John Calipari encourages media to 'pick us in the bottom half, pick us last'

There’s an incredible amount of interest going into Arkansas’ first season under John Calipari. However, he is already expecting, and is apparently more than fine with, anyone that’s going to discredit the Razorbacks coming in.

Calipari spoke about the upcoming season during a press conference earlier on Monday. He said that the ‘Hogs are ready to take on the challenge of this year against their opponents and conference. That includes proving some who will be expecting them to finish towards the back of the Southeastern Conference wrong

“I’m excited to get this going,” said Calipari. “Going to be hard – they’re all hard. You won’t believe that other teams are trying to win too. Other teams are putting things together. We’re in the SEC.”

“By the way, I think some people have picked us in the bottom half already. We’ve been picked in the bottom half,” Calipari said. “That’s okay. We’ve got to play games. You’ve got to get in the ring. Let’s go! Pick us in the bottom half, pick us last. Pick us first. None of that matters.”

This approach isn’t anything new for Calipari. He often took the counted-out approach no matter how good his teams were, especially recently while at Kentucky.

It’d also be a bit of surprise if Arkansas weren’t to finish in the top half, if not the top-five, this season in the SEC. The Razorbacks put together a talented roster in the transfer portal with the additions of Johnell Davis (FAU), Jonas Aidoo (Tennessee), and three who followed Coach Cal from Lexington in DJ Wagner, Adou Thiero, and Zvonimir Ivisic. That doesn’t even include the return of Trevon Brazile or their No. 2 recruiting class featuring a trio of four-star, Top-30 freshmen.

Still, no vote or opinion about his team is going to bother Calipari heading toward tip-off. He knows they have plenty to prove and expects that they will with how they play over the course of his debut in Fayetteville.

“It’s getting your team right, having guys that are playing at their best individually, and then let’s get them together and see how we play,” said Calipari.

Arkansas playing exhibition against TCU, planning exhibition versus Kansas

Arkansas is getting ready for their fascinating first season under John Calipari. In order to do so, the Razorbacks are now looking to scrimmage against two teams out of the Big 12.

Calipari spoke at a press conference from inside Bud Walton Arena on Monday. While discussing scheduling, he noted that the ‘Hogs would be playing an exhibition game against TCU in Dallas. He also shared that they’re attempting to get another scheduled versus Kansas in Fayetteville.

Arkansas still has plenty to get done before Calipari’s first season there leading the Razorbacks. If they can get both of these games official and play well in each, though, they’ll be even more prepared to handle what their upcoming year could look like.