Exhilarating and terrifying’: Inside the summer of the high-major rebuild
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Jeff Borzello, ESPN Staff WriterOct 17, 2024, 10:00 AM ET
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- Basketball recruiting insider.
- Joined ESPN in 2014.
- Graduate of University of Delaware.
“I met with the team. There is no team.”
New Arkansas head coach John Calipari perfectly summed up the state of the men’s college basketball offseason — what was, essentially, an offseason for high-major rebuilds. This spring and summer, 14 power-conference programs changed head coaches, and with them came the need for complete roster reconstruction. Just a few years ago, returning only three or four scholarship players would have seemed like a disaster scenario for a program. Now, three or four returnees for a new head coach are enough to form a decent core around which to build.
The returning numbers for those 14 programs this summer, however, were varied, ranging from zero (Kentucky, Louisville, DePaul) to BYU’s seven, and everything in between.
In the current college sports climate of NIL and the transfer portal, new coaches have no choice but to embrace the challenge of building the roster. And they’ve each gone about it in different ways.
“When you’re thrown into chaos, there’s incredible opportunity,” Kentucky coach Mark Pope said.
This is the story of six first-year rebuilds.
Jump to:
Arkansas | DePaul | Kentucky | Louisville | Michigan | USC
New head coach: Mark Pope
Returning scholarship players: None
Incoming transfers: Nine
Incoming freshmen: Three
“IT WAS EXHILARATING AND TERRIFYING”
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3:22
Pope and Butler committed to continue winning culture at UK
Mark Pope talks about all the different things Lamont Butler does at an elite level and highlights how the leadership on this Wildcats team has championship DNA.
When Pope arrived in Lexington several days after the national championship — he was officially announced on April 12 — he was, essentially, starting from scratch. Incoming freshman Travis Perry (No. 77 in the 2024 ESPN 100) kept his commitment and fellow freshman Collin Chandler (No. 32 in the 2022 ESPN 100) opted to follow Pope from BYU after his two-year mission. But Pope didn’t have a player with college experience on the roster, until Drexel transfer Amari Williams committed on April 21.
“It was exhilarating and terrifying at exactly the same time,” Pope said. “When you take over a program, you get to stamp your own mark on it … There are also advantages in starting from scratch. You get to pick who you want. That part was really fun.”
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Once Williams committed, several players followed. In the next 10 days, Pope added Lamont Butler (San Diego State), Otega Oweh (Oklahoma), Andrew Carr (Wake Forest), Brandon Garrison (Oklahoma State), Koby Brea (Dayton) and Kerr Kriisa (West Virginia). But his top target was his former BYU player Jaxson Robinson, who wanted to go through the NBA draft process before deciding on his next move.
For nearly four weeks, the Wildcats waited. Then, the morning after the NBA draft withdrawal deadline (May 29), Robinson chose to return to college — and follow Pope to Kentucky.
“He came back last year, he was a growing leader on our team,” Pope said of Robinson. “Getting to travel a journey with Jaxson, it’s super special. … He knew the door was open [to come to Kentucky]. There’s nobody in the world that was more excited about that than me.”
THE IMPORTANCE OF LAMONT BUTLER
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2:23
Pope says he’s thrilled to lead new era of Kentucky basketball
Mark Pope and Lamont Butler talk about the pressure that comes with being a part of the Wildcats program and understand the standard that it operates under.
Though Robinson was the most touted of the incoming transfers and several proven power-conference players ended up in Lexington, Pope pointed to the 6-foot-2 San Diego State point guard — a three-year starter best known for hitting the winning buzzer-beater against Florida Atlantic in the 2023 Final Four — as perhaps the key addition.
“I don’t know if there’s a more tenured winner that won more games and hit bigger shots than Lamont Butler,” Pope said. “It gave me a ton of peace, it meant a lot to me as a coach starting from scratch, to get a young man that was a vet and was all about winning, that had done it at a high level.”
‘WE WIN, THAT’S IT’
Pope knows firsthand Big Blue Nation will not give him years to start winning. He helped Kentucky win a national championship in 1996, after all. He knew he needed to put together a product that would be ready to compete from day one.
“Kentucky does not accept balance. We win, that’s it,” he said. “My guys from my ’96 team threaten me everyday. ‘You better get this thing together.'”
The expectations shaped his approach to constructing his team, which became more reliant on the transfer portal, rather than the five-star freshman-laden rosters of Pope’s predecessor.
