Billy Richmond follows John Calipari’s footsteps in Arkansas

In addition to John Calipari’s growing roster at Arkansas, Billy Richmond is also set to join the Razorbacks. This is the third former Kentucky commit after Boogie Fland and Karter Knox to follow coach Calipari to Fayetteville.

The Athletic’s Shams Charania reported Richmond’s decision on Friday via X.

When Billy Richmond first committed to Kentucky in December, he cited coach John Calipari as one of the reasons behind this move.

“The reason I chose Kentucky [is] because it felt like this where I need to be,” Richmond said. “[It] felt like home basically. Great coaching staff, a lot of family ties which made it comfortable and confident for me to pick Kentucky, and just Cal always keeping it real with me.”

The family connection is his father, also named Billy Richmond Jr., who played for Calipari at Memphis in 2003 and 2004.

But now, with his departure to Arkansas, the four-star point guard has chosen to follow. He also reportedly received offers from the Memphis Tigers, LSU and Alabama.

John Calipari is quickly building his roster from the ground up

When Eric Musselman left Arkansas to take his job offer with the USC Trojans, all of his scholarship players either entered the transfer portal or declared for the NBA draft. During his introductory press conference at Fayetteville, John Calipari said:

“I met with the team, there is no team. … We gotta get a roster together.”

Coach Calipari has managed to achieve this mostly by talking to his previous recruits.

Besides Fland and Knox, Calipari also spoke to former Wildcats forward Zvonimir Ivisic and he is now signed with the Razorbacks.

Ivisic is the only player from Kentucky to join Calipari. He explained the reason for his move in a message on X.

“I made the lifetime decision to come to college for [a] few reasons,” Ivisic wrote. “Main ones to win a national championship and go to the NBA. Monumental part of that decision was coach Cal, and no one does both of those at the same time than him. That’s why I am excited to announce that I am committing to coach Cal and Arkansas Razorbacks.”

With the Arkansas Razorbacks, John Calipari has a clean slate to build the next leg of his legacy. At Lexington, he was always expected to win a national championship owing to the NBA-bound and top-of-the-class prospects in his roster.

What do you think of Calipari in Arkansas? Let us know in the comment section below.