The NBA Draft took place last week, with many notable former college basketball stars finding new homes. The Blue Devils were the headliners, having three top-10 picks themselves, led by No. 1 overall pick Cooper Flagg. While Coach Jon Scheyer is racking up more pros on his resume, he’s still nowhere near John Calipari, whose former players have amassed over $1 billion worth of NBA contracts.
He had another player taken in the draft last week at Arkansas, with Adou Thiero taken at No. 36 overall to the LA Lakers. However, it’s the first time that Coach Cal hasn’t had at least one player selected in the first round since 2007.
Yet that may be good news for the Razorbacks for this upcoming season. They did lose the likes of Thiero, Johnell Davis, and portal departures, Zvonimir Ivisic, and Boogie Fland, but the team returns plenty of production. In fact, they have the most talent returning in the SEC.
SEC returning scoring by percentage:
Arkansas 45%
Missouri 44.1%
Florida 40.6%
Alabama 34.9%
Vanderbilt 34.3%
Kentucky 33.2%
Mississippi State 32%
Texas 31.9%
Georgia 26.3%
Tennessee 18.4%
Ole Miss 17.2%
Auburn 15.9%
Oklahoma 10%
LSU 9.8%
South Carolina 8.6%
Texas A&M 0%
— Jon Rothstein (@JonRothstein) June 21, 2025
Among the key returning pieces are starting guard DJ Wagner (11.2 ppg and 3.6 apg) and forwards Billy Richmond and Karter Knox, two talented wings who’ll be breakout candidates as sophomores next season. Forward Trevon Brazile has another year of eligibility left, too.
While returning players may be rare under a Calipari-coached team, adding talented freshmen isn’t. The team has a pair of incoming 5-star guard prospects in Darius Acuff and Meleek Thomas to pair with Wagner on the perimeter. Plus, the Razorbacks added a pair of notable transfer forwards in Nick Pringle and Malique Ewin to bolster the frontcourt.
Like with all CBB coaches who have been around the sport for a while, Coach Cal has also had to make adjustments in how he operates a program. Arkansas Basketball had some ups and downs last season, but they made a nice run to get into the NCAA Tournament and even made a run. With key players returning for another year, they could have an advantage over the new rosters throughout the SEC for next year.