“That was actually the beauty of building a team from zero,” Pope said. “When you’re recruiting high school kids, you’re spending a lot of time projecting. It’s much easier to recruit guys that have played in college. You have film on them, you see the type of plays they make, see what’s in their wheelhouse, see what’s out of their wheelhouse. … We’re going to go handpick the guys that we actually see making the plays that we make.”
2024-25 ROSTER
Ansley Almonor (16.4 PPG at Fairleigh Dickinson), Jaxson Robinson (14.2 PPG at BYU), Andrew Carr (13.5 PPG at Wake Forest), Amari Williams (12.2 PPG at Drexel), Otega Oweh (11.4 PPG at Oklahoma), Koby Brea (11.1 PPG at Dayton), Kerr Kriisa (11.0 PPG at West Virginia), Lamont Butler (9.4 PPG at San Diego State), Brandon Garrison (7.5 PPG at Oklahoma State), Collin Chandler (No. 32 in 2022 ESPN 100), Travis Perry (No. 74 in ESPN 100), Trent Noah (NR)
New head coach: Pat Kelsey
Returning scholarship players: None
Incoming transfers: 12
Incoming freshmen: One
“WE TRY NOT TO SKIP STEPS”
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1:04
How Louisville landed on Pat Kelsey to lead the Cardinals
Louisville is hoping former Charleston and Winthrop coach Pat Kelsey will get the Cardinals back to winning ways.
From the outside, Kelsey walked into a less-than-ideal situation. The Cardinals haven’t been to the NCAA tournament since 2019. They were a combined 5-35 in ACC play the previous two seasons. And there wasn’t a single player from 2023-24 who wanted to return.
It led to some difficult early days in the job.
“You’re sitting there on certain days, gosh darn, we have three guys on our roster,” Kelsey said. “The days are ticking, the portal turns fast, we have guys on staff clicking refresh every 10 minutes. It’s recruiting on steroids. What typically is months and months and months of relationship-building, you’re doing it within weeks.”
Still, Kelsey had certain criteria for his team. It helped that he brought over most of his staff from Charleston — some of whom had helped him assemble NCAA tournament teams there, and before that at Winthrop.
“Even though you have to sign a new roster and it’s a new world, transitioning to more of a professional model, we try not to skip steps,” he said. “There’s the talent, the ability, the fit, the metrics, all those things that all programs value. But I’m never going to skip the step of getting into the character of the prospect, finding out the type of prospect he is, the type of teammate he is. Those things matter.”
THE MOMENTUM DRIVER
Terrence Edwards Jr. Photo by Adam Ruff/Icon Sportswire
The first two commitments came at the end of March, from players Kelsey coached at Charleston: starting guard Reyne Smith and high-ceiling big man James Scott. They would be joined in early May by a third Charleston transfer, guard Kobe Rodgers.
“I have 100% confidence those guys are going to be very effective and thrive here,” Kelsey said. “All those guys are ACC-level players. … They know my culture, they know our staff’s culture like the back of their hands.
“It was really nice to have three guys like that to be able to communicate, ‘Hey, this is what PK meant by that.’ This is our standard. They really took to those guys to be able to get them up to speed.”
But perhaps the biggest pickup was the first non-Charleston commitment: James Madison transfer Terrence Edwards Jr. in April.
Edwards was one of the most sought-after transfers in the portal, the Sun Belt Player of the Year who played a key role in the Dukes’ first-round NCAA tournament upset over Wisconsin.
“He was the first one. It got the ball rolling, it gave us some momentum,” Kelsey said.
BUILDING FOR THE FUTURE
Louisville is another program that expects to win immediately. That pressure informed most of Kelsey’s roster construction, but he also didn’t want to set up his program to need 10 guys from the portal every offseason.
Rodgers and BYU transfer Aly Khalifa will sit out the upcoming season while recovering from injuries. Scott is a ceiling piece, and will continue to improve. And former Michigan commit Khani Rooths is a top-50 recruit — and the program’s only freshman.
“Once you’re getting deep into the portal, you have decisions to make about one-year guys. But the pieces kind of fell that way,” Kelsey said. “I feel really good about the core we’ll have coming back.”
