Head coach John Calipari shares mindset while building strong Arkansas squad amid transition: "Less is more" 

Since abruptly leaving the Kentucky Wildcats job and taking the Arkansas Razorbacks job, coach John Calipari has not been idle. A master of recruitment, he has been dipping into the transfer portal as he attempts to shape his new team.

During an in-house interview, Calipari revealed his new radically different approach towards recruitment as he attempts to build his roster as Arkansas coach:

"You know we're at seven, wanna hit a couple of more kids, sign a couple of more. Don't wanna have more than eight or nine. I wanna have some GA's that can still play, maybe some walk-ons that are good enough to fill it out but with everything we're dealing with, less is more," Calipari said.

John Calipari tipped to win national championship

Apart from his winning pedigree in Lexington, coach Calipari became well known for his elite recruitment skills which almost always ensured that he had the top three class nationally, including last year when he snagged the likes of Rob Dillingham and Reed Sheppard.

Nolan Richardson – who was the coach of the last team to win the national championship for the Razorbacks in 1994 – spoke to ESPN and tipped Calipari to lead his former team to the national championship due to his recruiting:

"I don't see why it wouldn't be a job where [Calipari] could come in and win a national championship," Richardson said. "I can see that they can. I don't know another coach who could do it better than Calipari because of his recruiting."

The latest additions to the Arkansas roster include Johnell Davis from Florida Atlantic and poached five-star prospect Boogie Fland from Calipari's previous employers, the Kentucky Wildcats.

Richardson said that the charismatic John Calipari had already won the Razorbacks fans to his side and that the support for the program going into next season would be extraordinary.

He further pointed out that the overwhelming fan support for the coach combined with the facilities and resources afforded to Arkansas coaches means that the team will be primed to achieve success next season:

"He's got their support," Richardson said. "Fayetteville is probably to me the greatest job on the Earth as far as the fans are concerned. A lot of times, the fans, they're for the coach who is the coach at the present. They're all in the present mind."

Whether coach John Calipari can replicate the success of his early years in Lexington in charge of the Kentucky Wildcats will only be apparent with time but his elite recruitment skills are already on show.