FAYETTEVILLE — Nick Pringle loves making memories.
The Arkansas men’s basketball program hosted a camp for kids in first through sixth grades at Bud Walton Arena on Saturday. It is the second consecutive year the Razorbacks have worked with CareSource, with funds generated from last season’s exhibition against Kansas going to the organization.
Pringle, a transfer big man from South Carolina, enjoyed the opportunity to play with and coach the students. He said he didn’t have many of the same opportunities growing up, but enjoyed providing those memories now.
“Kids are everything. Literally. I feel like youth is the future,” Pringle said. “Being out here, imagining myself in their shoes, I’ve been there one time, so I want to make the best impression possible for them to going and striving toward what they want to do in their lives.”
He said they focused on discipline and working through difficulties.
CareSource estimated more than 75 campers would attend the event. It included working with the players and music blaring from the speakers.
Kids went through dribbling and shooting drills before holding small-sided scrimmages.
“It’s just always good to be able to do stuff like this, to have the opportunity to be a part of great things like this as a way of giving back,” returning guard D.J. Wagner said. “Seeing young kids being in the same spot we were in when we were younger….It always feels good to be here with them and having the opportunity to be a part of this.”
Coach John Calipari did a Q&A session with parents after the camp, answering questions about the team, his experience in the NBA and several other topics.
The focus, though, was mostly placed on the campers and on the opportunities it provided for them.
“There’s a lot of bad things going on out there nowadays, you want to point your kind in the right direction,” Pringle said. “You want them to have them around a bunch of negativity or them going around something they shouldn’t....You want to surround kids around good things [and] good, positive role models.”
Offseason optimism
Pringle has been around the SEC.
Entering his sixth year of college basketball, Pringle was on Alabama’s 2024 Final Four team and played for South Carolina last season. That experience has helped him grow on and off the floor and has given him a voice in the program.
“I’ve been there, I’ve done that, so why not try to show the young guys where you’re trying to be again? I’m trying to win this time,” Pringle said. “Getting back to the Final Four would mean everything to us, but it starts in the offseason. The young guys that came in, it’s amazing how much they picked up and how good they were coming in already.”
It’s early. The first ball has not been tipped.
But Pringle, Wagner and Calipari have all expressed excitement about the team they have.
“I don’t think I’ve been on a team that has been where we are right now at this time of the year, and that’s exciting to see,” Pringle said. “It gives me a little bit of goosebumps just to see because I’ve been to the Final Four, and I feel like this is a team that’s capable. I’m not not saying it’s going to be a given, but we are capable of it. We’re in control, we’re controlling the wheel.”
Calipari, in the Q&A with parents, rehashed what he said when he was first hired. He joked about not having a team after asking to see them when he first landed in Fayetteville and spoke about the process of building the roster.
“If I had anxiety, you think the team did? Oh yeah,” he said. “Now, four guys, five guys came back. We’ve got a good group coming in. And I’m like, ‘I feel more comfortable,’ which means who else is more comfortable? They do. That’s why we’re ahead. I knew exactly what I wanted to get done this summer.”
Wagner, who followed Calipari from Kentucky and is entering his third year of college basketball, said he feels more comfortable with the game’s speed. He said the game has slowed down for him and that he is smarter on the court.
“We’ve got a lot of great players. Every single body on the team is great in our own way,” Wagner said. “They are all really good at basketball. I’m excited to play out there with the guys, and it’s just really an honor to share the court with them.”
Big men
The Razorbacks will have size, length and versatility inside this season.
Pringle, Florida State transfer Malique Ewin, returner Trevon Brazile and freshmen Paolo Semedo, Karim Rtail and Elmir Dzafic bring in different strengths to the paint.
Semedo needs to add muscle but is willing to take contact and fight for rebounds. Dzafic is physical. Ewin has the ability to be a distributor and hit shots. Rtail is a strong defender who can play above the rim. Pringle is a strong defender and rebounder and an underrated passer. Brazile has added muscle and has looked good throughout the offseason, coaches have said.
Brazile and Rtail can play the 3, 4 or 5 positions based on matchups, with the others providing different styles and looks to the paint game.
Those strengths and their versatility should help Arkansas with some of its deficiencies from last season.
The Razorbacks struggled against more physical opponents and were out-rebounded against some higher-level opposition. That was a major focal point in the offseason. The early prognosis is promising.
“We’ve got five front court guys that can be really dominant in the SEC,” Pringle said. “We can play big, we can play small, we can literally play any way that we want….At the end of the day, it’s really going to be on us, how we approach practice every day and not letting complacency hit the fan. I’ll put that on me, being the older guy.”
