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Arkansas basketball coach John Calipari is working with four new freshmen recruits.Point guard Darius Acuff shows promise but needs to improve defensively and play at a faster pace.Shooting guard Meleek Thomas needs to improve his shot selection efficiency.Isaiah Sealy needs to improve his anticipation and read the play before catching the ball.
FAYETTEVILLE — John Calipari is evolving with the changing ecosystem of college hoops, but the Arkansas basketball head coach can’t quit his reliance on ballyhooed first-year players.
The Razorbacks welcomed four freshmen to campus this summer. Darius Acuff and Meleek Thomas were five-star pillars, while Isaiah Sealy and Lebanon’s Karim Rtail joined as development pieces to round out the 2025 signing class.
Calipari invited the local media to attend an open practice last week. Rtail did not participate due to an ongoing back injury, but the other three freshmen all showed why they were so highly-regarded coming out of high school.
Here’s a look at what Calipari has seen from his first-year players through summer workouts.
Darius Acuff
The point guard from Detroit was the crown jewel of Calipari’s latest recruiting class. His feel for the game was evident in last week’s practice.
Acuff looked calm in the pick-and-roll and operated with patience, dragging defenders away from the basket before throwing perfect lobs to big men like Nick Pringle and Malique Ewin. Acuff can also lull on-ball defenders with hesitation moves before driving past them and getting to the basket.
But according to Calipari, Acuff must improve defensively and play with a faster pace. His methodical approach can slice defenses, but Arkansas wants to run with three capable point guards in Acuff, D.J. Wagner and Billy Richmond.
Wagner was singing Acuff’s praises in a recent press conference. The duo must be a better backcourt fit this year than Fland and Wagner were in Calipari’s first season at Arkansas.
“(Acuff) can do everything,” Wagner said. “He can shoot, he plays with great pace, he plays physical, so it’s fun to play with him and against him every day. I feel like he’s making me better. He’s making all of us better.”
Meleek Thomas
Thomas’ ability to make highly-contested and difficult jump shots wowed college coaches and recruiting experts, but Calipari wants to see better efficiency.
“I’m stopping every time (Thomas) tries to take one because he’s going 1 for 5 and we can’t win like that,” Calipari said. “The other shots, he makes, so just take those, but they like to do their thing. So we’re teaching.”
The head coach wants Thomas, a shooting guard, dribbling less during the summer practices while still staying involved with the offense. Calipari envisions him shooting floaters, coming off screens into mid-range jumpers and pulling up for 3-pointers in transition. At the open practice, Thomas initiated some offense in 3-on-3 and 4-on-4 drills.
Arkansas wants to rein Thomas in while still capitalizing on his gifted offensive game.
“(Thomas) is a bucket-getter,” Calipari said. “And I’ll tell you what else he is – he’s a gym rat, and he lives in the gym, so he’s going to be fine.”
Isaiah Sealy
All three freshmen are still adjusting to the speed of college basketball. Calipari pointed out a specific avenue where Sealy must improve.
“Isaiah doesn’t play until he catches, so he’s behind the action instead of, ‘I’m seeing, so when I catch it I read and I see what’s there in front of me,'” Calipari said. “He catches and then tries to read, but that’s typical of someone his age.”
But Sealy impressed with his reads during the open practice. He found open dunkers in the pick-and-roll and knew when to take it upon himself and drive to the basket. He also had one of the better looking 3-point shots on the roster.
The Springdale High School product was a four-star recruit who could quickly find a role with the Razorbacks.
Karim Rtail
Rtail has been dealing with an injured back and did not participate in the open practice. There is no timetable for his return, but Calipari expressed optimism he could accomplish the necessary conditioning to get on the practice floor when the Hogs begin practices in September.
Calipari provided a brief scouting report on the Lebanese forward from his limited action this summer.
“He is a perimeter three man,” he said. “Could he place him four? Yes, but he’s not that physical. Shoots it pretty good.”
Jackson Fuller covers Arkansas football, basketball and baseball for the Southwest Times Record, part of the USA TODAY Network. Reach him at jfuller@gannett.com or follow him @jacksonfuller16 on X, formerly known as Twitter.Â