FAYETTEVILLE - Arkansas is heading into the season with a roster full of first-year players, and John Calipari isn’t pretending to have it all figured out yet.
The Razorbacks have eight players entering their first year at the college level, with freshmen who can help at every position. Calipari likes what he sees, but he’s not rushing to stamp any predictions on this group.
“I like my team,” Calipari said. “This is a hard league to do it with young guys, which is what we’re going to do.
We’re really young but competitive. Now we just got a lot of things to figure out.
I’m loving what I’m seeing. But for anybody to predict this team, you’re crazy.
I don’t have an idea. Will we be good?
Will we be real good? Will we be bad?
I don’t know yet.”
That uncertainty is part of the deal with a young Arkansas team, but it also opens the door for a few players to rise faster than expected. Three of them have already started to do that in a way that stands out.
One of the most intriguing is 7-foot-1 freshman Maper Maker, whose size and length give Arkansas a different look in the frontcourt. Calipari said after the win over Memphis, “Maper [Maker] gives everything he can," Calipari said following the victory over Memphis. "I’m comfortable playing him at the 5 and 4.”
Maker backed that up against Memphis with seven points, five rebounds and one steal in more than 21 minutes. His reach is a real weapon, with a wingspan approaching 7 feet, 7 inches that lets him bother passing lanes, challenge shots and handle switching on defense.
Another freshman making noise is Davion Thompson, who has already shown he can score. The 17-year-old has been productive since arriving in July at Baha Mar, averaging 12 points per game on 41% shooting from the field. Arkansas needed a point guard to steady things when Jordan Smith needed a breather, and Calipari pushed Thompson to reclassify to the 2026 class so he could potentially help now and for years to come.
The challenge for Thompson isn’t talent. It’s restraint. Calipari wants him to simplify his game and stop trying to create every possession himself.
“Davion, right now, I gotta get him off the ball...he dribbles the ball too much," Calipari said after Arkansas' 93-81 win over Memphis. "How is he as a scorer?
Pretty Good. Now, I want you to think about this.
If you pass it and cut and it comes back to you, you're playing one on one or two on two. If you bring it up and dribble, listen to me..19 times and then go try and score.
"How many guys are you going against? All five.
And the three officials will get in your way. So pass, give it up early.
When he's in an open space, he's good. He's learning.
He's 17 years old, but he's one of our best scorers. I need him to shoot balls.
I don't He was a minus 17 today. How is that?
Minus-17. He's too good a player to be a minus-17.”
Thompson’s scoring ability was never really the question. The bigger test is whether he can settle into a role that helps Arkansas win, instead of trying to do everything himself. Calipari knows that won’t happen overnight, especially with a player who was in high school just five months ago.
Then there’s Furman transfer center Nick Bowser, who turned heads in the exhibitions against No. 15 Gonzaga and Memphis. At 6-foot-11 and 235 pounds, he showed why he was the most efficient big man in college basketball by nearly averaging a double-double.
Arkansas missed on several portal big men during the offseason, which made Bowser’s rise even more important. Assistant head coach Kenny Payne worked with him to get him ready for the physical demands of high-major basketball, and that preparation has started to show.
Bowser’s value is tied to the things that don’t always show up first in a box score: rebounding, defense and physical play around the rim. Arkansas needed more of that last season, and Bowser has the chance to provide it.
He’ll get an early test with games against Virginia, Michigan State, Indiana, Arizona and North Carolina, but the real measuring stick may come once SEC play starts. For now, he’s moving from a player with something to prove into someone Calipari can lean on.
Arkansas opens the regular season against UA-Pine Bluff on Tuesday, Nov. 3 at 7 p.m. CT on the SEC Network+.
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