FAYETTEVILLE, Arkansas – John Calipari and his newly formed first staff at Arkansas received the green light at midnight Saturday to recruit up-and-coming youngsters. The aura that surrounds Calipari from school to school will continue with the Razorbacks. When it comes to putting young people in the NBA, he does it better than any other college basketball coach.
About half a day passed before the Hogs closed in on 6-10 forward Sam Funches. KeynoteUSA considers him the best prospect in the country, but not all recruiting sites value him that much. Funchess is ranked as the No. 14 overall prospect by On3’s industry rankings, which averages data from all four recruiting services. The Mississippi native plays basketball at Germantown High School in a suburb of Jackson, which is in a region that has historically produced top prospects.
Funches is considered a complete basketball player capable of playing multiple positions on the court at times. He averaged around 19 points per game along with 11 rebounds and over six blocks per game as a true great player during his sophomore year. Other notable offers include North Carolina, Alabama, Kansas, Texas, Indiana, LSU, Ole Miss, Memphis and Mississippi State.
Little Rock Christian small forward JJ Andrews is a Razorbacks legacy (his father, Stacy, played football in the early 2000s). The 6-6, 215-pound forward is rated 4 stars by KeynoteUSA at 13th overall, but all four major recruiting outlets consider him a consensus top-25 prospect. Andrews has also heard from Oklahoma, LSU, Missouri, Marquette, Memphis and NC State.
Andrews’ physical frame is intriguing to most programs in the country. He led the Warriors to their second consecutive Arkansas Class 4A state championship this season, finishing the season with 21 points and 10 rebounds per game.
In typical Caipari fashion, number one prospects take priority wherever he trains. During his time at Kentucky, the top overall prospect signed with the Wildcats four times. He signed at least one top-three prospect eight times. The best player in the country is Tyran Stokes, according to KeynoteUSA. The 6-7, 225-pound small forward is a physical athlete and prolific scorer.
During his recent trip to Kansas City to play Nike EYBL, he scored 41 points and also grabbed 17 rebounds. Stokes also scored 29 points in another game on his way to averaging 24 points, five rebounds and two assists over Memorial Day weekend. He has offers from Arkansas, USC, UCF, Texas A&M, Alabama, Auburn, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisville, Xavier, Arizona State, Texas, Texas Tech and Ole Miss.
Brave 4-star point guard Deron Rippey was contacted by the Arkansas staff. The 6-1, 175-pound spark plug is considered a top-40 prospect nationally by recruiting services and a top-five point guard. Other notable programs to contact Rippey include Michigan, Kansas, Rutgers, Indiana, Auburn, Virginia and Syracuse.
Sharpshooter Aidan Chronister is a top-60 prospect and the top prospect in the state of Kansas. He recently transferred to Sunrise Christian after playing at Rogers during his sophomore season. Missouri and Oklahoma have received visits from Chronister but have not visited Fayetteville since Calipari was hired as coach, which could change given the new contact between the staff and the prospect.
Florida 5-star Alex Constanza heard from the Razorbacks early on Saturday. The 6-8, 215-pound small forward has fantastic size to play multiple positions at the college level. He is ranked #3 by KeynoteUSA and #6 by On3. All recruiting media include him among the 15 best talents nationwide. Other programs that contacted Constanza include Kentucky, Florida, Miami, Arizona State, Baylor and South Carolina.
Constanza played in 28 games as a sophomore, scoring 14 points, six rebounds, three assists, two steals and one block per game. He made 49% of his field goals for Westminster Academy in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Last season he made 35% of his three-point attempts. However, he made 45% of his three-point attempts as a freshman on 78 attempts. During his second season, Constanza improved his free throw percentage to 84%, up from 71% the year before. He is almost automatic around the rim and makes 59% of his 2-point attempts.
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