"At times, we get a little arrogant": John Calipari highlights Arkansas' shortcoming despite destroying UCA
John Calipari and the Arkansas Razorbacks secured their 9th win of the season with an 82-57 blowout victory over Central Arkansas on Saturday. Despite the lop-sided score, Calipari had some mixed feelings about his team's performance at Simmons Bank Arena.
Arkansas started this season as the 16th-ranked team in the country but has since fallen out of the rankings after suffering a pair of losses to Baylor and Illinois. They have regrouped since then, winning their last four games — including statement wins over the Miami Hurricanes and Michigan Wolverines.
With the win against the Bears, the Razorbacks improved their record to 9-2 but coach John Calipari sees room for improvement.
"We had a terrific practice yesterday in Feville. Our shootaround today was one of our better shootarounds, so I felt good coming into the game," Calipari said postgame (3:28).
"The only thing that happens to this team at times — you stretch it out, and we get a little arrogant. Then all of a sudden, we give up a three, we foul a three-point shooter, we give up a layup, we miss two shots, we turn it over, and we've all seen it."
The three-time national coach of the year further mentioned the changes he made during the game to address Arkansas' struggles.
"I had to do some stuff today to get us to move the ball from one side of the court to the other — structured motion, just move it, and then we play," he added (4:20).
John Calipari discusses Jonas Aidoo's role in team's strong game output
Arkansas coach John Calipari interrupted a reporter while they asked about his player Jonas Aidoo and how important it was for Calipari to have him almost back to full strength.
"He's not all full strength yet," Calipari said (4:56), "but he gives you a physical presence. You're not talking about just another guy, you're talking about a 6'11" All-Conference player."
"He ran that Michigan game, and he was not given anything over the top, which tells you he's probably a little farther along than I give him credit for.
Against Central Arkansas on Saturday, Aidoo had a season-high 13 points on 6-of-6 shooting from the field to go along with four rebounds and two blocks in 25 minutes of action.
John Calipari's men have two home matchups against North Carolina A&T and Oakland coming up this month before conference play begins in January. They will face the Tennessee Volunteers at Thompson-Boling Arena to open up SEC action.