The college basketball landscape may look different today than it did several years ago, but Arkansas first-year head coach John Calipari believes one of his freshmen is capable of having a big year.
Calipari took the stage at SEC Media Day in Birmingham, Alabama, on Tuesday and he was asked about freshman forward Karter Knox. The Head Hog coached Karter’s brother, Kevin, at Kentucky for the 2017-18 season. Kevin was drafted by the New York Knicks with the 9th overall pick in the 2018 NBA Draft.
"Karter is more physical, lost 17 pounds already, he lost some weight," Calipari said. "Skilled, learning situational basketball. But he'll fight, and he's good. Obviously, Kevin had a great run with us...but I'm looking for big things with Karter because he can play multiple positions. He's not locked in. If he brings it up, like rebound, bring it up, he's our point guard. He's been doing good stuff. Gotten a lot of reps."
Knox is one of three freshmen who de-committed from Kentucky after Calipari left Lexington in April and committed to Arkansas a short time later. He was a four-star prospect and the No. 22 player in the nation, according to Rivals.
A native of Atlanta, Knox played with Overtime Elite his senior season of high school and was a force on the floor. He averaged 23.1 points, 5.9 rebounds and 2.7 assists per game for his team, RWE.
It's not news to say with the advent of the transfer portal, the age of college basketball players has gotten older. With that knowledge, Calipari said the freshmen he recruits need to be physical enough to play against older guys.
"When you have six or seven (freshmen) practicing, they get a lot of reps, and all of our freshmen have needed those reps, including Karter," Calipari said. "But Billy Richmond has been pretty good. They're physical. They're not -- if you're recruiting freshmen now, they'd better physically be able to play against a 22- or 23-year-old, or it's hard for them to stand out."
After the Tip-Off Tour event in Hot Springs last Saturday, Knox said he and the other freshmen have been working hard to become leaders, even if they're younger than the other guys.
“Just working out, meeting up with the coaches watching film," Knox said. "Talking to Boogie (Fland), Billy (Richmond), we got to step up. Be good leaders, even though we’re young and freshmen, we can still be good leaders to this team. We’re just working out together after practice, building good team chemistry, we’re all good with each other.”
It appears Calipari has found those types of freshmen in Knox, point guard Boogie Fland and forward Billy Richmond. But having other veterans like Florida Atlantic transfer Johnell Davis, Kentucky transfers Adou Thiero, DJ Wagner and Zvonimir Ivisic and Tennessee transfer Jonas Aidoo will help the younger guys along as well.
"What I found out when you try to have seven, eight freshmen and you're going against an older team of 24-year-olds, 23-year-olds, that's a big difference," Calipari said. "And especially in big games where they are more mature to play through than with young guys. But we still have young guys. We've got three freshmen who are going to be really good, but they've got the veterans around them."
Those freshmen will get their first look at high-level competition on Oct. 25, when the No. 16. Razorbacks host No. 1 Kansas in a preseason charity exhibition at Bud Walton Arena. Tipoff is set for 8 p.m. and the game will air on the SEC Network.
Be sure to stay tuned to HawgBeat for the latest developments in Arkansas basketball.
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