"Let’s all of us enjoy the growth of this team": Arkansas' John Calipari gets Razorbacks fans hyped for a successful season of college basketball

When John Calipari signed with the Arkansas Razorbacks in April, the roster was almost empty. The Hall of Fame coach was tasked with assembling a coaching staff and recruiting players before official practice sessions began in June.

Calipari got to work and brought in former players from Kentucky and signed more athletes from the transfer portal. After taking a couple of weeks off, the team is ready to resume practice this weekend. Now back on the grind and with the college basketball season just a few months away, Calipari hyped up fans for their support on X/Twitter:

"It appears that all of you Razorback Fans are just as excited as I am as you have already bought all the season tickets!! Let me say thank you for your belief in this group! Let me say this, what we look like at the beginning is not what we will look like at the end.

"Let’s all of us enjoy the growth of this team throughout the season so that we are all at our best in March. Can’t wait to get back on campus this weekend!"

Talking about his players, Calipari wrote:

"We set the foundation for the culture we are looking to establish this summer that will drive players individually and collectively. We want talented players who are grinders, who play for each other and play to win."

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A look at John Calipari's new roster

In just four months, John Calipari has put together a 15-man roster that includes four former Wildcats: Kareem Watkins, Zvonimir Ivišić, D.J. Wagner Jr. and Adou Thiero. The coach also managed to redirect three of his Kentucky commits, Boogie Fland, Karter Knox and Billy Richmond III, to Fayetteville.

Trevon Brazile and Lawson Blake are the only returning Razorbacks players, with Melo Sanchez, Jonas Aidoo and Johnell Davis joining from the transfer portal. Now that the roster is complete, Calipari is focusing not just on practice but on building team mentality as well.

"You think big, but you work bigger, because it’s not being delusional," John Calipari said in a press interview in July. "You’re not dreaming dreams. This is about what you’re trying to accomplish for yourself.

"I’m trying to get them to think like kings, because kings think different. And I’ve got to get these kids to understand, ‘I want you to think big and dream big, but you must work bigger.'"

It seems like John Calipari and his team are taking it slow and steady, bringing better prospects in March Madness.