John Calipari describes his mental health entering second season at Arkansas

John Calipari often likes to remind fans and media alike how little he had to work with when he was formally announced as Arkansas‘ fifth head coach since Nolan Richardson in early April 2024. But as the former longtime Kentucky head man enters his second season in Fayetteville, Calipari is overcome by a sense of comfortability.

Despite not having a single player on the team when he took the job, Calipari utilized the NCAA Transfer Portal to rebuild the Razorbacks roster and eventually led Arkansas (22-14, 8-10 SEC) back to the Sweet 16 before falling to ninth-seeded Texas Tech. It was the Hogs’ fourth Sweet 16 appearance in its last five seasons after three consecutive Sweet 16s between 2020-23 under then-coach Eric Musselman.

“Last year, you know how it started. We had no team, we had no staff. I said, ‘Can I see the schedule?’ There was no schedule,” Calipari recalled during an offseason press conference July 11. “… And now you bring guys together that did not know each other, and I had a couple from before (at Kentucky), but the reality of it was it was a brand-new team. Then we get hurt. I didn’t get to do the scrimmaging, so I knew we’d be behind.

“But at the end of the year, that was the most rewarding year I can remember in a long time, because they stayed true and they stayed strong. We just kept tweaking and changing to make us good.”

It was an encouraging debut season for Calipari, and one he’s confident the Razorbacks will build upon entering Year 2. That’s despite losing four of its Top 5 leading scorers — forwards Adou Thiero (15.1 ppg) and Johnell Davis (12 ppg) went to the NBA, while 7-2 junior center Zvonimir Ivisic (8.5 ppg) and superstar freshman guard Boogie Fland (13.5 ppg) exited via the transfer portal to Illinois and Florida, respectively.

Nevertheless, Arkansas still returns a strong contingent off of last season’s Sweet 16 squad, including junior guard D.J. Wagner, who ranked fourth averaging 11.2 ppg last season, sophomore wing Karter Knox, and senior center Trevon Brazile, while adding 6-foot-10 former Alabama and South Carolina forward Nick Pringle out of the transfer portal. Calipari also signed the No. 4 overall recruiting class in 2025, according to the Rivals Industry Rankings, including landing five-star guards Darius Acuff and Meleek Thomas.

Despite the influx of new faces, Calipari is mentally more at ease entering Year 2 in Fayetteville, in large part to feeling more comfortable with his surroundings at Arkansas.

“Right now, you can tell, I’m more comfortable. Like, (last year) I had walk in here and I didn’t know anybody. I didn’t know the campus. You guys have to understand, I was never on this campus. … So I’m just more comfortable,” Calipari continued. “And let me tell you, I’m so happy and comfortable and at peace with what we’re doing and how we’re doing it. Because we’re about the kids. It ain’t this and that, it’s about those kids. Now, if we do our job, they’ll lead us to where we’re trying to go.

“I’ll say it again, it’s real what we’re doing and you can’t deny what … it is starting and it’s going to go for a long time. I’ve done this before. The first year is a hard one, the first year is a tough one. The second year is tough too, but at least you’re more grounded in what you’re trying to do and you feel more comfortable.”