re: Arkansas Basketball 2026 (and beyond) Recruiting Thread** Abdou Toure** Commits!

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Darius Acuff talks defense and guarding his matchup with Draymond

“You can ask any of my coaches in college, no matter how many defensive mistakes I made every night, if they tried to put me on a 2 or a 3, I'm like 'man I'm not guarding no 3, I play the point man, I'm guarding the point guard man' especially if it's like a matchup... like if I'm not guarding you and you not guarding me, it ain't no matchup, we just hooping out here so I definitely like to guard my matchup.”

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Darius Acuff on the biggest takeaways from his NBA Draft workouts so far

“I ain't gonna lie, you gotta be in shape... the first workout was crazy, I'm gassed, I'm in there by myself, I'm doing 1-on-0's so it's a different type of environment...I've been learning how to ask more questions, just seeing how the game goes, we young, we freshmen so we wanna know how it goes... I've been drinking water more than I ever been.”

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Even if Cal’s legacy here goes down as him being a stopgap. He’s doing a great job, IMO. The abrupt downfall and departure of Musselman really worried me and sent me into Razorback PTSD. We have a long way to go and I know that we all deep down want another title, but it’s great to see the vigor with recruiting, our HC marketing the hell out of the program on his own, and guys making it to the NBA. Would love to see some deeper tournament runs now and hopefully that happens. It would be hilarious if Cal closed out his career here with at least one Natty and we were able to throw that in Kentucky’s face in relation to the Pope hire that’s appearing to be a massive backfire.

So what are we thinking now for our 10 deep? I asked Grok and got this...


Projected Starting 5

This is a fluid, guard-oriented lineup typical of Calipari teams—emphasis on pace, spacing, and versatility. Exact starters will depend on fall camp, but here's a consensus projection based on talent, experience, and fit:

PG: Jordan Smith Jr. (6-2, incoming 5-star freshman) — High-upside lead guard and the centerpiece of the class. Expected to run the show with elite playmaking and scoring.

SG: Jeremiah Wilkinson (6-1, junior transfer from Georgia) — Proven scorer (17+ ppg in prior season) who brings experience and instant offense off the bounce.

SF: Billy Richmond III (6-6, returning junior) — Versatile two-way wing with size, athleticism, and improved shooting. Provides stability and defense.

PF: JJ Andrews (6-7, incoming 4/5-star freshman) — Athletic wing/forward who can stretch the floor and finish.

C: Miikka Muurinen (7-0, incoming 5-star freshman) or Cooper Bowser (6-11, senior transfer from Furman) — Muurinen for upside/skill; Bowser (efficient interior scorer/rebounder) for immediate physicality and experience. Calipari may rotate or platoon them, possibly starting Bowser early.

Smith Jr / Thompson
Wilkinson / Toure
Richmond / Sealy
Andrews / Semedo
Muurinen / Bowser

I asked chatgpt and got similar, of course it's so bad the first had Meleek still and no Richmond so had to manually update it to get a decent projection.

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My predicted closing lineup

When games get tight, I actually think Cal's best group could be:

Jordan Smith Jr. – Jeremiah Wilkinson – Billy Richmond III – JJ Andrews – Miikka Muurinen

That's a lot of length, athleticism, and switchability.

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Makes sense with how Cal likes his lineup like Grok said, too.

Sealy hurt his knee in pickup game and will require surgery.

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