“If you’re not a grinder, you’re never gonna max out”: Arkansas HC John Calipari motivates players to “be that guy” after a successful summer

In less than a month of posting a strenuous workout regime in front of his first-year Arkansas team, John Calipari is content with what he sees in the roster. The coach leads an entirely new program for the 2024-25 season and is making off-court moves to set them on the grandest of stages.

Now, as the summer practices nears an end, Calipari praised the players for their continuous effort to get better. Nevertheless, he also reminds them of the hard work it takes to make it to the next level, encouraging them to keep up the grind.

"We've had a great summer I'm telling you," Calipari said."Because we set the tone of what the culture is going to be. A great summer. You shouldn't be wasting any of this time. You're only going to go through this once and this team will only go through this once," he added.

"Please understand if you're not a grinder, you're never going to max out. You will not. The grinders in this sport make it. So just be that guy," Calipari followed.

If there's a coach who knows how to develop players for the NBA, it is John Calipari.

He became the Razorbacks coach after guiding 47 former Kentucky players to the NBA, 50 when considering the selections of Rob Dillingham, Reed Sheppard and Antonio Reeves in the 2024 draft.

John Calipari paid his dues to Kentucky with potential top recruits

Cameron Boozer and Cayden Boozer, two top high school prospects ready to make their college entrance next season, are being pursued by top programs like Duke, Michigan, North Carolina and others.

The latest narratives either pit them following their dad Carlos Boozer’s tracks with Duke or alongside home teams Florida and Miami. Nevertheless, Kentucky Wildcats remains one of the top choices in Boozer Brothers' considerations.

While Mark Pope is now trailing the young talents by initiating talk and being a staple presence in their games, a major part of their recruitment goes to John Calipari. As a Wildcats coach, Calipari not only started communications with the top talents but also became one of the four programs the two have visited so far.

While a part of their interest in Wildcats was Calipari's acumen of generating NBA-level players, talks with the coach have hushed since his switch to Arkansas.