CHICAGO — When John Calipari took over the Arkansas basketball program before last season, he repeated one line throughout his honeymoon phase, to the point where it became a classic Calipari cliche.
“I met with the team, there is no team”
That was last year. This year there was a team.
Four returnees were supposed to give Arkansas a head start on all the things that allow teams to win early in the season: chemistry, continuity and familiarity. Trevon Brazile, Karter Knox, Billy Richmond III and DJ Wagner consist of the highest percentage of returning points in the SEC, yet after a 80-71 loss to Duke, none of the four players have lived up to the consistency that is required to win early marquee games.
The “core four” scored just 27 of the team’s 71 points on 9 of 22 shooting from the field. The true freshman duo of Meleek Thomas and Darius Acuff, who have fewer than 15 games of collegiate experience between them, scored 34.
Struggles by Knox, Wagner
Wagner and Knox, in particular, struggled mightily. They combined for just 5 points on 2 of 9 shooting Thursday night. Those two were billed as X-factors who were supposed to turn the Razorbacks from a work-in-progress that required the “There is no team” saying to excuse its flaws in Year 1 to a team that could hit its stride before SEC play and pick up some marquee non-conference wins along the way.
Arkansas is still searching for such a win a month into this season. Not coincidentally, Wagner and Knox are still searching for their identities within this offense.
“Today, the other guys had it going,” Calipari said after the loss when asked about the latter. “That’s why DJ didn’t play as much, but I know who DJ is as a player, I respect him and love him as a player. Love coaching them, but look, when you’re coaching sometimes, the way the game goes, somebody plays more than somebody plays less. Next game may be somebody else. Maybe Karter plays more and Billy plays less.”
The answer reveals two things: a willingness to play the hot hand, but also a fluid and undefined role in Calipari’s system, even after playing in it for multiple seasons. The early returns point to a downward trend in both points and minutes played between this season and the last two months of the 2024-25 campaign.
| Stat | Karter Knox (vs. MSU/Duke / Feb./March) | DJ Wagner (vs. MSU/Duke / Feb./March) |
|---|---|---|
| Minutes | 20.5 / 30.6 | 23.5 / 35.1 |
| Points | 1.0 / 10.4 | 8.0 / 12.4 |
| FG% | 20.0% / 54.6% | 45.5% / 38.6% |
| 3PT% | 0% / 46.2% | 28.6% / 27.4% |
| Assists | 2.0 / 1.3 | 3.0 / 4.7 |
| TO | 2.5 / 1.6 | 0.5 / 2.6 |
Sure, it’s just a two-game sample size against two of the best teams in college basketball so far this season. But the stretch in February and March included six AP Top 25 teams amidst the single strongest conference in NCAA history which led to 14 of the 16 teams getting a bid to March Madness.
