In a post on X (formerly Twitter) over the weekend, Calipari confirmed that all 10 Arkansas players arrived on campus and participated in a pickup game last week as the team gets ready for summer practices and workouts. According to Calipari, The Hogs held their first team meeting on Friday, and he met with each player individually on Saturday.

“Guys played pickup last night,” Calipari’s post read. “I am really excited about this group! They are talented, big, experienced, and physically and mentally tough. We are a national program that will recruit our region, throughout the US and around the world!”

Had our first team meeting yesterday and I did individual meetings today. Guys played pickup last night!! I am really excited about this group!

They are talented, big, experienced, and physically and mentally tough. We are a national program that will recruit our region,…

— John Calipari (@CoachCalArk) June 8, 2024

Calipari’s stated goal of making Arkansas a national program is evident by the makeup of his first roster in Fayetteville. As things stand currently, nine different states and one foreign country are represented on the Razorbacks roster for next season.

Forward Zvonimir Ivisic is the lone international addition on the team, hailing from Vodice, Croatia by way of Kentucky. The nine states represented are Arkansas (Lawson Blake), Florida (Karter Knox), Indiana (Johnell Davis), Missouri (Trevon Brazile), New Jersey (DJ Wagner), New York (Boogie Fland), North Carolina (Jonas Aidoo), Pennsylvania (Adou Thiero) and Tennessee (Billy Richmond).

The diverse roster makeup is nothing new for Calipari and staff as this was a staple of his Kentucky teams. That trend will continue at Arkansas going forward, and it shouldn’t come as a surprise to fans after Calipari has mentioned his desire to make the Hogs a national program on numerous different occasions.

Something else which shouldn’t surprise Arkansas fans is the difference in how Calipari will handle these upcoming summer practices compared to how former Arkansas coach Eric Musselman used to operate. Musselman heavily promoted his team on social media at every available chance, including during the summer months.

A big part of that was giving fans and media a glimpse into the team’s practice and workout sessions. Sharing practice clips, video breakdowns of key plays during scrimmages and player-specific highlights were commonplace on social media throughout the years. With Calipari, things will be much different and could take some getting used to.

Now, even verifying information such as when practices start is difficult. Last week, there was talk of practices beginning as early as this week, but no official confirmation has been given. It’s likely the first confirmation of summer practices beginning will be a video posted by the program’s official X (formerly Twitter) account.

Per NCAA rules, college basketball programs are allowed to hold eight hours of weight-training and organized practices per week for eight weeks. That’s broken down even further as teams can only do four hours of weight-training and four hours of on-court practice each week during the summer period.

While much of what takes place over the summer practices won’t be seen, it’s still an important time for the new staff and players to get familiar with one another and grow chemistry. These summer months are when the foundation for Calipari’s tenure at Arkansas will be laid.