My favorite thing about John Calipari’s first team at Arkansas is that it includes four players who are the sons of men who previously played for Calipari. If the Razorbacks ultimately live up to expectations, most of them will play a role in it.
Monday highlighted as much.
Final score: Arkansas 91, Pacific 72.
Adou Thiero, whose father, Almamy Thiero, played for Calipari at Memphis, led all Razorbacks with 23 points, six rebounds, four steals and two assists. D.J. Wagner, whose father, Dajuan Wagner, also played for Calipari at Memphis, added 14 points, five assists, four rebounds and two steals. Billy Richmond III, whose father, Billy Richmond, also played for Calipari at Memphis, got nine points and three rebounds off the bench.
Put another way, the sons of former Calipari players accounted for 46 of Arkansas’ 91 points against Pacific. Thiero, Wagner and Richmond are now averaging 31.1 points, 11.3 rebounds, 5.8 assists and 5.1 steals through four games.
“Today he was 8-for-10 [from the field],” Calipari said when asked about Thiero, a 6-foot-8, 220-pound forward, going from somebody who was just a bit player at Kentucky the past two years to someone who is now averaging 18.5 points, 5.8 rebounds and 2.3 steals in 28.3 super-efficient minutes per game. “What he’s done is matured. He’s in better shape. He’s stronger. He’s better with the ball because he’s stronger. He’s a better player. You know, he came to us, out of high school, and I think he was a three-star player. You stay two years — and now you could be a lottery pick? I mean, think about it. Now, I’m gonna tell you, if you looked at him his freshman, and even his sophomore, year, physically, you didn’t see this. He’s grown into his father. His father’s 6-9 and … that’s his dad. I coached his dad. So, I told him, you’ve grown into your dad.”
(If you’re wondering, Ayden Kelly, son of Antonio Burks, is the fourth Razorback whose father played for Calipari at Memphis. Burks was the 2004 Conference USA Player of the Year before spending two seasons with the Memphis Grizzlies.)
With the 19-point victory over Pacific, Arkansas remains No. 16 in Tuesday morning’s updated CBS Sports Top 25 And 1 daily college basketball rankings. The Razorbacks’ next game is Friday against Little Rock. Their next game against a power-conference opponent will come on Thanksgiving against Illinois on CBS.