2024-25 ROSTER
Terrence Edwards Jr. (17.2 PPG at James Madison), Kasean Pryor (13.0 PPG at South Florida), Reyne Smith (12.8 PPG at Charleston), Aboubacar Traore (12.0 PPG at Long Beach State), J’Vonne Hadley (11.6 PPG at Colorado), Koren Johnson (11.1 PPG at Washington), Kobe Rodgers (9.7 PPG at Charleston), Noah Waterman (9.5 PPG at BYU), Chucky Hepburn (9.2 PPG at Wisconsin), Aly Khalifa (5.7 PPG at BYU), James Scott (5.0 PPG at Charleston), Frank Anselem-Ibe (2.6 PPG at Georgia), Khani Rooths (No. 40 in ESPN 100)
New head coach: Dusty May
Returning scholarship players: Three
Incoming transfers: Six
Incoming freshmen: Three
“I WANTED FAU TO CONTINUE THE TRAJECTORY WE ESTABLISHED”
Vladislav Goldin would be the only player to follow Dusty May from Florida Atlantic to Michigan. Chris Leduc/Icon Sportswire
Once May was named the Wolverines’ head coach, the biggest question was how many stars from his Florida Atlantic team would follow him to Ann Arbor.
AAC Player of the Year Johnell Davis was a top-five player in the portal; Vladislav Goldin finished the season on a tear and was one of the best big men available; Alijah Martin was one of the standouts of the 2023 Final Four run and a three-time all-conference selection. Nick Boyd started 49 games over two seasons; Giancarlo Rosado was a key role player off the bench.
In reality, that group might not have stayed together even if May had stayed in Boca Raton.
“I really wanted FAU to continue the trajectory we established,” May said. “There were a couple guys that wouldn’t go back, no matter who got the job, or if I stayed. Every situation was different. Most of those guys, I had been with them so long. It was real, honest relationships: ‘Here’s the role for you there, here’s what it would look like.’ We had just been through so much as a group, there was a mutual level of respect. We were communicating with all the guys until their final decisions.”
Only Goldin would join May at Michigan. Davis went to Arkansas, Martin to Florida, Boyd to San Diego State and Rosado to Charlotte. Former Florida Atlantic freshman recruit Lorenzo Cason went with May to the Wolverines.
“EVERYONE WAS USING THAT AGAINST US”
Things started out slow for Michigan. But then, it ripped off one of the most productive three-day stretches of any program this spring with six commitments: ESPN 100 prospect Justin Pippen (No. 73), Yale transfer Danny Wolf, North Texas transfer Rubin Jones, Auburn transfer Tre Donaldson, Ohio State transfer Roddy Gayle Jr. and Alabama transfer Sam Walters.
“The next one was always the big one. As soon as we would get one, the next one was the most important,” May said. “We needed several positions, we needed certain character traits. Guys that have done it before are always as important as anyone. They’ve proven it.”
Yet Michigan still had only 10 players, and Goldin — who was going through the NBA draft process — was the elephant in the room. He was considered a Michigan lock, which hindered May’s pursuit of certain other big men. The Wolverines continued to recruit the likes of Wolf, however, believing the 7-foot Ivy League transfer could play with the 7-1 Goldin.
“Word travels quickly in college basketball. We expected Vlad to be with us. If he wasn’t in the NBA, he was going to be with us,” May said. “Every big guy we recruited asked about Vlad. And I told them I would anticipate him being here. With Danny, everyone was using that against us. But with his skill set, his mobility, he might be more equipped to play the 4 in the Big Ten.”
May is confident the two big men will work well together. “We want to be different and be unique,” he said. “We don’t want to be like the majority of teams or the majority of scouting reports, the systems they see regularly. We’re very confident those guys can function well.”
A SUSTAINABLE PROGRAM
One of the main tenets of the success May had at FAU was continuity; nearly every player on last season’s team had been in the program for three or four years. He’s hoping to build something similar in Ann Arbor.
Of the nine new additions, only Jones and Goldin will be out of eligibility after the upcoming season.
“We wanted guys with multiple years of eligibility left,” May said. “Guys that fit us. That were unselfish. Winning was a priority. Being a great teammate was high up on the priorities as well. Fit was first, guys that we could build and grow with. We want a sustainable program. The way we are, continuity is the best thing for us. We enjoy growing with a group.”
