid-major Owls to the Final Four in 2023. If that’s not making your teammates better, what is? It’s also a pretty silly suggestion to think Davis can’t play off the ball, as his 41.7% clip from three-point range last season makes him a dangerous spot-up threat on the wing.
Wagner’s playmaking was also on display at Kentucky last year, as he ranked 12th in the SEC in assists despite stiff competition for playing time and injury troubles. His freshman year certainly didn’t go as expected, but to suggest he isn’t a good passer that makes his teammates better is silly.
Fland certainly has work to do on sharing the basketball and improving his shot selection, but that critique can be made for literally every five-star guard coming out of high school.
Best of Arkansas Sports’ own Brandon Baker took to Twitter to comment on the list, offering similar critiques of the Hogs’ placement:
The Kentucky outlet also took a potshot at Arkansas’ Davis, essentially calling him a selfish player that hurts his team’s efficiency.
“Johnell Davis, in his tournament game shot like 3-80. I don’t want that,” Nash said. “I don’t want someone coming in and chucking up bricks just because they’re good.”
If that’s the case, why did they spend a large part of the episode hyping up transfer point guard Kerr Kriisa? He shot just 42.9% from the field at Arizona last season, far below Davis’ mark of 48.3%. In fact, even Davis’ supposed nightmare NCAA Tournament game against Northwestern that was referenced saw him shoot 37.5% from the field – which is exactly identical to Kriisa’s career field goal percentage. Yikes.
Well…it didn’t take long at all for Arkansas and Kentucky’s “common enemy” alliance to fall apart – it was fun while it lasted.
How Does Mark Pope’s Puzzle Fit Together for Kentucky Basketball?
Dauster’s hesitancy on Kentucky likely comes from the lack of bonafide star power on the team. BYU transfer and former Razorback Jaxson Robinson is the closest thing to a surefire NBA prospect, and even he is more of an off-ball, spot-up shooter than ball dominant guard.
You have to give it to the Wildcats Today hosts when they argue that Kentucky’s pieces fit together better than other, more talented squads. Goodman’s top critique of Arkansas was the lack of a clear point guard – the Wildcats have one in Kerr Kriisa. He also thought the Hogs lacked pieces that could excel off the ball, and Kentucky has that in numbers with Robinson and fellow sharpshooter Koby Brea.
Defensive Knocks on UK/UA Double Agents
Another knock on Kentucky is the defensive acumen of the backcourt. Robinson is an elite shooter, but defense is listed as a knock on his profile in his NBA scouting reports. His defensive struggles were also a big reason he didn’t see the floor under Eric Musselman at Arkansas.
Defense is also an area of critique for Arkansas’ backcourt group in the Field of 68 segment. But looking ahead at some of the other teams on the list, it seems Goodman might be singling out the Hogs and Wildcats while ignoring that category entirely for other squads.
Gonzaga, for example, slots in at No.3 on the list despite the fact Arkansas transfer Khalif Battle, whose top weakness is his defensive abilities, is likely to start at the two or three spot for the Bulldogs. Duke also makes the top ten of the list, despite the backcourt being littered with inexperienced freshmen. The same traits that are used to knock Arkansas and Kentucky are apparently ignored when discussing other blue blood schools.
Alongside Robinson, similar critiques of Wagner’s defensive ability bring about an ironic twist to these lists: each guard has won the other side’s jersey in the Razorbacks-Wildcats rivalry while also being a reason for their respective new teams’ preseason snubs.
Jeff Goodman’s Report Card on Arkansas Nothing to Write Home About
Dauster eventually said he believes the Hogs are in the best shape of any program with a first-year head coach in charge – including Pope’s Kentucky.
“I think Arkansas is probably the best set up to win this year,” he said. “I would make the argument that they have the best player out of any of those groups in Johnell Davis. He’s a pro at that lead guard spot.”
Dauster was also complimentary of Arkansas’ frontcourt pieces, calling Jonas Aidoo a veteran “anchor” and saying Trevon Brazile “can be an NBA player at the four” if he can return to his pre-injury form from his sophomore season.
Eventually, Goodman gives Arkansas and Calipari a B+ grade for the offseason. Dauster was even more hesitant, giving a flat B for what he calls a “gaping hole at the point guard spot.”
Given the fact Coach Cal had, as he said it, “no team, no staff, no schedule” when he took the job a few months ago, a B grade seems a little harsh. He brought in a top-three high school recruiting class in the country to go along with the No. 1 transfer class, according to 247 Sports.
Considering he had to start with a blank slate, assembling a nationally competitive roster in his first offseason warrants more than a shoulder shrug and a B grade. Is the squad perfect? Certainly not, but the critiques of the backcourt feel overblown. The Hogs don’t have a “pure” point guard like Alabama’s Mark Sears or Kansas’ Dajuan Harris, but the trio of guards has more than enough scoring and playmaking chops to run the offense.
It will be up to Arkansas’ talented backcourt to prove Goodman wrong and stick it to the Field of 68 guys’ ranking with more ferocious attacks on the rim.
It will be up to Arkansas’ talented backcourt to prove the Field of 68 guys wrong – perhaps Davis can reject Goodman’s critiques as he rejected young Boogie in this clip.
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Goodman and Dauster’s full segment covering Arkansas’ offseason:
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More coverage of Arkansas basketball from BoAS:
