Saturday’s matchup against Vanderbilt was meant to be a routine test for Arkansas, and on the scoreboard, it looked exactly that way. The Razorbacks cruised to a dominant 93-68 win, never trailing and building a 31-point lead while controlling the paint and the glass. Still, the night carried an unpredictable edge, as John Calipari later revealed a tense halftime clash with star guard Darius Acuff Jr.

“I took Darius out in the second (half) because he was going through the motions of playing. Well, then you’re not playing. I don’t care who you are. You’re going to sit and watch the game now,” Calipari said after the game.

“And then he went in. He was mad at me. He played well because he was mad at me, and he thought I was like, ‘Yeah, he won’t like it. No, I love it. Be mad at me all the time. Just play like that.’”

Calipari’s motivation tactics worked like magic. At the end of the first half, Acuff only had 8 points and no assists, but spite got him pumped up in the second half. Acuff finished the night with 17 points and 5 assists. He controlled the second half and distributed the ball in fashion, which he did not do in the first. 

An example would be when Meleek Thomas managed to pull a ball destined to go out of bounds to Acuff in the first half. Acuff ran and dribbled past two players to get to the rim and still had two defenders in front of him. Acuff had Karter Knox with him for support, and he still went for a dunk only to get blocked. This kind of decision-making changed in the second half, ironically, because he was furious at his coach. 

Not just with Acuff, John Calipari wasn’t happy with his team leading up to the game. The Georgia game was frustrating for Calipari, especially with their defense and overall effort.

“If you had been at practice yesterday, I wasn’t friendly,” the coach said. “I just said, I’m not dealing with it. You’re not giving me that kind of effort. No, not happening.”

In addition to the Acuff storyline, Malique Ewin and Karter Knox scored 16 each, while Thomas had 13 and Wagner chipped in 11. Trevon Brazile had a double-double with 10 points and 14 rebounds. It was a pretty balanced scoring night for Arkansas. The defensive side was particularly impressive in this game, as their 68-points conceded was the lowest in the last 10 games.

On Barttorvik, their adjusted defensive efficiency in this game was the second lowest this season. (89.6) His philosophy was also evident in the clear demand for Malique Ewin, who has started only one game so far.

John Calipari lays out a simple equation for Malique Ewin

Malique Ewin has been one of the offensive drivers for John Calipari this season. He has averaged 9.9 points and 5 rebounds, standing as the fourth-best scorer and the second-best rebounder on the team. Against Vanderbilt, he pitched in 4 rebounds and an assist along with those 16 points while playing only 23 minutes. Despite that, he has started only one game so far this season. Calipari laid out a simple equation for Ewin to earn the start. 

“Malique, if you want to start, I just need more of a motor. I don’t need any of your skill stuff. I need more of a motor, and I could start you some because I think I may have started in one game,” Calipari said. “But I’ve started everybody. The one constant has been Darius Acuff, and he should be. He’s that good.”

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Calipari values effort and energy. Those are the building blocks of his philosophy. There are multiple skillful players on the team. Even the instruction to start Carter Knox was to “Rebound, defend, block some shots. Don’t worry about this bag over here. Leave that over there. Just do these things.”

The reason is that if the effort arrives, the talent in his players will naturally flower as well. With players responding to his challenges, Calipari’s formula of effort first, talent second might be the spark that elevates Arkansas down the stretch.