2024-25 ROSTER
Vladislav Goldin (15.7 PPG at Florida Atlantic), Danny Wolf (14.1 PPG at Yale), Roddy Gayle Jr. (13.5 PPG at Ohio State), Rubin Jones (12.1 PPG at North Texas), Nimari Burnett (9.6 PPG), Will Tschetter (6.8 PPG), Tre Donaldson (6.7 PPG at Auburn), Sam Walters (5.4 PPG at Alabama), Jace Howard (2.6 PPG), Justin Pippen (No. 73 in ESPN 100), Durral Brooks (four-star), Lorenzo Cason (NR)
New head coach: Eric Musselman
Returning scholarship players: One
Incoming transfers: 11
Incoming freshmen: Two
WELCOME TO THE “PORTAL HOUSE”
Xavier transfer Desmond Claude (#1) was a key addition for new USC coach Eric Musselman, who had to rebuild a roster that could compete in the physical Big Ten. Brian Rothmuller/Icon Sportswire
Musselman had already begun his rebuild at Arkansas when Andy Enfield left USC for SMU and the Trojans’ job opened. That legwork gave Musselman a starting point, but it also meant he needed to immediately shift his priorities when he was officially hired at USC.
In fact, he asked USC athletic director Jennifer Cohen for a two-hour window before he flew to Los Angeles, to ensure he had phone reception when the news broke.
“As soon as we got the job — we’re in my backyard, but we had a plan,” Musselman said. “The plan at that point was to start calling recruits. We had all these phones going, we were all hitting recruits.”
ESPN 100 prospects Jalen Shelley (No. 50) and Isaiah Elohim (No. 55) both followed Musselman from Arkansas to USC, and UMass transfer Josh Cohen also opted to flip his commitment from the Razorbacks.
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But Musselman and his staff learned a couple of early lessons when they arrived in Southern California — in a house in Manhattan Beach, to be specific. “The Portal House,” as Musselman called it.
One, it turned out there wasn’t going to be much left on the roster. Musselman had reached out to Bronny James and his representatives once, and developed an early bond with first-round pick Isaiah Collier — the only player to attend Musselman’s introductory news conference — despite knowing he was going to the NBA. Everyone else would leave.
Second, some guys just wanted to visit Los Angeles.
“Half the board was wiped out due to academics, another third due to geography,” Musselman said. “As we do the visits, we’re learning. First visit, second visit, we don’t get the kids. OK, he doesn’t actually want to play in L.A., he just wants a free weekend. We can probably get anyone on a visit, but are they truly interested? So the board really shrunk from when we were at Arkansas. We changed course in terms of the rankings on our depth charts.”
“WE DON’T HAVE THAT FORMULA IN THE BIG TEN”
Despite being born in Ohio and his father coaching at Minnesota, Musselman isn’t often viewed as a Midwest or a Big Ten type of guy. He was raised in California, attended the University of San Diego and much of his coaching career has taken place in the West — with the exception of the Razorbacks. Now, he’ll be going against Big Ten teams that typically play a slower, more physical brand of basketball.
The conference change presented a challenge for Musselman and his staff. It forced them to figure out the landscape of the league, and who might be best suited for this different style of play.
“I know more about Big Ten basketball in the 1970s,” Musselman said earlier this offseason. “How many Big Ten games have I watched of late? Not many. The TV was always SEC. I’ve tried to randomly ask coaches. ‘Hey, what are the top three hardest places to play? Who are the top three coaches in the last two minutes?’ As soon as I walk away, I hit the staff thread. We’re trying to gather a database.”
The Trojans leaned into physicality and size, adding interior pieces Cohen and Rashaun Agee (Bowling Green); big wings Chibuzo Agbo (Boise State), Saint Thomas (Northern Colorado), Terrance Williams II (Michigan) and Matt Knowling (Yale); and a playmaker with size in Desmond Claude (Xavier).
“We knew the formula to win in the SEC. You got to have athletes. We don’t have that formula in the Big Ten,” Musselman said. “After Year 1, hopefully we’re quick learners.”
“WE HAD TO GET DESMOND CLAUDE”
USC had to wait several weeks to land its marquee transfer, who didn’t commit until May 2.
The Big East’s Most Improved Player last season, was a top-50 transfer who jumped in production, from 4.7 points per game as a freshman to 16.6 as a sophomore. He was the Trojans’ ninth transfer addition, and 11th newcomer of the offseason. But he’s the most talented of the group.
“We had to get Desmond Claude,” Musselman said. “Because of the position, because he fit a taller point guard. Desmond was really important positionally, really important in the fact that we believe at some point he’s going to play in the NBA. That’s going to impact future recruits. He’s proven at a high level and played for a really respected coach that has taught him X’s and O’s.”
That last statement is something Musselman added to his transfer criteria this offseason: looking at the head coach at a player’s previous stop.
“It’s an undervalued portion of the portal,” he said. “It’s really important to get players that have played for really good coaches, and coaches that teach. We really tried to study the coaches that had these transfers. Who coached this player prior to us? Do we respect him as an X’s and O’s guy?”
