‘There’s No Magic Wand Up Here’

Excitement for the Arkansas basketball program is at an all-time high following a roller-coaster offseason that featured multiple player additions and head coach John Calipari’s move to Fayetteville, but the Hall-of-Famer continues to plead patience with his fanbase.

Calipari reviewed his experience leading programs while speaking to the media on Monday, but that can only get you so far when dealing with an entirely new roster full of players needing mindset development.

“Look, there’s no magic wand up here,” Calipari said. “They’re not computers, I’ve said that many times. This isn’t a video game. Got to work on their mind. Well guess what, that takes time. That mindset to get that negative voice off your shoulders, thinking positive voice all the time. Things don’t go right?

“Forget that other voice. If you want to be special and set yourself apart, you’ve got to be your biggest cheerleader. You can’t expect me to build yourself confidence. You know where you build your self confidence? In that gym.”

Who can blame Arkansas fans for getting giddy about the upcoming season? After all, Calipari and the Hoop Hogs added three top-25 freshmen and a handful of sought-after transfers. But the Hogs aren’t the only team that improved on paper over the offseason, as a glance around the SEC makes that unmistakably clear.

“You won’t believe this: Other teams are trying to win, too. And other teams are putting things together,” Calipari said. “And we’re in the SEC. And by the way, I think some people have picked us in the bottom half, already. We’ve been picked in the bottom half. That’s okay. We gotta play games. You gotta get in the ring. Let’s go. Pick us in the bottom half; pick us last; pick us first. None of that matters.”

For a team with undeniable skill but many looming questions, the next few months will be key in determining roles and building confidence in all phases of the game for the Razorbacks.

“It’s getting your team right, having the guys that are playing at their best individually and then let’s get them together and see how we play,” Calipari said. “I’m telling you, I don’t know how we’re going to play yet, other than it’ll be fast, it’ll be unselfish. Need some post presence.

“I hope we’re a great three-point shooting team because, if we are, we’ll shoot a lot of threes. If we’re not, ‘Well, you’ve gotta shoot,’ whatever you can’t. You’re not that team. We’ll figure it out when we get them all back here in September — late August.”