Video: John Calipari Says Arkansas Has 'No Team' While Explaining Roster, Recruiting

Newly hired University of Arkansas men's college basketball coach John Calipari gave an honest assessment Wednesday of the work ahead of him after leaving Kentucky to become the Razorbacks' new coach.

Speaking at his introductory press conference, Coach Cal noted that he is essentially taking over a blank slate as far as his roster is concerned:

"I met with the team, there is no team," Calipari said. ... "We gotta get a roster together."

As pointed out by On3.com's Barkley Truax, Arkansas has no scholarship players remaining on the roster from last season.

Per Bob Holt of the Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, forward Trevon Brazile announced his decision to enter the NBA draft this week, while Khalif Battle, Tramon Mark, Layden Blocker, Davonte Davis, Joseph Pinion, Keyon Menifield and Baye Fall have all entered the transfer portals, leaving the Razorbacks with no scholarship players.

Calipari spent 15 seasons at Kentucky, leading the Wildcats to four Final Four appearances and one national championship, but major success has been somewhat fleeting in recent years.

Kentucky hasn't reached a Final Four since 2015 or won a national title since 2012, and it hasn't gotten past the second round of the NCAA tournament since 2019.

Calipari's Kentucky tenure ended with a whimper, as the third-seeded Wildcats were shocked by 14th-seeded Oakland in the first round of this year's tourney.

With patience wearing thin in Lexington, the 65-year-old decided to leave for an Arkansas program in need of some retooling.

The Razorbacks made three straight NCAA tournament appearances from 2021 to 2023, winning at least 22 games each season and reaching the Sweet 16 in each of those seasons, including Elite Eight appearances in 2021 and 2022.

However, Arkansas took a huge step back last season, going 16-17 and failing to reach the NCAA tournament.

Head coach Eric Musselman then left to take the head coaching job at USC, which led to a mass exodus of players and a bare cupboard for Calipari.

Of course, he has long been considered one of the best recruiters in college basketball, so it may not take him long to build Arkansas back into a national power.

The roster can't be reshaped overnight, though, and even if Calipari makes a strong, late push on the recruiting front, there figure to be some growing pains next season at least.

However, since Calipari is one of the greatest coaches of his generation and Arkansas isn't far removed from being a national title contender, the Razorbacks could soon become a hot spot for highly touted recruits once again.