2024-25 ROSTER
Saint Thomas (19.7 PPG at Northern Colorado), Bryce Pope (18.3 PPG at UC San Diego), Clark Slajchert (18.0 PPG at Pennsylvania), Desmond Claude (16.6 PPG at Xavier), Josh Cohen (15.9 PPG at Massachusetts), Chibuzo Agbo (13.7 PPG at Boise State), Rashaun Agee (13.3 PPG at Bowling Green), Terrance Williams II (12.4 PPG at Michigan), Matt Knowling (11.6 PPG at Yale); Kevin Patton Jr. (9.8 PPG at San Diego), Harrison Hornery (3.3 PPG), Wesley Yates III (redshirt at Washington), Jalen Shelley (No. 50 in ESPN 100), Isaiah Elohim (No. 55 in ESPN 100)
New head coach: Chris Holtmann
Returning scholarship players: None
Incoming transfers: 10
Incoming freshmen: Two
“I GOT EXCITED ABOUT THE IDEA OF A BLANK SLATE”
USA Today Sports
Like Pope at Kentucky and Kelsey at Louisville, Holtmann walked into a completely empty situation. Not a single player from last season was returning to DePaul.
Given the Blue Demons’ recent struggles, it wasn’t necessarily a bad thing.
“I got excited about the idea of a blank slate, whether it was going to be one or two players returning, or, like we ended up having, no players,” Holtmann said. “The last couple situations I’ve had, I’ve been able to take over a roster that wasn’t full but had a core of a couple really good players. There’s benefit to that, obviously, but I looked at this as an exciting opportunity to construct a roster in our vision.”
Holtmann’s biggest advantage over other high-major programs also rebuilding was his head start: He was officially announced as the program’s new head coach on March 14, nearly a month before the likes of Calipari, Pope and BYU’s Kevin Young.
So, the day after the national championship game, DePaul already had nine players signed.
“There was value in getting a little bit of a jump start,” Holtmann said. “The most important thing I did was take stock of the eight straight tournament teams we had between Butler and Ohio State, the commonalities in the roster construction. Really studying that was maybe the greatest value in preparing myself to put an entire roster together.”
“I DON’T SPEND A LOT OF TIME TALKING ABOUT 3-29”
It’s a challenge to win at DePaul. As a result, it’s a challenge to build a competitive roster quickly at DePaul. The Blue Demons went 3-29 overall last season, 0-20 in the Big East. They haven’t finished above .500 in conference play since 2007, winning four or fewer Big East games in 13 of the past 17 seasons.
“Lack of success is always something you have to answer to even though you’re taking over a new program,” Holtmann said of some of the conversations he had during the recruiting process. “People automatically are going to have an evaluation, a perception of DePaul basketball. We’re going to have to continue to overcome that, by sharing the vision, sharing the plan, really embracing those guys that are excited about the challenge of doing something that hasn’t been done in a while.”
Holtmann focused primarily on players who would transfer up a level, landing productive low- and mid-major players originally from the Chicago area. He still also mixed in a couple of proven high-major players.
“What we were looking for was guys that wanted to embrace our vision, our plan — that it matters to them to leave a legacy at DePaul,” he said. “I don’t spend a lot of time talking about 3-29 or the past couple of decades. This is a new program, a new coaching staff, a new group of guys, and our goal is to be really committed to the process of growing each and every day. And that’s it. We’re committed to that. I’m excited for where that might take us.”
THE QUIET, CRITICAL ADDITION
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0:16
Conor Enright gets the and-1 to fall
Conor Enright gets the and-1 to fall
Holtmann put a premium on versatility and shooting, as well as players with multiple years of eligibility remaining. Eight of DePaul’s 12 scholarship players will be able to return to the Blue Demons in 2025-26.
Take Arkansas transfer Layden Blocker, a former top-50 recruit who didn’t carve out a consistent role during his lone season in Fayetteville.
“Layden was late in the process, but a really exciting find because clearly his best days are ahead of him as a player,” Holtmann said. “He fit what we were looking for. … You’re betting on work ethic, coachability, and I think it’s a bet with Layden that we feel really excited about.”
But Holtmann also pointed to Drake transfer Conor Enright, who started 33 games for a Bulldogs team that won 28 games and played in the NCAA tournament then decided against following Darian DeVries to West Virginia.
“Your point guard is always an important position, so I think solidifying that with a guy like Conor, who had been a point guard on an NCAA tournament team and had an opportunity at West Virginia — I think that was important because the position in general is important,” Holtmann said.
