Analyzing Arkansas' three glaring needs in the transfer portal
The college basketball transfer portal officially closed Wednesday, and the Arkansas Razorbacks still have a lot of work to do to fill their remaining seven open scholarship spots ahead of the 2024-25 season.
Head coach John Calipari has used his recruiting prowess to form a competent roster up to this point with transfers Zvonimir Ivisic (forward, Kentucky), Jonas Aidoo (center, Tennessee) and Johnell Davis (guard, FAU) and the freshmen trio of five-star guard Boogie Fland, four-star forward Karter Knox and four-star wing Billy Richmond.
RELATED: Arkansas Basketball 2024-25 Roster Tracker
Despite those additions, the Razorbacks still have holes at three key positions that need to be filled if Arkansas wants to be an immediate contender in Year One under Calipari.
HawgBeat takes a look at the Hogs' glaring needs and potential candidates to remedy them:
Veteran Point Guard:
Realistic Candidates:
D.J. Wagner - Kentucky
AJ Hoggard - Michigan State
Truth be told, the list of candidates for any position of need is limitless under Calipari, so boiling it down to the most realistic of choices will help us focus on the possibilities.
Right out of the gates, Kentucky transfer D.J. Wagner is the clear-cut option for the veteran point guard role. The former No. 6 ranked high school prospect and McDonald's All-American was solid (if not a bit underwhelming) during his freshman campaign after he averaged 9.9 points, 3.3 assists and 1.9 rebounds per game for the Wildcats, but the potential is there for a breakout sophomore season.
Continuity is crucial in college basketball, and for a team replacing all 13 of its scholarship players, Arkansas could make do with a few carry-overs from Lexington.
If Calipari decides to go a different route or if Wagner chooses another program, a transfer like Michigan State's AJ Hoggard fits the bill as an experienced player with proven point-guard experience.
During his last three seasons with the Spartans, Hoggard averaged 5.3 assists and 2.1 turnovers per game — an astounding ratio considering the competition.
Three-Level Scoring Wing:
Realistic Candidates:
Adou Thiero - Kentucky
Wooga Poplar - Miami
Chaz Lanier - North Florida
This is where the fun begins, as Arkansas can attack this from a variety of different vantage points depending on how it wants to build the roster. Kentucky transfer Adou Thiero makes the most sense, especially because he visited Fayetteville on Wednesday.
A 6-foot-8, 222-pound junior, Thiero's stat line of 7.2 points, 5.0 rebounds and 1.1 assists per game doesn't jump off the page, but his versatility and potential are intriguing factors that can't be overlooked. The high-ceiling athlete and defender is a legitimate 2025 NBA Draft prospect and may be the ideal "3-and-D" threat if his jump shot improves.
Past Thiero, Miami's Wooga Poplar and North Florida's Chaz Lanier have been connected to the Razorbacks. Smaller-sized at 6-foot-5, Poplar is less "3-and-D" and more "space-and-pace" within an offense. His 62-for-161 (38.5%) shooting from beyond the arch stands out as does his NCAA Tournament experience.
Chaz Lanier has been loosely connected to Arkansas, but he falls within a similar archetype to Poplar. A 44.0% three-point shooter last season, Lanier can slot in on almost any roster in the country.
"Stretch" Four:
Realistic Candidates:
Kasean Pryor - USF
Norchad Omier - Miami
JT Toppin - New Mexico
Coleman Hawkins - Illinois
Achor Achor - Samford
Ven-Allen Lubin - Vanderbilt
Arkansas has no shortage of names to choose from here, and the list only grew longer late Wednesday night when Samford forward Achor Achor made a buzzer-beater entry into the portal.
"Stretch" is within quotations not because there aren't plenty of forward options out there who can shoot, but because there are other potential players whose perimeter prowess is less "wow-factor" and more "suitable" than others.
Miami's Norchad Omier is a perfect example, as he's one of the best remaining players in the transfer portal but only shot 68 threes last season (35.3%). Vanderbilt's Ven-Allen Lubin (13-for-39, 33.3%) shot the three minimally as well, but he tore up SEC competition to the tune of 12.3 points and 6.3 rebounds per game.
The true stretch-fours on this list are USF's Kasean Pryor (37-for-105, 35.2%) and Illinois' Coleman Hawkins (59-for-160, 36.9%), but their recruitments have been silent as both are focusing on the 2024 NBA Draft.
Landing any of these six players is what could move Arkansas from a preseason dark horse to an actual contender, and don't count Calipari out of the race if he sets his eyes on one of them.