Khalif Battle gives hilarious reaction to John Calipari news while in transfer portal
Khalif Battle entered the transfer portal after one season at Arkansas following the move by Eric Musselman out west to USC. However, if nothing else, the new hire by the ‘Hogs at the very least got his attention.
Battle had a tweet late on Sunday amidst the process that eventually ended in the Razorbacks hiring John Calipari as their next head coach. That statement of a choice certainly piqued his interest based on the wording of his reaction.
“Well damn…” wrote Battle on Twitter.
Battle summed it up about as well as anyone over in Fayetteville or back in Lexington in regards to the choice by Calipari.
He wasn’t the only one to share his thoughts on the hire on Twitter last night, though. Jaylin Williams, former Razorback and current member of the Oklahoma City Thunder, shared his thoughts on the decision by Arkansas AD Hunter Yurachek.
“Don’t know why yall be doubting HY! Woo Pig!” Williams wrote.
Battle transferred to play for the ‘Hogs this season under Musselman after three seasons at Temple. He appeared in 32 games and averaged 14.8 points, which was second-most behind only Tramon Mark, and 3.3 rebounds.
Upon Musselman’s departure for Hollywood, though, Battle quickly entered his name back into the portal. He is one of seven players to officially be transferring from Arkansas along with Baye Fall, Davonte Davis, Keyon Menifield, Joseph Pinion, Layden Blocker, and Denijay Harris. Mark is also reportedly planning on entering the portal, which would bring that total to eight.
Now, per On3’s 2024 College Basketball Transfer Portal Top Players, Battle is the No. 109 available transfer. Those ratings also have him as the No. 12 CG in the portal.
The best thing that a program can do to settle everything after a coaching change is make an impressive hire. Arkansas did exactly that in Calipari, which, if nothing else, could make a transfer like Battle reconsider his options assuming that a return could be on the table.
Arkansas four-star SG signee Isaiah Elohim requests NLI release
Isaiah Elohim will not be headed to Fayetteville after all.
The 6-foot-5 shooting guard out of Sierra Canyon (CA) has requested to be released from his National Letter of Intent (NLI) to Arkansas and will reopen his recruitment. The news comes after Eric Musselman accepted the open USC job.
The four-star senior committed to the Razorbacks in October, before signing his NLI in November during the early period. He ultimately chose Arkansas over Kansas and Villanova but also held offers from Alabama, Kentucky, Michigan, USC, UCLA, and others.
According to the On3 Industry Rankings, Elohim is the No. 46 overall prospect in the 2024 cycle. He’s also the No. 11 shooting guard prospect and the No. 6 player in California. The On3 Industry Ranking is a weighted average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies.
Arkansas now has zero high school commitments. That’s after four-star SF Jalen Shelley also asked out of his NLI earlier this week.