Bud Walton Arena felt like it was already in season on Friday night.
With three sides of the lower bowl full, fans sprinkled into the upper deck and along the east side, Arkansas staged the second annual “Primetime at the Palace” and turned a preseason showcase into a full-blown basketball night in Fayetteville. John Calipari said earlier in the week the Razorbacks had handed out “about 5,000” more tickets than they did for the event’s debut, and the crowd matched the build-up.
“I was out front with a bunch of fans that waited a long time to be here,” Calipari said. “And we just want to let you know we appreciate all of you, and we feel your passion and excitement.”
The evening began with the women’s team, as all 14 players and coach Kelsi Musick were introduced first. Musick kept her message short, but she made the style clear.
“What this season is going to be is some up-tempo offense,” Musick said. “We’re going to get out and run right here on Nolan Richardson Court, and we’re going to give you our version of ‘40 Minutes of Hell.’”
Then came the men, and the loudest reactions were reserved for the newcomers. Freshmen JJ Andrews, Miika Muurinen and Jordan Smith drew some of the biggest cheers, but no introduction topped the last one. Junior wing Billy Richmond walked out carrying the 2026 SEC Tournament Championship trophy, and the building answered with its biggest roar of the night.
Calipari spent 5 1/2 minutes addressing the crowd and hit on the same themes he’s been pushing since last season: gratitude, youth and the results of the 2025-26 group.
“Last year, here’s what I said,” Calipari said. “If we stay together, if we work, sacrifice, if we do it for each other, if we stay healthy, we were going to do something special and have some fun.
And let me say this: In my mind, we did. We won the SEC Tournament.
“Billy walked that trophy out, and he’s got a championship hat on that he may give away.”
After the introductions, the event moved into a string of competitions that gave the crowd plenty to react to. Five students took part in a half-court shooting contest, each getting one shot for a $20,000 prize. Calipari even joked about the potential payout if everyone started connecting.
“What if every player makes it and it’s [$100,000],” Calipari said. “Yeah, it’s my money. You don’t care.”
The first attempt belonged to Hank Pruitt, and he drilled it. Players from the opposite bench sprinted over to celebrate, while Calipari and his wife, Ellen, congratulated him.
From there, the energy kept climbing. The dunk contest followed, and Richmond stole the show.
Calipari had pointed to Jeremiah Wilkinson as a possible winner when he met with reporters Wednesday, while also mentioning Abdou Toure, Miika Muurinen and Richmond as challengers. But the crowd made the final call through a QR code vote on the jumbotron, and Richmond ran away with it, collecting 73.5% of the vote.
His finishing dunk was the kind that stops a gym. Richmond took off from half court, launched just outside the restricted arc and finished a 360-degree, one-handed slam while fans chanted his name.
“Billy had some really cool dunks,” Toure said. “He really gets up there.”
The 3-point contest came next, with Davion Thompson, Ilia Frolov, Toure, Andrews, Muurinen and Wilkinson taking their turns from five spots around the perimeter. Each shooter had one minute to fire away from racks of five balls, including the money ball.
Thompson, a 17-year-old guard from Bolingbrook, Illinois, who reclassified into the 2026 class, won it with 21 points. Wilkinson and Toure tied for second with 16, Andrews finished with 15 and both Muurinen and Frolov scored 14.
The night wrapped with a 10-minute scrimmage that looked more like an NBA All-Star Game than a hard-fought practice, with defense mostly missing from the equation. Less than 70 seconds in, Calipari crossed the floor to bark at players after a foul.
Muurinen was one of the biggest standouts once the scrimmage started. He hit a deep 3 and threw down dunks, adding to the buzz around his eligibility situation. He was granted NCAA eligibility last week after it had been in question because the 19-year-old previously signed a three-year contract with Serbia’s KK Partizan Belgrade before leaving the team with the intention to play collegiately.
“When I found out that news, I might have been more excited than him,” Toure said. “It means a lot.
That’s a great player, 7-foot, can do everything on the floor. We need him out there.”
Once the on-court action ended, fans were allowed down to meet the players, and the session lasted 40 minutes. Calipari used his final remarks to thank the crowd and point ahead.
“You all being here was big for us,” Calipari said. “[This year], we’ve got people in the upper deck. Next year, we’ve got to fill the upper deck, too.”
Arkansas will be back in Bud Walton Arena on Oct. 24 for an exhibition against Gonzaga. The Razorbacks also host Memphis in an exhibition on Oct. 28 before opening the season Nov. 3 against Arkansas-Pine Bluff.
In Other News...
Arkansas Fans Get First Look At Calipari's New Team Without One Piece
The annual Primetime at the Palace event will give Arkansas fans another early look at John Caliparis new roster Friday night at Bud Walton Arena, where the program plans to introduce both the mens and womens basketball teams, run contests and drills, and close the evening with a mens scrimmage. Doors open at 7 p.m., and it comes as the Razorbacks continue building toward the season with exhibition games on the horizon.
One name will be missing from the mix, though, as Furman transfer Cooper Bowser will sit out because of a hand injury. For a fan base eager to size up the new pieces in Caliparis first Arkansas team, the event still offers a first real glimpse of the group in front of the home crowd, just without one of the additions expected to be part of the story once the games start counting. [Read more 🡒]
Arkansas Faces A Defining SEC Test With Real Doubts Still Lurking
Arkansas heads into Week 4 with a chance to turn a modest step forward into something more meaningful when it meets Texas A&M in an SEC matchup that already feels like an early season hinge point. Both teams are 2-2 overall and still looking for their first conference win, which gives this one a little extra weight beyond the usual September calibration. The Razorbacks come in off a win over Tulsa and will be trying to show that progress can carry into a tougher setting.
Texas A&M is trying to steady itself after back-to-back SEC losses, and doing so at home only sharpens the stakes for Arkansas. For the Razorbacks, this is the kind of game that can clarify whether the recent uptick is real or just a brief pause in the uncertainty. Win here, and the conversation around the season changes quickly. Lose, and the doubts that have been lingering around the program get louder in a hurry. [Read more 🡒]
Bentonville Faces An Early Test That Razorbacks Fans Should Notice
An early Northwest Arkansas showdown is coming into focus as undefeated Bentonville and Shiloh Christian get set to square off in a game that should draw plenty of attention from anyone tracking the areas football talent. The two teams are both 4-0 and have already handled their 7A-West conference openers, which gives this matchup a little extra weight even before the rankings come into play.
Bentonville enters at No. 1, while Shiloh Christian sits right behind at No. 5, and the matchup features several names Razorbacks fans have probably already bookmarked. Bentonville quarterback Evan Canode and running back Nathan Clouston have been central pieces of the Bulldogs fast start, while Shiloh Christian quarterback Cole Creighton gives the game another layer of intrigue as both programs try to keep their perfect records intact. [Read more 🡒]