Former Kentucky and current Arkansas head coach John Calipari has coached a lot of NBA Draft picks. Minus his persona and status in the college basketball landscape, it's what he's most known for. Calipari shows up at nearly every NBA Draft to celebrate his players – something they obviously appreciate – and to bask in his own glory.

Calipari was the champion of the one-and-done era, and I don't mean literally. As college basketball has pivoted to an NIL landscape, Cal has suffered more than most. A team of talented freshmen don't always come out on top against savvy veteran-laden squads. There is something to be said about experience, and while Calipari has plenty of it, even he can fall short when the opposing squad is full of upperclassmen making millions off their own name. This is a lesson Kentucky learned the hard way, and surely Arkansas fans will eventually become frustrated with.

As FanSided's Quinn Everts pointed out in his pre-draft piece, Calipari has coached 41 first-round picks since 2000. That is an astounding number, though it doesn't always equate to on-court success. In 2025, Arkansas wing Adou Thiero has a chance to join this list as a late first-round flyer.

"That, quite simply, is a lot. Well over one per year on average. Some of those have been great picks — Karl-Anthony Towns, Devin Booker, Anthony Davis, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, etc. etc. Some of them haven't panned out quite as well. Nevertheless, if you played for John Calipari in college, there's a pretty good chance you'll be picked in the first round of the draft," Everts added.

While the Razorbacks did make a run to the Sweet 16 this past season, perhaps showcasing a change in approach for Calipari-coached teams, they have a long way to go if they are to meet hefty expectations in the years to come. Arkansas hired Calipari to win National Titles and reach the Final Four. His last title came in 2012, and he hasn't been to the Final Four since 2015 with Kentucky.

Where Calipari can often succeed on the recruiting trail, he fails with in-game coaching adjustments and pregame preparation. Arkansas' Sweet 16 run was impressive, but shouldn't overshadow the fact that they were a bubble team at best for most of the college basketball season. Players like Thiero and DJ Wagner struggled against veteran-laden teams before hitting their stride in the tournament. That's a far cry from when the Kentucky Wildcats were at their peak in the early-to-mid 2010's.

As Everts notes in his piece, Calipari once coached five first-round picks from the same draft class. That was back in 2010 – so 15 years ago.

The harsh truth is that Calipari has slowly lost some ground in the recruiting world. Arkansas ranks ninth in the current 247sports class rankings. That's great for most programs, but Calipari was routinely in the top-3 during his early days with the Wildcats.

It's past time for Calipari to adjust to the times, if he hasn't already. He has the full financial backing of the Arkansas athletic department behind him.