‘It’s another level’: What impact will John Calipari have on Arkansas basketball recruiting?

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FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Arkansas basketball hiring John Calipari as its next head coach sent shockwaves throughout the country, and those reverberations were felt across the Natural State’s high school basketball landscape.

In his final season, dwindling in-state ties became a point of concern for former head coach Eric Musselman, who accepted the same position at Southern Cal last week. Musselman’s final recruiting class with the Razorbacks did not include any Arkansas natives, and all three in-state products on the roster entered the transfer portal before the coach’s departure.

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A source confirmed Calipari’s hire Monday, and a trio of high school basketball coaches with top in-state recruits spoke with the Times Record later that day. All three coaches believe any Arkansas recruiting concerns can be put to rest with Calipari at the helm.

“If they want him, I don’t think you’ll see a high-profile, top prospect in the state of Arkansas in basketball leave again,” Little Rock Christian Academy coach Kyle Pennington said. “There are going to be exceptions, but in general I think it’s going to be very hard to say no.”

The Warriors have won back-to-back Class 4A state titles in Pennington’s first two years at the school. The former head coach at Russellville remembers Calipari sitting court side at Bentonville High School games to watch Malik Monk, who left the state to play at Kentucky.

Pennington has multiple college prospects on his roster, including 2026 recruit JJ Andrews, who 247sports Composite ranks as the No. 18 player in the country.

Bam Adebayo played one season for John Calipari at Kentucky before he was drafted by the Heat in 2017.

Like many high school coaches in the state, Pennington grew up in Arkansas and is a Razorbacks alum. He stressed the importance of being unbiased when helping his kids go through the…

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Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/another-level-impact-john-calipari-092006175.html

Author : Ft. Smith Southwest Times Record

Publish date : 2024-04-10 09:20:06

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