Arkansas Razorbacks coach John Calipari admitted a mindset that got the attention of many recently. On Tuesday, @JacksonCollier on X shared a snippet of the legendary coach during his appearance on the “Two Cents” podcast with NBA legend and current Memphis Tigers coach Penny Hardaway.
In the clip, Calipari explained how he’d much rather prefer to possess a roster that is incomplete in terms of personnel, but has more continuity and familiarity with each other, rather than a full 15-man lineup.
John Calipari on the Two Cents Podcast with Penny Hardaway:
“That’s one of the reasons I don’t want a team with 14, 13 guys… seven you can get by, and we did. I thought we could win the national championship the way we played at the end… I still only want to have 8 or 9…” pic.twitter.com/R7FybhNrji
— JC Hoops (@JacksonCollier) June 30, 2025
College basketball fans and spectators then criticized Calipari’s mindset towards his 2025-26 roster for the Razorbacks.
“Arkansas will not win a natty with eight guys in today’s game,” one user said.
“Makes no difference if he has eight or fourteen, he doesn’t know how to play his guys! All that talent and one natty! Time to go Cal’,” another user posted.
“Lol excuses, you can’t win with eight or nine especially with players getting hurt. Geez, you guys are silly,” another wrote.
“Dumbest idea ever like no one will ever get hurt. Yeah, when has that ever happened to any team?,” a user pointed out.
For other users all over X, they were in agreement with Calipari’s perspective, and they were supportive of it.
“Gotta tell ya, I wanna see him do it at Arky. Living in Lexington now, I like our program. But, I will always click a link to watch Cal’ talk and feel nostalgic,” one fan shared.
“It helps when five of the nine are five-star players & you bring in solidly experienced big men,” another user claimed.
“Love it!! It’s a great number and love that he said a 10th guy that ‘knows he’s 10.’ That’s extremely important when you push past [an] eight-man rotation,” a fan exclaimed.
Arkansas finished the 2024-25 season with an overall record of 22-14 (8-10, SEC) which was Calipari’s first year with the team.
John Calipari Thought That His Team Could’ve Went All The Way To the 2025 NCAA Title Game
During the Two Cents podcast with Penny Hardaway, John Calipari admitted that he felt that the Arkansas Razorbacks could’ve finished the job in the 2025 NCAA tournament. With this, the 66-year-old reasserted his take regarding health in his rosters as he still believes more in a team with fewer yet more united players.
“I thought we could win the national championship the way we played at the end. I still only want to have eight or nine, a tenth guy that knows he’s 10, and let’s go. We have injuries…As long as we don’t get down to four or five, we’ll be okay. But that’s a trade-off. That means you care more about the kids than you because if I care about them, I’ve got to put myself in a worse position than that,” Calipari explained. (0:28)
Calipari and the Razorbacks were eliminated in this year’s March Madness by the Texas Tech Red Raiders in an overtime loss, 85-83, in the Sweet 16 of the West Region.
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