After a long, drawn-out roster build in the offseason, Arkansas' basketball roster seems to be finalized with 14 spots filled out of a possible 15. Three late-additions for head coach John Calipari bolstered the team's depth by adding high school guard Amere Brown, high school forward Paulo Semedo, and Bosnian big man Elmir Dzafic.
Dzafic played professionally internationally, while Semedo was a top-50 recruit in the 2025 class. Brown was a dual-sport athlete in basketball and football, earning Division One scholarships for basketball, including from Bryant. Now with the roster full, we have a more complete look at what the rotation could look like, including minute allocations and different roles.
Who should play bigger roles, who should have fewer minutes? Let us know.
*Note: minute allocation is based on a standard 200 minutes per game and rounded to the nearest whole number. A player with zero projected minutes is not expected to be in the core rotation, though could see action and record minutes per game (see Jaden Karuletwa last season via Sports Reference).
Roles:
In the modern era of basketball, versatility is a must. As such, players are tasked with playing multiple positions and multiple roles, some are matchup dependent, some are due to slumping, injury, or other reasons. Some "potential starters" might overlap with "starter" or "sixth man." Some primary off-ball guards could start and play a primary role as an on-ball guard, depending upon lineup, and vice versa. To keep things simple for now, players will fall into three categories: (1) guards, (2) wings, and (3) forwards. These will be fleshed out in more detail when assigning the starting lineups and rotations.
Rotation:
Obviously there was some overlap above, mainly because there are still questions marks in some spots and there is just so much talent on this roster. Not everyone can start. I think there are two certified and guaranteed starting spots at this point: Karter Knox and Malique Ewin. Outside of that, it should be a fun offseason for competition.
Given what we know about the roster, how much talent there is, and how pieces were used last season, my best-guess at the rotation looks something like this:
STARTERS:
C - Malique Ewin
F - Trevon Brazile
F - Karter Knox
G - DJ Wagner
G - Darius Acuff Jr.
CORE GROUP:
F - Nick Pringle
G - Billy Richmond III
G - Meleek Thomas
WILL SEE THE FLOOR:
G - Isaiah Sealy
F - Paulo Semedo
DEPTH PIECES:
F - Karim Rtail
G - Jaden Karuletwa
F - Elmir Dzafic
G - Amere Brown
Minute Allocation:
This is where things get a little dicey. Predicting an exact minute allocation is nearly impossible, but there are some trends we can track, roles we can expect, and can also use previous years to make an educated guess as to how the standard 200 minutes will be split in a typical game. As noted above, some players will average a certain number of minutes a game but not have many appearances. For the purposes of this allocation, it will just be 200 minutes, equal to a standard college basketball game, rounded to the nearest whole number.
Right off the bat two things are clear: Knox and Wagner will play the bulk of the minutes next season. I have a difficult time envisioning a third-year Wagner not playing a lot, though because of the guard talent, his minutes might dip ever so slightly. Knox, if he plays to the level he did for the latter portion of the season, will be the go-to scorer for next year's team.
That's where things get difficult. A safe assumption is that most of the minutes will get eaten by the first eight players, it's just a matter of who gets what, which will vary based on matchups, performance, foul trouble, injuries, etc.
I feel comfortable enough at least including freshman Isaiah Sealy because of his athleticism and shooting ability. Last season, that ninth spot was occupied by Zvonimir Ivisic, and he became used as a shooter and mismatch who played extended minutes when he hit shots. I see Sealy fitting a role in the same vain, though in the guard spot instead of the center spot.
Richmond and Thomas are going to fight for minutes. As deep as this team is at guard, someone is going to get the short end of the stick, or they're going to have to split minutes. This is in large part due to the combination of Wagner and Acuff seeing the floor a ton.
Ultimately, I think Richmond and Thomas split what's left of the guard minutes because they each bring something completely different to the floor. And again, there will be games where Thomas and/or Richmond play 25-plus minutes, and there will also be games where they average 10. It's all a balancing act.
Pringle will likely see a smaller role than he had on a worse South Carolina team, but the three primary bigs, he along with Brazile and Ewin, will have to coexist. For a majority of most games, two of those three will have to be on the floor at the same time, save for stretches where Knox moves to the hybrid forward spot for small-ball.
While I don't expect him to see a ton of minutes, or any by the time conference play starts, Paulo Semedo could and should see some playing time in the non-conference portion of the schedule unless he redshirts. He and Sealy will likely average more than the 4 and 0 listed above, but as far as looking at when things get to the nitty gritty come conference play and NCAA Tournament time, the above chart is how I envision things at this moment.
Specialist lineups:
The great thing about having such a versatile roster is the ability to play multiple styles with multiple strengths. This team, in particular, fits that Calipari mold of elite athleticism, size, and versatility. In addition to the core starters listed above, there are a good amount of variations for any different moments in a game or depending upon matchups.
Shooting:
C - Malique Ewin
F - Trevon Brazile
F - Karter Knox
G - Isaiah Sealy
G - Meleek Thomas
Athleticism:
C - Paulo Semedo/Nick Pringle
F - Trevon Brazile
F - Karter Knox
G - Billy Richmond
G - Darius Acuff
Defense:
C - Malique Ewin
F - Nick Pringle
F - Karter Knox
G - Billy Richmond
G - DJ Wagner
Small Ball:
C - Trevon Brazile
F - Karter Knox
G - Billy Richmond
G - Meleek Thomas
G - Darius Acuff/DJ Wagner
Size:
C - Malique Ewin/Nick Pringle
F - Paulo Semedo
F - Karter Knox
G - Isaiah Sealy
G - DJ Wagner/Meleek Thomas
