FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — The No. 12 Arkansas Razorbacks did what they were supposed to do during exhibition play and that's holding serve at home with a pair of victories over No. 15 Gonzaga and longtime rival Memphis.

Neither of the two victories came easy either as third-year coach John Calipari found plenty of things for his young roster to build on over the next few days.

With the regular season scheduled to tip-off with UA-Pine Bluff in town on Tuesday, Nov. 3, there's time for him to tinker with some things to figure out exactly what his athletes are capable of.

Inserting Physicality

They're quite long, which he often shares during his media availability, radio and television appearances, and that's something he certainly can't teach. But he sure can coach that up.

Matching their size with physicality in the post is another.

Arkansas has plenty of length, but learning how to use it against stronger opponents remains a challenge.

"Again, one-on-one, how [Memphis] got to spots and just raised up and felt comfortable scoring," Calipari said. "We had seven blocks, and we're long as heck. But if you can't hold your ground and you get on the side of them, it's their advantage.

"And all we've been working on is chest. Make them go through your chest. You can't turn sideways.
But again, we're talking 18-, 19-year-olds. They all turn sideways, and the guy goes and gets in their body.You know, we're working on it. It's just we're not doing it that well right now...But we're awful big. We just got to figure out what we're going to do if someone's much stronger than us."

Arkansas has six frontcourt players standing at least 6-foot-11, with several possessing wingspans exceeding 7-foot-4. That length creates defensive opportunities, but Calipari wants his players to become more physical rather than relying solely on their reach.

Dealing with teams that are bigger, as in 245 pounds or more in the paint caused issues for Arkansas last season, especially against Arizona in the Sweet 16 or Florida during the regular season. The Razorbacks played nearly every team to the buzzer in losses, but it was opponents with championship-level brute that separated them from the nation's elite in just six months ago.

If Calipari and noted big man coach Kenny Payne can develop them along the way, Arkansas could be provide matchup issues in the paint for anyone they might face in the NCAA Tournament.

Mentality of a Shot Taker

When Billy Richmond III arrived in Fayetteville as a 5-star freshman with raw offensive skills and high motor, Calipari knew he had somebody he could mold into a special talent. Far from a flashy weapon on the offensive end, he played with grit and determination to make the winning plays.

His contributions in an upset of No. 2 seed St. John's two seasons ago with 16 points on 6-of-10 shooting was only scratching the surface of what he could be on the court.

He became more assertive as a sophomore, averaging eight points on 55% from the field, but was a stat stuffer with four rebounds, two assists, one steal and one block per game through the month of January.

Richmond's evolution as a go-to offensive weapon sparked the Razorbacks on a memorable run to an SEC Tournament championship and a second straight berth in the NCAA Tournament. Over the final 16 games of the season, he averaged 15 points, five rebounds, two assists, two steals and one block and made 57% of his field goal attempts.

That carried over into this season, as he averaged 17 points, four rebounds, four assists, 1.5 blocks and one steal during exhibition play. His steady force and green light as a shooter gives Calipari confidence in someone he can go to.

"You're a guy like [Richmond], and you just play basketball. If you have a [good] shot, you take it," Calipari said. "But you have other guys that are trying to judge their game and their emotions and their spirit on, 'Am I making shots?'"

"So what does that mean? You'll be all year, you'll be up, you're going to be down. You'll be up, you'll be down, you'll be up. How about Jordan [Smith] goes 0-for-9 (against Gonzaga), but he's positive in the plus-minus today. Jeremiah [Wilkinson] missed every shot at halftime. I said, 'Look, you don't have to make them all. You just can't miss them all. Like, you missed every one.'"

Calipari has said this before about his shooters, and sometimes it impacted how they played. Darius Acuff was a prime example last season because he allowed it to affect how he defended. For guys like Smith and Wilkinson, they remain relentless on defense, and Calipari has his guys improvise on offense after that.

"But I thought he fought, which meant I could leave him in the game," Calipari said of Wilkinson. "I thought he came up with balls and deflections and scrambled and did good stuff. So you leave him in the game, let him go. And he did make one. The team went crazy for him. We do have a good bunch of guys.

"And when one guy goes 0-for-7, 0-for-8, your three-point percentage is not going to be that good. But if he didn't go 1-for-9 or whatever, we end up shooting 46%. But he missed a ton. But he did the other stuff, and that's all you can ask."

Winning The Battle With Himself

Arkansas brought in Bowser out of the transfer portal from Furman during the offseason and was known for is effectiveness in the paint offensively. Calipari and his staff had their eyes on several other potential big men, but weren't willing to pay what the market or their agents were asking for.

After Bowser struggled in the Bahamas at the Baha Mar Summer League, there was plenty of pessimism that Arkansas would be able to survive on either end of the floor this season. Those worries evaporated quickly, as he's shown enough against Memphis and Gonzaga to be a dependable weapon in the post.

The 6-foot-11, 235 pound big man averaged eight points, nine rebounds, two assists and two blocks per game. He went 7-of-9 from the field and a combined plus-29 during his 44 minutes on the floor.

"He's getting better, but the battle he has isn't with anybody else but himself. He's got to believe," Calipari said. "I had a kid last year that it didn't matter what anybody said or did or what he did on the court, he believed he was as good as anybody. Who was that? Meleek Thomas.

"I told him, 'You've got to prepare for every game like you're going to play 30 minutes.' And the next game, he went in and got 16. And it's only one reason. He believes. And if you're working, that's your job. Demonstrated performance is how you get in there, where you're building your own confidence. And Cooper's doing that."