Copyright Arkansas Online
Coach John Calipari has been anticipating the short trip down memory lane that is Monday's exhibition at Memphis. It will serve as the second and final preseason test run for the No. 14 University of Arkansas men's basketball team at 8 p.m. Central at FedExForum. The Razorbacks downed Cincinnati 89-61 at Walton Arena on Friday with a combined 35 points from ESPN 5-star freshmen Darius Acuff Jr. and Meleek Thomas in their first taste of action. Afterward, Calipari said he is expecting about 40 former players to greet his Hogs in Memphis. He coached the Tigers from 2000-09 and reached the Sweet 16 in each of his final four seasons there, with two Elite Eight trips and a now-vacated national runner-up finish. "I know that city, very charitable and when they come together, they can solve whatever their issues are," Calipari said. "They did it for basketball when I was there. ... We're going to have a list of all the people who helped me that have passed away. There's 25 of them that, absolutely, without them, we couldn't have done what we did at Memphis. I want it to be the same way here (at Arkansas). ... All that's going on right now in college athletics, it's going to take a village." Calipari went 1-1 in subsequent returns to FedExForum while leading Kentucky from 2009-24. Arkansas and Memphis have tied their series 11-11. The last time the Hogs played at Memphis, a 90-73 win, was Calipari's second season in 2001-02. The Tigers traveled to Walton Arena the following season for a 72-67 payback and won the last meeting 84-79 in the Bahamas in 2023. "Everybody was behind that program, everybody," Calipari said of Memphis. "I want a thousand people to say, without me, Arkansas couldn't have made that run. That was an unbelievable time in that program, but you know what? I was there and helped. I did X, Y, Z. So, going back is going to be fun. I'm going to see some of my friends ... It was a great nine years." Memphis guard Billy Richmond Jr. led with 16 points in the decades-old Fayetteville victory and his son, Arkansas forward Billy Richmond III, will also get to make a return trip home. The sophomore began his high school career at Memphis East before finishing with Camden in New Jersey, like junior teammate D.J. Wagner. Richmond slammed a handful of lefty dunks Friday for 10 points. "I'm honored," Richmond said Thursday. "I've always dreamed of this, but I never thought I would be in this position. All of the hard work that I put in, it's just a blessing now that I get to play in my home state. ... I kind of didn't believe it, because I haven't been home in a minute ... Cal, he was like, 'We're going to Memphis.' And then he just saw a big smile on my face." Calipari trotted out a starting lineup of Acuff, Wagner, Karter Knox, Trevon Brazile and Nick Pringle on Friday. Thomas, Richmond and Malique Ewin were three post-halftime tweaks. Calipari said he could easily start a different arrangement Monday. Thomas led with 27 minutes off the bench, the four starters besides Pringle hovered around 24 and Richmond played 22. "You want to be out there, you have to deserve to be out there," he said. "You get no entitlement here now. I'm going to play the best guys." Memphis was labeled a "hard, hard, game" because of its defensive tendency to run double-team traps or even fling three players at the ball to defend pick-and-rolls. Wagner passed up a scoring chance for an assist, though was otherwise quiet on a 1-for-3 shooting night Friday. Thomas led with 12 shot attempts and Calipari is striking a balance between letting him play and critiquing shot selection. At SEC media days, Calipari emphasized offensive aggressiveness from Wagner in his third season. Monday could be a good time to show it. "Whoever has it may have to be making plays," Calipari said. "But have I worked on that with this team? No, I haven't. I've been trying to just get us right. A little bit of lack of execution on a few things we did. But it's Oct. 24. That stuff's going to happen." Monday's exhibition will be televised on ESPNU. Matt Byrne is the Bob Holt Razorback Reporter, named in honor of the longtime reporter who covered University of Arkansas sports. This position is funded by the ADG Community Journalism Project.