2024-25 ROSTER
Jacob Meyer (15.7 PPG at Coastal Carolina), Isaiah Rivera (15.4 PPG at UIC), David Skogman (13.3 PPG at Davidson), David Thomas (11.0 PPG at Mercer), JJ Traynor (10.1 PPG at Louisville), Troy D’Amico (9.3 PPG at Southern Illinois), NJ Benson (8.6 PPG at Missouri State), Conor Enright (6.9 PPG at Drake), CJ Gunn (3.9 PPG at Indiana), Layden Blocker (3.7 PPG at Arkansas), Chris Riddle (three-star), Sekou Konneh (NR)
New head coach: John Calipari
Returning scholarship players: One
Incoming transfers: Six
Incoming freshmen: Five
“WE’RE NOT CHANGING” (THAT’S NOT ENTIRELY TRUE)
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Calipari talks Razorbacks’ well-rounded group and early challenges
John Calipari recognizes the potential of the Arkansas program and is ready to take on the country’s best early and often.
Toward the end of Calipari’s time in Lexington, the Kentucky fanbase criticized his inability to adapt to and embrace some of the staples of modern college basketball — specifically the transfer portal and older teams. (He did update his on-court tactics last season, producing the fastest, most 3-point-happy team he’d ever coached at Kentucky.)
Is he planning to adapt in a similar way when it comes to roster construction in Fayetteville?
Yes … and no.
“All we’ve done is move the headquarters from one place to another,” Calipari told reporters over the summer. “We’re recruiting the same thing. … We’re not changing. We want to have four freshmen come in and do what my freshmen have done in the past.
“Probably can’t get to where I used to be, where we take six or seven. You can’t now. Because you have to have players return and have a transfer or two, and that will be how we build rosters. We’re going to go after the best players we can.”
Calipari’s meshed the two approaches effectively, landing five freshmen and six transfers, though he admitted not everyone would be a part of the rotation, and he wanted to limit his focus to eight or nine players moving forward.
“I want to coach every player like he’s a starter,” Calipari said. “When you have 12 or 13, that stretches you a bit. Last year, we ended up with one or two too many. … I’m not coaching a player so that another guy can coach them. I’m not doing that either.
“There’s all kinds of ways of doing this. And if this isn’t the right way, I’ll change. I’m thinking this is the right way.”
RECOGNIZE SOME NAMES?
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1:43
The best of Johnell Davis’ season with the Florida Atlantic Owls
As Johnell Davis hits the transfer portal, check out his best moments at Florida Atlantic Owls this past season.
Calipari had the most immediate gains with his new roster of any new high-major coach. Three Wildcats players — D.J. Wagner, Adou Thiero and Zvonimir Ivisic — followed him to Arkansas via the transfer portal. And three high school recruits — Boogie Fland (No. 14), Karter Knox (No. 26) and Billy Richmond (No. 38) — flipped their commitments to the Razorbacks after he took the job.
“[With] no roster, you know what the advantage is?” Calipari said. “You hand-pick every guy. We hand-picked them all, so that’s exciting.”
The most interesting recruitment of those six was Thiero, who entered the transfer portal one week after the Wildcats’ season ended — before Calipari switched programs. Arkansas hadn’t been in the mix then, but jumped in after Calipari took over.
“I started with Coach Cal and want to see it through with him,” Thiero told ESPN when he committed.
But the team’s two most proven players have no previous ties to Kentucky or Calipari: Florida Atlantic transfer Johnell Davis and Tennessee transfer Jonas Aidoo. Both were ranked inside the top 12 of ESPN’s transfer rankings.
“You could tell they’re experienced; they’re like vets,” Calipari said. “Nelly lives in that gym. … Jonas was all-conference, we already know.”
“I’M NOT GOING TO BEG ANYBODY”
Calipari’s rotation seemed mostly set toward the end of May after Wagner committed and Davis withdrew from the NBA draft in favor of Arkansas. But the Razorbacks still needed a frontcourt option.
They went after Illinois transfer Coleman Hawkins and appeared to be one of the favorites. That is, until Calipari pivoted and convinced Trevon Brazile — a former Missouri big man who transferred to Arkansas in 2022 but sat out most of 2022-23 after tearing his ACL, seven games in 2023-24 with other injuries and was considering other options for 2024-25 after withdrawing from the NBA draft late May — to stay in Fayetteville for another season.
“When I went in that … locker room, and there was no one in there,…