FAYETTEVILLE -- John Calipari was at the SEC Media Days and for the first time representing the University of Arkansas.
Calipari immediately got a question about his decision to leave Kentucky for Arkansas. However, Calipari wasn't biting.
"No, here's what I would say to everybody," Calipari said. "I've talked about why I did what I did, and I've talked at length about it. What I want to do today is talk about the SEC. This league has gotten ridiculously hard. I want to talk about my team, my roster.
"But I've talked about all that stuff. You can look it up and see what I've said, and it's going to be saying it over again. I want to use the time -- nine teams in the top 25 and another team not far off. I can remember being in this league, we got two or three teams in the NCAA Tournament. Now all of a sudden it looks like it's going to be 10 or 11 teams in the NCAA Tournament. Every game we play on the road, going to be ridiculous."
Calipari knows that each road game in the SEC will be a difficult one to win. He is pleased that Bud Walton Arena is now a homecourt for his team.
"Our home sites in this league, ridiculous," Calipari said. "Facilities, the investment in coaches, you've got coaches and players that all are at the top of their game. And for us, like, we're a little beat up right now, but I like my roster. I like the guys. Some vets, physical, some young kids that are talented, too. Some of the transfers."
One of the players that Calipari took to the SEC Media Days was Tennessee transfer Jonas Aidoo. The big man is among the elite players in the entire SEC.
"Well, he's growing into his father, which would lead me to tell you, I have four players on this team that I've coached their fathers," Calipari said. "Now, you can say that I'm an old fart. Or you can look at it and say, wow, that all of those fathers say I'm not as hard as I used to be, but they still wanted their son to play for me, Aidoo being one.
"Aidoo wanted to play for me when he was in ninth grade and he was 5'11". I looked at his dad and I said -- dad was 6'9", and now all of a sudden he's grown into his dad. You see him now, and you're like, wow. But it took him time. He was a three-star player coming out of high school and grew, and now he's growing into his game.
"He's been a little beat up here the last week and a half, two weeks. Hoping he'll be able to go against Kansas, but I'm not sure. If there's any question, I'll hold them out. The biggest thing, he's got to shoot the ball better. The game has become skill is king, but he's shooting it better, he's physical, he drives it, he can play multiple positions. Really happy for him and happy he wanted to play for us."
The Hogs will host Kansas for a benefit game on Friday, Oct. 25, and the Jayhawks will enter ranked No. 1 in the nation. Calipari was asked if that will add some extra juice to the game?
"Probably to our fans it does, but to us, we knew they'd be good," Calipari said. "We know it'll be a hard game for us. We're hopefully going to have a somewhat full team, so right now we're down three or four guys, so hopefully a couple of those guys will be okay to play in that. But Bill (Self) or I, neither one of us, would push a player because of an exhibition game. If he needs to sit out, he'll sit out."
Guard D.J. Wagner played for Calipari at Kentucky last season. Wagner battled some ankle issues last season, but the Arkansas coach is expecting big things from the sophomore this season.
"Just want his swagger back," Calipari said. "If you saw him right now physically, if you saw him with his ankle, he's running up, dunking balls, stuff that he couldn't do a year ago. People forget he was Freshman of the Year three or four times before he got injured. I mean, he was playing at a high, high level, and then he never really came back from that.
"The first thing that happens is you're not jumping the same, so what does it affect? Your shooting. That's what it affects. Now, I've not coached many that are as coachable as him, that care as much. I even tell them sometimes you care too much. You care too much. Go make plays. Go fail fast. Do stuff.
"But he and Boogie (Fland) together in the backcourt with Nelly (Davis), we've got three pretty good guards, and that's why practices have been fine even though we're a little shorthanded because you've got guys that are really playing."
Carter Knox is another newcomer that Calipari is happy to have on the Hogs. He coached his brother, Kevin, at Kentucky.
"Well, his brother was the ninth pick of the draft," Calipari said. "Carter is more physical, lost 17 pounds already. He lost some weight. Skilled, learning situational basketball. But he'll fight, and he's good.
"Obviously, Kevin had a great run with us. Played with Shai (Gilgeous-Alexander). But I'm looking for big things with Carter 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.
"When you have six or seven practicing, they get a lot of reps, and all of our freshmen have needed those reps, including Carter. 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."
Arkansas will open the regular season on Wednesday, Nov. 6, hosting Lipscomb at 7 p.m. in Bud Walton Arena.