For John Calipari and the Razorbacks, Eight is Engough

Coach Cal's Arkansas roster is likely finalized with an even smaller rotation than last year, but is that a bad thing?

Trigger Warning: The following article contains excessive use of the number eight, including (but not limited to): gr-eight retention, deb-eight-able rotations, and reverence for an underappreci-eight-ed minimalistic approach.

If you believe that John Calipari and the Arkansas Razorbacks should run a ten or eleven-man rotation, the opinions that follow this brief overture will make your blood boil. Still, I challenge you not to run from this discomfort, but instead put all your weight behind your shoulder and ram into it. Don’t wall yourself off from cognitive dissonance, embrace it!

This article will also contradict some of my previous statements. We have new news, and with all this new information—all these ins and outs—my understanding has changed. If that upsets you, that is your weight to carry.

You may experience symptoms such as eye rolls, clenched fists, and bouts of visceral rage. If these last longer than the reading of this article, please seek the soothing relief of fresh air in a field of wild flowers.

If you are easily irrit-eight-ed, then the life of an Arkansas Razorbacks fan may not be for you.

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The answer has been staring us in the face for about a month, but most Arkansas Razorbacks fans haven’t been ready to accept it. Many Hog faithful and people who cover the team are still trying to strike it rich by raking through transfer portal remains like a tourist at the diamond mine in Murfreesboro. Meanwhile, Calipari laid bare his plans at a Razorback Roadshow:

“I like what we have. I like where we stand right now…and sometimes less is more. Like last year we ended up playing six guys, seven guys, and all of a sudden we’re as good as anybody in the country.”

With the Memorial Day news that Karter Knox would return to the Arkansas Razorbacks next season, giving Arkansas eight high-level players, Calipari is likely done building his rotation. Let’s tackle why Hog fans have struggled to accept a short bench, what an eight-man rotation could look like, and why this is the right approach.

Eight The Hard Way

Look, I get it. If you were hoping for colossal offseason signings to come crashing through the door like Kramer, this roster feels like a letdown. I’ll admit that what I heard in early April from some folks in the know about what the roster could look like and what we have on paper now are not quite the same. One was a clear top-five roster, the other seemingly isn’t.

Nate Ament would have added a sparkly jewel to Calipari’s Razorback Red crown, but he preferred Tennessee Orange. Furthermore, we were spoiled with our transfer portal additions last year. It stings to see a top-ten transfer portal player leave your team for in-conference competition, especially when your top transfer portal addition is ranked 75th or 107th, depending on the recruiting service you value.

All of that combined could lead to a natural feeling of disappointment, but this is the moment where I have to stop that line of thinking. With everything mentioned above being true, Calipari has still assembled a top-five overall class and added it to the highest minute-retention and second-highest scoring retention rate in the SEC. Shout out to Jackson Collier and Ben Brandon.

Still, Arkansas fans’ biggest gripe is with the quantity of guys on the roster, and not the quality.

Eight Means Heartbreak

Steve Carell left The Office, so Michael Scott had to be written off the show. Surely, the show ended there, or at the very least, crumbled in the aftermath of his departure. Wrong. The show ran for two more seasons, and still did well ratings-wise.

Good, God, Max, we get you wanted to kick the section off with a TV reference, but what was is your point?

I know there are fans out there who believe that Calipari needs to build a roster with ten or eleven SEC-ready players because anything less than that will be devastated by even one injury.

The Hogs only have eight. The season is doomed. The Chicken Man got ripped off.

I just cannot get on board with that thinking, especially for this new era of professional semi-professional student athletes. For my money, a coach should only pay the guys he intends to play. Calipari told us he doesn’t plan to play ten, so why would he pay ten?

It would be easy here to point to Kentucky’s roster for next year and make the argument that Mark Pope’s approach should be the default method for constructing a team. He spent a pretty Kentucky Blue penny, but he has one of the longest benches in America.

Color me skeptical.

Team harmony is just as important as depth and talent. Just look back at the last two years of Arkansas Basketball. On paper, last year’s team was only slightly more talented than the previous year’s but the difference in results was astronomical. That’s roster cohesion, baby!

And with all this money flying around, playing time will become the ultimate college basketball capital. If I were a high-profile recruit or transfer, I’d head to the spot that will pay me and play me.

So what does that playing time look like?

Crazy Eights

The greatest sketch show in America right now has one consistent cast member, and it’s 15 minutes long. In that spirit, I Think You Should Leave has perfected the less is more mantra. (In those two ways only, though. Everything else about it is wonderfully extra.)

In that previous piece I linked earlier, I broke down what the rotation would look like if Boogie Fland decided to come back to Arkansas. It was doable, but it was also clunky. It was the kind of minutes allocation that would leave most of your players unhappy.

Here’s how I think it will go with the eight guys the Razorbacks currently have:

1. Acuff (25), Wagner (15)

2. Thomas (25), Wagner (10), Richmond (5)

3. Knox (25), Richmond (15)

4. Brazile (25), Pringle (10), Knox (5)

5. Ewin (30), Pringle (10)

Totals: Ewin (30), Knox (30), Acuff (25), Brazile (25), Thomas (25), Wagner (25), Pringle (20), Richmond (20)

That rotation is much more egalitarian, which matters to Calipari. If his primary goal is winning basketball games, his secondary (though it’s probably more 1a and 1b) goal is setting guys up for life. This minutes breakdown gives ample time for Acuff, Ewin, Knox, and Thomas to showcase their skills for the next level while still getting heavy minutes for two guys who stayed loyal and an in-conference transfer.

Calipari may still bring in additional guys to fill out the roster, but do not expect those guys to come in expecting heavy minutes. Calipari and the Razorbacks have their rotation, and keeping things simple is always better than jumping the shark.